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This weekend, the mythical Indianapolis 500 race takes place the same day as the prestigious Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix and the famed Coca Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Fans of every category will be treated with some of the best and most important racing of the year.
However, I'd say that the Indy 500 remains The Big Unknown. Not because I'd say it's almost impossible to predict in advance who's going to win it, but because this 500-mile race -- the jewel of the IndyCar crown -- has generated virtually no coverage this year.
Do you know who will be on pole position for Sunday's race? No? I'm not surprised. He's an American driver, Ed Carpenter. The guy who will sit beside him on the starting grid is even more unknown: Columbia's Carlos Munoz.
Then, the list of relatively anonymous drivers goes on: Viso, Hildebrand, Jakes, Bell, Newgarden, Saavedra, Beatriz, Mann, Lazier, etc...
We must confess that the departure of Miss Danica Patrick to the NASCAR Sprint Cup badly hurt the IndyCar series. Despite having won just one race in her IndyCar career, Danica was able to generate more coverage than all 33 current drivers combined!
Apart from the motorsport newspapers, magazines, and web sites almost no one talks about the Indy 500.
The battle of the engine manufacturers involving Honda and Chevrolet gets very little attention. Things get worse as the provisional point standings are lead by a former F1 driver, Japanese Takuma Sato.
Where are the true stars? Where are the hot-blooded, big mouth, controversial drivers of the past who made IndyCar racing one of the best racing series ever?
I agree that today's stars -- guys like Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Dario Franchitti -- are well mannered, good drivers, and outstanding with the media.
However, 20 or 30 years ago the fans admired the cowboys like Al and Bobby Unser, A.J. Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, and Bobby Rahal.
These guys had gut, courage, determination, talent, and they were not afraid to speak their minds. You either loved them or hated them, but they did not go unnoticed; which is not the case with today's drivers.
So, will you watch the Indy 500 on TV this Sunday?
Fans of every category will be treated with some of the best and most important racing of the year.
However, I'd say that the Indy 500 remains The Big Unknown. Not because I'd say it's almost impossible to predict in advance who's going to win it, but because this 500-mile race -- the jewel of the IndyCar crown -- has generated virtually no coverage this year.
Do you know who will be on pole position for Sunday's race? No? I'm not surprised. He's an American driver, Ed Carpenter. The guy who will sit beside him on the starting grid is even more unknown: Columbia's Carlos Munoz.
Then, the list of relatively anonymous drivers goes on: Viso, Hildebrand, Jakes, Bell, Newgarden, Saavedra, Beatriz, Mann, Lazier, etc...
We must confess that the departure of Miss Danica Patrick to the NASCAR Sprint Cup badly hurt the IndyCar series. Despite having won just one race in her IndyCar career, Danica was able to generate more coverage than all 33 current drivers combined!
Apart from the motorsport newspapers, magazines, and web sites almost no one talks about the Indy 500.
The battle of the engine manufacturers involving Honda and Chevrolet gets very little attention. Things get worse as the provisional point standings are lead by a former F1 driver, Japanese Takuma Sato.
Where are the true stars? Where are the hot-blooded, big mouth, controversial drivers of the past who made IndyCar racing one of the best racing series ever?
I agree that today's stars -- guys like Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Dario Franchitti -- are well mannered, good drivers, and outstanding with the media.
However, 20 or 30 years ago the fans admired the cowboys like Al and Bobby Unser, A.J. Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, and Bobby Rahal.
These guys had gut, courage, determination, talent, and they were not afraid to speak their minds. You either loved them or hated them, but they did not go unnoticed; which is not the case with today's drivers.
So, will you watch the Indy 500 on TV this Sunday?
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| Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway |