Is The Indianapolis 500 Still Relevant?

 
So many times lately, I have read different comments here and on other sites that the Indianapolis 500 is no longer relevant in today’s sports world. Outwardly, I’ll selfishly bristle at such a comment – but deep down, I’ll always wonder to myself if it is true.

Of course, in order to discuss such a topic, you must first define what relevance is. Already, we are in murky waters. What is completely relevant to me, is more than likely totally irrelevant to the next person. On the other hand – something that is so important to that same person may be an afterthought in my mind.

It’s partially a generational thing, but not completely. On this site, I’ve read many comments from readers in their twenties that hold fast to the same ideals and principles of the Indianapolis 500; while there are those in their forties, fifties and even sixties that could care less about the things I consider to be significant. It’s those varying opinions that keep these discussions so interesting. Talk radio would be pretty bland if we all said and thought the same thing.

Tony Johns of Pop Off Valve made an accurate comparison between the Indianapolis 500 and the Kentucky Derby. Millions of non-fans of horse racing (myself included) tune in and watch the Kentucky Derby every May. I’ve never attended a horse race in my life and it may stay that way forever. I’m not sure I’ve ever watched a horse race that wasn’t The Derby, The Preakness or The Belmont Stakes (although I own a copy of Seabiscuit, if that counts for anything). The point is…I am like most Americans. I’ll watch the top event of a sport – especially if it is laden with tradition like the Derby, the Indianapolis 500 or Wimbledon – even if I don’t follow the sport for the remainder of the year.

In 1992, I had just returned from the Indy 500 when my (then) wife dragged me to a stuffy, yuppie cocktail affair. There, one of the dullness crowd wandered up as I was waxing on about where I had just been. You know the type – they will drop the name of a top participant in any sport, just to try and fit in. Well, after hearing me talk about Al Unser, Jr. holding on against Scott Goodyear – the suit with a drink asked me if those cars and drivers ever raced anywhere besides Indianapolis. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Instead, I went on to explain the CART season as the bore nodded politely as my words quickly passed into one ear and out the other.

Without knowing it, the yuppie had revealed a problem even back then, when CART was supposedly even with NASCAR in TV ratings. Fans tuned into the Indianapolis 500 without knowing what they were watching. Back then; ABC/ESPN gave CART better treatment than what they give to the IZOD IndyCar Series. That 1992 race was chocked full of ads for the Detroit Grand Prix, which was the next race on the schedule. Obviously, everyone didn’t receive the message that there was an entire season with these cars.

So if most people are only tuning once a year, what do they see? On the surface, it isn’t much. The appearance of Brent Musburger gives the telecast instant credibility in the eyes of the casual viewer, as we hardcore fans wince at his mispronunciations and his frothing over anything that is Danica Patrick. Somewhere in the telecast is a “B-List” rock band serving a purpose I haven’t figured out yet. They see a couple of perceived has-beens, in Florence Henderson and Jim Nabors, singing before the race. They don’t understand that Jim Nabors is an icon in our eyes. Lately, they’ve been treated to a sloppy and ragged start, although they’ve been told throughout the telecast about the rows of three.

If they’re lucky, they’ll get a good race. Forgive me for sounding blasphemous, but I don’t think Indy has had a good race since 2006. Then strangely enough, the winner will drink milk – although lately, the winner has seemed more content with dousing the crowd instead actually drinking it.

At face value, is this a great way to spend over four hours in front of a television? Of course, my answer would be “Is there a better way to spend four hours?” But most of the American viewing public does not get into the Indianapolis 500 the way you and I do.

Years ago, this was an awe-inspiring event. I grew up in the days before cable TV, when there were few choices to watch. The first race I attended, in 1965, was also the first race to be shown as a feature on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Even then, it was shown days later as an edited version in black & white. Prior to that, the American public was given only glimpses of the world’s largest single day sporting event – generally seeing only the crashes that had taken place.

The crashes in those days had far worse consequences than they do now. The tubular frame roadsters usually came out far better than the driver. It was not unusual for a driver to drive a car that another driver had lost his life in, the year before.

As much as I hate to admit it – this may have been part of the allure of the general public. These were brave men in a no non-sense profession. Of the thirty-three men who made up the starting grid of AJ Foyt’s rookie year in 1958, thirteen would eventually lose their life in a racecar – one, Pat O’Connor, on that afternoon. These men were idolized as they literally flirted with death every time they strapped themselves into a car.

The speeds today are much faster than they were in the fifties and sixties, but with the much needed safety designs that have been put into the cars of today – we have become rather blasé to even the most spectacular looking crashes, as the drivers almost always pop out unscathed and still thanking their list of sponsors. Only every now and then are we reminded by the fates of Tony Renna, Greg Moore, Jeff Krosnoff, Scott Brayton and Jovy Marcello over the past twenty years – that this is still a very dangerous sport.

Not to be macabre, but is death what made this sport glamorous? It can be argued that NASCAR’s popularity surged only after a string of fatalities from 1999 to the death of their biggest star in 2001. Fatalities in open-wheel racing were commonplace from its beginnings. I am not suggesting that fans want to see fatalities. What I am suggesting is that seeing drivers push themselves and their cars to the edge and beyond – despite the potential for disaster, is what originally drew fans to this sport. When a bruised ego or an owner’s budget is all that is at stake – it doesn’t make for compelling drama.

Yes, I know that when things go wrong – they can still go really wrong. But the same applies for commercial air travel, yet no one buys tickets to watch someone fly Delta. Robin Miller is fond of saying that the drivers of yesteryear were true gladiators. That’s true, but I don’t want to take away from today’s drivers. It still takes a lot of skill and courage to get into these machines and excel. But society no longer seems impressed with that.

The lack of innovation is also mentioned – here and other sites. While I am a huge proponent of innovation, will that make the Indy 500 more relevant in today’s market? In the sixties, innovation meant speed – plain and simple. Today, innovation means green technology. It’s not important to be fast, it’s just important to be efficient. While the merits of saving the planet may be an admirable thing, I’m just not sure it’s a selling point for the Indianapolis 500.

So after many paragraphs, we’re back where we started. Is the Indianapolis 500 still relevant today? The answer is still murky. It isn’t near as much as it used to be, but what is? Not a whole lot. But to those of us who grew up watching this event and have grown to love the sport – the answer is yes, it is still extremely relevant. The real question is…what happens when we’re gone?

George Phillips