It’s a pity the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is so secretive about attendance.
I have a sense the attendance story is a (relatively) good one for the Speedway at this year’s Indianapolis 500. I'm
sure there were a few more empty seats, especially between turns two and three, than IMS officials would care to see, and
I'm not suggesting the Speedway has returned to pre-1996 attendance, but any uptick has to be cheered at this point.
It’s difficult to determine crowd size by eye when you’re talking about 300,000 people give or take, but by most
accounts the crowd was up at this year’s race over last year.
From the looks of it, the crowd at Friday’s Carb Day also was up from a year ago. Sure, some of the credit goes to
the economy, which is a bit better than a year ago.
But credit must also be given to IMS CEO Jeff Belskus, who took over for Tony George last July 1. And while he’s too
new to take too much credit, certainly IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard has breathed a little new life into the open-wheel
series. Bernard is already talking about opening up the rules at Indianapolis in future years.
Everyone I spoke with gave Carb Day activities an ‘A,’ and though I’m not a big star watcher, I have to
give the IMS marketing staff kudos for bringing in a solid red carpet posse to jazz things up. You really can’t understate
what Izod has done for the series in the last year. And I have a feeling with Bernard riding herd, it’s only going to
get better.
The on-track action, which should never be overlooked but sometimes is, also was solid at Indy this year. Three or more teams
were in the hunt late, and several teams were in serious jeopardy or running out of fuel. Wow, real suspense!
Yes, the big teams had lots of success, with Ganassi Racing’s Dario Franchitti winning. But Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
showed the small and mid-sized teams can put their sponsors in the spotlight as well. That’s an important message when
performing on the big stage that is the Indianapolis 500.
And how about Simona De Silvestra? For my money, she was the most impressive woman driver on the track.
The second best performance by a woman at the Speedway today might go to Franchitti's wife. How about Ms. Judd evoking
memories of Jim Clark in the winner's circle as her hubby celebrated becoming the 17th racer to become a multiple Indy
winner. I've thought her behavior has been a tad freakish at Indianapolis in year's past, but wow, she really knows
her racing!
Sarah Fisher wasn’t bad either, considering she was driving a bucket of bolts. Watching her practice these last two
weeks was painful for anyone who knows what an open-wheel engine is supposed to sound like.
Fisher moved up 14 spots before making contact with the turn four wall late, and finished 26th.
But let’s be honest. If lovable Sarah is going to keep Dollar General and her other sponsors happy long-term, she’s
going to have to do better. After a while, being a fan favorite isn’t good enough. She has to enter a race with at least
a possibility of putting the car up front. I’m not talking about winning, but she has to at least occasionally be in
the conversation. That’s what keeps multi-million dollar sponsors happy.
Don’t let Danica Patrick’s finishing position fool you. As of this writing officials scorers are still trying
to figure her final placing, but she’ll know doubt end up in the top 10. Maybe top 5.
But in three or four days, Michigan-based Joyce Julius will release its Indianapolis 500 report. Race fans may not be familiar
with Joyce Julius, but trust me, sponsors are. JJ tabulates how much air time each sponsor gets during the national telecast
and how many times each company is mentioned by broadcasters.
Danica was never a factor in this race and her JJ numbers will not be good. She’s not alone in that regard, but she’s
supposed to be an Indianapolis 500 specialist and GoDaddy and her other sponsors will eventually demand better. And if they
don’t get it, GoDaddy will just plain go and find a driver that can win.
Danica's teammate, Tony Kanaan showed there was nothing wrong with the Andretti cars, moving his from his 33rd start
position to challenge for the lead.
IndyCar and IMS marketing chiefs should be hoping TK wins this race some day. The fans love him, and he could probably win
some casual sports fans over to the sport because of his engaging personality.
Dan Wheldon and Panther Racing continue to show race fans and sponsors that you don’t have to be a mega-team to be
competitive. Graham Rahal made a solid showing and would have done better but for a controversial black flag. From what I
saw, Rahal has a gripe. But that's racin', right?
Davey Hamilton, well his race only lasted one lap, but at least he got some air time when he called Tomas Scheckter a “knuckle-head.”
Alex Lloyd had one of the most interesting days. I’m sure he and his team are thrilled with their third place finish,
but I’m not sure how much exposure he got his sponsors.
But at least he has sponsors. Which is more that I can say for Helio Castroneves, who minus Marlboro, doesn’t have
a primary. And Penske Racing honcho Tim Cindric admitted to me this month that while he has prospects for a primary sponsor
for Castroneves, he wouldn’t characterize those prospects as terribly warm.
So, all-in-all, it’s been a good May, (albeit shorter), for the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But if one of the very best IndyCar drivers with a strong personality can’t find a primary sponsor, you have to wonder
… is the series really accelerating as quickly as this May makes it seem?
Only time will tell.
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for being the hottest race in history, and 97 is freakin hot, i think attendance was up. Infield was very packed, and the new third turn snake pit seemed well received.
race was great. congrats to dario for winning with only a 10th of a gallon, per the London newspapers, in his tank. Speaking of, even thought it is 4 am in England, they have good articles on the three brit finish. it was intersting how many scott flags I saw flying in the infield, interesting counterpoint to the Confederate Flags at NASCAR tracks.
Another telling fact is i saw much more IMS, izod and Driver apparel than i ever have. Izod has some really cool shirts out there.
Very good race, hope they can keep the momentum up.
More disturbing was the wash of empty seats along the Tower Terrace. That has never been visible from our seats before. The race replay last night made it look even worse.
This is not the time for false hope. It is time to address the situation with realism, not flowery optimism.
Also....the overnight national TV rating is a 4.0, which is a complete and utter failure from 2009's 4.2 overnight. Looks like Indy will drop into the 3's when the finals are in.
Since you weren't there, maybe you need to pay attention to when the pictures you were looking at were taken. At the start of the race, most stands were full. By the midpoint, most of the shade under the stands and on the golf course was full. The 96 degree temps took their toll. But again, why let facts get in the way of your rant. The haters will say the place was a ghost town, the supporters will see an uptick in the crowd. Typical of this back and forth.
I will say this about attendance: Plennnnnty of people spent the day under the tunnels and in the shade. It was pretty unbearable out there, 95+ humidity for 3.5hrs isn't very fun.
Every time I went to the concessions, people were EVERYWHERE under the stands. some were sitting at the same spot I saw them the last time I went down there.
The grand event known as the Indianapolis 500 endures and thrives in spite of any external calamity -- it always has and it always will.
I still remember going in the late '90s and reading Robin Miller tell us how the 500 was dead and that nobody should bother going, and I thought 'oh no, we're going to be the only ones there'. Then we showed up and experienced the same enthusiasm, revelry, cheer, patriotism, tradition, pageantry and excitement that we'd experienced since the early '70s with nearly every seat filled with a rear-end.
The old girl is just fine folks. We can bring the panic level down at least seven notches.
And Scott, the haters have been predicting the downfall of the 500 since the split and they have not been right yet. She still packs in more fans for that one day race than any sporting venue in the world.
Viewer-ship is down by double digit percentages locally and all evidence shows fewer people on hand for the start of the race yet somehow we are supposed to believe that attendance is up?
I'm sorry but the only thing pointing to an increase in attendance or interest is ANECDOTAL. There is no measurable data that indicates anything otherwise.
http://web5.twitpic.com/img/109355425-dac5e10420f2c2813c8d79d58d36f1bf.4c057bd8-scaled.jpg
I know what I saw from my corner of the Speedway. empty spot in the lower couple of sections of the north vista and some empty seats in my section until the National Guard Soldiers took their seats.
Anyway you look at it, it is still the largest single day sporting event in the world. Just one more thing the haters hate about indy.
I've just included links to two pictures taken at 1:04pm during the Invocation. This is what the crowd looked like at the highwater mark when the race started.
http://bit.ly/bH7i3n
http://bit.ly/cFlatc
You will simply not find pictures from any other year that show fewer people in the stands. You will not find worse ratings for the race. This is not anecdotal evidence.