Juan Pablo wins 500

[Dare]

Maybe I heard it wrong but it sounded like the
crowd booed JP in the pre rave driver intros.If
not they way he treats the fans they should have.

Today I realized what the 500 misses...excitement

Before the big breakup the 500 was a big deal...
arguably the biggest race in the world.Today I
had to force myself to watch it.Maybe the past
years the highlight was Nabors singing Back Home in
Indiana right before the race.He's gone now and for
me sois the 500

[Jericoke]

I turned on the race and watched a couple of laps, including the Kanaan crash and the resulting restart.

I was struck by how how odd Indy Cars look now.  It's like someone started building a sports car and gave up halfway.

However, after this particular restart, the action was pretty good.  Maybe I was lucky in the dozen laps I saw.  I'd certainly have stayed if I didn't have other commitments.

However the 500 hasn't been 'must see' racing for me since the split.

[cosworth151]

I watched every minute. I admit that mandating the teeny, tiny turbos has greatly reduced the race (as have the fenders.) I'd pretty much given up on it during the CART era. Now, IndyCar seems intent on making all of the same mistakes that CART made. Very sad.

For those of you that didn't watch, you missed the best race of the day. And I watched four races yesterday. I'm no JPM fan, but he drove a great race. He came out of the first caution in 30th to win. The pass for the lead at the end of the race wasn't rigged by a corrupt team management, either.

I watched part of the race down at the AMVETS post yesterday. I watched the rest over at the VFW. It is the only open wheel race that will be on at either of them all season. I know Indybashing has become quite the "in" thing. I'm sad to say it, but if I have to watch turbo mini vans, I'd far rather see them at The Speedway than on some boring Tilkedrome in Whatchacallitstan.

[Jericoke]

I watched every minute. I admit that mandating the teeny, tiny turbos has greatly reduced the race (as have the fenders.) I'd pretty much given up on it during the CART era. Now, IndyCar seems intent on making all of the same mistakes that CART made. Very sad.

For those of you that didn't watch, you missed the best race of the day. And I watched four races yesterday. I'm no JPM fan, but he drove a great race. He came out of the first caution in 30th to win. The pass for the lead at the end of the race wasn't rigged by a corrupt team management, either.

I watched part of the race down at the AMVETS post yesterday. I watched the rest over at the VFW. It is the only open wheel race that will be on at either of them all season. I know Indybashing has become quite the "in" thing. I'm sad to say it, but if I have to watch turbo mini vans, I'd far rather see them at The Speedway than on some boring Tilkedrome in Whatchacallitstan.

The split also coincides with when I started watching F1.  In addition to other sports, I couldn't follow 3 racing series, since CART raced in Canada and IRL did not, it was a pretty easy choice.

Indy has always been something special, and I do wish I could make time for Monaco and Indy every year.  A 500 mile oval race is bound to have boring elements to it.  However, racing at Indy is not like racing anywhere else.  F1 is 'proud' of how tight Monaco is, how much skill is needed to keep the cars out of the armco.  Monaco is a 90 minute procession.  Indy is 3 hours of top speed with four corners that are far less forgiving than anything Monaco has to offer.  It is a test of the best.  Simply finishing Indy is an accomplishment.  Finishing in the top 10 is not a given no matter what your name is, or who signs your pay cheque.  Winning the 500 is a true feat that overshadows anything an F1 driver can accomplish.

Even with weird looking interlock proof/aero flipping/turbo engined spec cars.

[lkjohnson1950]

Indy Is special to me, at least, and always will be. And as Eddie Cheever pointed out, if you think Indy's 4 corners are the same, you are mistaken. Each is unique and is approached differently by the drivers. Scott Dixon for example was faster around 3 and 4 than he was around 1 and 2. And while drivers ran side by side thru 1 and 2 all day, anyone on the outside of 4 was nearly certain to hit the wall. It was a good race.