Anyone care about the Indy 500?

[Mike Deneen]

Although it has been overtaken by NASCAR in the past 15-20 years, those of us aged 40 and over can remember when the Indy 500 was a major American event. It was by far the largest auto race of the year, and even non-racing fans watched it.

Some in the national press is predicting that Indy will begin a turnaround this year. They cite IndyCar unification, the presence of Danica Patrick, and the newfound fame of "Dancing with the Stars" winner Helio Castroneves.

Any thoughts?

[Valerie Molinski]

I am a huge fan of open wheel racing. While I preferred champ car to the IRL, I can appreciate the need for unification. There was no money in the Champ league and they struggled for a long time. I love road races much more than oval racing... maybe the IRL can mix it up and do less ovals or something. Unfortunately, only 5 teams from Champ really made the jump. And as you can see, drivers have followed the money and notoriety to Nascar away from open wheel (Franchitti, Montoya, Hornish, etc...)

I love that Danica went after Briscoe for hitting her in the pits. People make a big deal out of it because she's a chick, but any guy would have done the same. Im just glad she finally won a race, so that people can stop saying she is all show and no go. As far as Helio, last year's winner, I have heard from many people that he is a super nice guy and his fame is well deserved.

[Stan Austin]

I've been following Danica's progress. Throw out all the cliches, misconceptions, what have you. She's steady as a rock. She has progressed steadily and owners have increasingly trusted her with better cars.
Her key is 1) she doesn't wreck the cars (yesterday's mishap was the fault of another idiot), and 2) she's a steady and relentless driver. That means fuel efficiency which won her her first race.
That idiot is lucky that Indy security took her away from a confrontation.