click above image for more pics of this year's Indy 500
Usually we have little trouble covering the big auto events of the year. Bloggers line up to go to auto shows and even for those events we don't attend in person, which are often motorsport events, there's always one or two of us who care enough to watch on TV and whip up a quick recap post.
Then there's the Indy 500, which took place at the famous Brickyard last Sunday. Not one of us watch
Read more after the jump.
[Source: Indy500.com]
NOTE: I know jack about the IRL and CART, so excuse my egregious errors above, but in my adult lifetime this form of racing in the U.S. has never been interesting enough to watch. I'll catch the Indy 500 out of respect for an historic race with a lot of history, and it's holds my attention because most of the racers are readily identifiable, unless it rains, in which case I'll obviously tune out.
I was enjoying myself watching team Andretti Green Racing dominate the field the first 100 laps of the race. AGR's Tony Kanann seemed like the man to beat during those first 100 laps, but fellow team member Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick were in the hunt and had to deal with charges from Team Penske's Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish, Jr. all afternoon.
Shortly after the race became official with 101 laps, the rain began to fall and the race was delayed with Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick in the 1-2-3 spots. That's where this blogger got up and left, because in between telling us viewers over and over what a coincidence it was that Marco Andretti could possibly finish in second for the second year in a row if the race were stopped on account of rain, the announcers were saying it would take hours for the track to be dried if the race even started again at all.
So whatever happened after that you can read here just like I did, but the race ended up restarting and ultimately getting called on account of rain on Lap 163. The guy who just happened to be in the lead at the time was Team AGR's Dario Franchitti, who said of his win, "I kind of have half an idea of what it means to win this race now." This guy's married to Ashley Judd, which, after the way this race ended, convinces us he is the luckiest man alive.
NOTE: Curiously, we were convinced none of you were interested in the results either, as not a single comment or tip came in asking us to post the results.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Proud Japanese @ May 29th 2007 2:07PM
They cancel races due to rain? lol sissies.
DemaSRV @ May 29th 2007 2:14PM
It'd be incredibly stupid not to cancel the race due to rain, considering these cars were 220+ throughout the entire race...
British_Rover @ May 29th 2007 2:10PM
That shot of Ashley Judd in the wet t-shirt is the only reason I read this article. It is a sad day in the history of the Indy 500
Jay Evans @ May 29th 2007 2:26PM
"That shot of Ashley Judd in the wet t-shirt is the only reason I read this article."
It was a dress. :P
Yaktastic @ May 29th 2007 2:23PM
um, "Not one of us watch CART" indy 500 is IRL...
i think that still explains that you don't watch or see what has happened to the american open wheeled serieses since the mid nineties, but that was an interesting little blunder that i think is yet still indicative of what the cart/irl division has cused in this nation.
anyway, i only caught the last wreck filled/simply stupid half hour. it just got to be silly. cold tires, spotty rain, last dash for track position knowing that the final red flag was coming. i don't care how boring some of you think it is, give me monaco any day above the hopeless and the clueless vying for the ice cream truck "me first" solution.
Yaktastic @ May 29th 2007 2:25PM
oh and your "champ car" edit didn't fix it.
:)
loyed @ May 29th 2007 2:26PM
"Then there's the Indy 500, which took place at the famous Brickyard last Sunday. Not one of us watch CART, instead favoring the American LeMans Series as our motorsport of choice, with NASCAR's Nextel Cup coming in a distant second perhaps. Knowing this about Team Autoblog, I set aside some time on Sunday to watch the Indianapolis 500."
Ummmm does that statement mean Autoblog thinks the Indy 500 is a CART race?? If so then I wonder how much they really know about racing.....
David @ May 29th 2007 2:30PM
Oh please!! John Neff, did it occur to you that the reason no one asked Autoblog to post the results might be because all of us who cared about them already knew?
I won't be asking you to post ANY racing results given that I can get them from watching the races myself or find them online in real time without waiting.
As for racing in the rain; there are run-off areas in road racing, not in ovals. What would be the point of even trying anyway given that every spin means someone hits a wall at 200mph plus and the race is yellow flagged to clear away the wreck? All you'd have is a procession interrupted by every now and then by a restart. Then someone would spin and the whole thing would get repeated.
Dustin @ May 29th 2007 2:36PM
Ready and more than willing knowledgeable racing blogger waiting here for Autoblog.
kracker @ May 29th 2007 2:38PM
please do try to get it right, it is Indy Racing League, not CART or Champ Car.
mj @ May 29th 2007 2:40PM
I can't say I'm nostalgic for the days when Indy 500 was popular. It's oval racing without any contact, which is the only feature that makes Nascar interesting.
And I'm pretty sure no one cared about the female racers.
Joe K. @ May 29th 2007 2:50PM
I remember in the late 80s to early 90s when Indy was such a big deal. Fittpaldi, Villenueve, Goodyear, Nigel Mansell came to race... And then the crash, good-bye Turbos, and development, hello Oldsmobile Aurora and inifiniti V8s... And as the series wen away from innovation the sport found less fans waiting for it every year.... Eerily metaphoric for much of the industry today...
bathtub gin @ May 29th 2007 2:52PM
It is a sad commentary on the state of what was once a premier sporting event. Apparently, the only publicity they get at all is because Danica Patrick is in the field - certainly that's all you hear regarding the race in mainstream sports outlets. Even that might run out soon if she doesn't win one.
berne1 @ May 29th 2007 2:59PM
So, they still run those crapwagons...?
And Franchitti happened to be the guy in front when they happened to cancel the race. Is it just me, or has Ashley gotten a lot less hot over the years?
Phil @ May 29th 2007 8:40PM
It's just you.
Mr. Oak @ May 29th 2007 3:14PM
They cancel races due to rain? lol sissies.
Proud JAP, you are the consumate idiot. There are a few facts that your ignorant ass need to be educated on.
1). A competitive/contending (Top 15) car at INDY in green flag conditions are operating at the regged edge. Lap speeds above 220 mph is the norm. Trap speeds can exceed 250 mph.
2). INDY is esentially a two and a half mile bull-ring. Ringed with 6 ton concrete blocks that make up the walls, "SAFER" barriers in the turns. No kitty-litter to slow the cars, no tire barriers.
3): The current track sits on top of the original track which was made of millions of bricks. It does not drain as well as a modern track. With standing puddles/lakes of water on the track, you would have to be a special kind of idiot, to even think about running that race in the rain.
Yo, I am a big F1 fan, I've seen their races\parades in the rain.
BTW: When is Japan going to field a driver that can win a F1 race?
John Neff @ May 29th 2007 3:16PM
Like I said above, I am not the most qualified to be writing about motorsports, but Stuart used to be our race coverage guy and he doesn't have much time to blog these days. I thought the race deserved a mention and would've been more excited about it had the rain not unfortunately cut the race short. That said, if any of you out there are way into all forms of motorsports and can string together a coherent sentence with some flair, drop me a line at abresearch at gmail dot com and tell me about yourself. Couple samples couldn't hurt either.
Brad @ May 29th 2007 3:16PM
If Tony George had not been so greedy back in the mid 90's, the Indy 500 might still the great event it once was. But since he decided to take his ball and go home, you're left with these watered down fields and they barely have enough cars to make the 33 car grid.
Eric Elliott @ May 29th 2007 3:22PM
Yep, the Indy 500 isn't Champ Car either, it is IRL.
At least you didn't say Formula 1. :)
Mike @ May 29th 2007 3:30PM
BOTTOM LINE:
Indy is DEAD.
When the hell is the USA gonna wise up to Formula 1?
I'll be rooting for Scott Speed in the STR Ferrari, in the mean time enjoy the Whatever 500...the one race maybe 1,000 Americans watch full of drivers they have never heard of and don't care about when their cookout gets rained out.
Between CART and F1 there is no room for Indy. Wise up.