2143 replies to this topic

[Dolph]

I gotta quick little story. I got a picture of Newgarden & Pagenaud at Pocono Raceway a couple of years ago. We had quick chat before the picture was taken & they complimented the hat I was wearing. Looking back on this picture with two Indy 500 winners on either side. I'm very great full

And said picture is where?

[Muppetmad]

https://twitter.com/...578865111793669

 

Danica tends to come across in her TV engagements as very relaxed, but just from this clip, you can tell just how much she cares about the 500 without her having to say a word.

[Jim Thurman]

And, again, in the United States, Memorial Day is to salute war dead. It started as Decoration Day, placing flags and flowers on the graves of Civil War dead. That was first celebrated in 1868, 50+ years before Armistice Day/Rememberance Day/Veteran's Day, so one could say Rememberance Day was your version of Decoration Day. Not the other way 'round.

[Jim Thurman]

https://twitter.com/...578865111793669

 

Danica tends to come across in her TV engagements as very relaxed, but just from this clip, you can tell just how much she cares about the 500 without her having to say a word.

I thought this was her (and Mike Tirico's) reaction to the Rosenqvist/Kirkwood crash.

[red stick]

We had a cheat for a few days where hitting the quote button revealed photos, but that is apparently no longer operative.  

[Myrvold]

We had a cheat for a few days where hitting the quote button revealed photos, but that is apparently no longer operative.  

 

It is.

 

It's just that a picture needs to be posted for it to work 

[ensign14]

https://twitter.com/...578865111793669

 

Danica tends to come across in her TV engagements as very relaxed, but just from this clip, you can tell just how much she cares about the 500 without her having to say a word.

 

It's still staggering how Indycar allowed NASCAR to sabotage one of the few major mainstream stars.
 

[B Squared]

   Well , that was interesting .

 

    Glad Josef won , BUT somehow like with Johncock's win in 1973   , this win just doesnt seem as "earned" as it  could have been  with the mess at the end.  Time will tell if over time this races becomes better in retrospect  than what it seems now.

 

 The  1st red flag wasnt needed , and it created a "snowball" ( pun intended) effect where  throwing red flags became the solution to problem that the 1st red flag created. To me it RUINED  the race.   

It's funny you mention Johncock's 1973 win, as I was thinking about the comparison this afternoon too. For nine following years we were told it was a hollow victory that needed to be backed up with a legitimate win. If it was applicable to Gordon Johncock in 1973, is it applicable in Josef;s case? I personally don't think either is to be looked at as hollow, as they both played with the cards given them, but I didn't care for the ending sequence. I totally agree with point two.

Edited by B Squared, 30 May 2023 - 20:47.

[B Squared]

It's still staggering how Indycar allowed NASCAR to sabotage one of the few major mainstream stars.

I think the NASCAR money at the time made her decision to split quite easy.

[loki]

I think the NASCAR money at the time made her decision to split quite easy.

There were hundreds of little girls and their parents clamoring for an autograph when she was in Cup.  Even though her results weren’t often good Go Daddy got their moneis worth.  She’s great with the fans and good on TV.

[Lotus72b]

And said picture is where?

On my phone

[jonpollak]

I thought this was her (and Mike Tirico's) reaction to the Rosenqvist/Kirkwood crash.

A little earlier than that if I recall.
They are watching into turn 1





Jp

[ensign14]

I think the NASCAR money at the time made her decision to split quite easy.

 

The point is that Indycar should have offered more.  Somehow.

[FLB]

Another piece of good news: NBC Sports PR sur Twitter : "Indy 500 Averages Nearly Five Million Viewers on NBC and @peacock, Up 2% vs. 2022 More: https://t.co/CdSB88Br98 https://t.co/f650HANnUJ" / Twitter

[jonpollak]

5.8 Million at its peak (last red flags).

https://racer.com/20...s-for-indy-500/


Jp

[juicy sushi]

That’s a number I haven’t heard in a LONG time for an Indycar race.

[LolaB0860]

The average for both 2022 and 2023 is significantly behind 2021 though. 2023 average is marginally higher than 2022 and 2018 but behind every other year (except for the delayed 2020 Covid race which obviously has record low ratings)

Edited by LolaB0860, 31 May 2023 - 10:25.

[B Squared]

A couple of views on Sunday's race

 

The Indy 500 renaissance is real (msn.com)

 

The 2023 Indy 500 Finish Set A Nasty Precedent For Oval Racing (jalopnik.com)

[Jops14]

I loved the race, up until the wnd where people lost their hesds

Personally put the blame solely on Pato, he nearly lost the car when he swerved back down, just far too rash. Newgarden was starting to gap and he panicked

I think either of top 2 were worthy winners (Ericsson just so consistent) he was unlucky the way he lost it though.

Just hyped Newgarden took the win (and i removed him from my fantasy team an hour before the race!!)

[eibyyz]

The point is that Indycar should have offered more.  Somehow.

 

Jeff Gordon Mk. II.

[Ross Stonefeld]

Well yeah, in that they're both myths. Her sponsors wanted to do NASCAR. She attracted even more sponsorship in NASCAR. Keeping Danica in Indycar would have cost more money than the TV deal probably and for very little gain. Danica benefitted from racing, the series she was in far less so.

[Jim Thurman]

A little earlier than that if I recall.
They are watching into turn 1

Right you are jp    Around mid-race. Likely a dive bomb into T1.

 

Total brain cramp on my part.

[Afterburner]

What a trip! Those who've been to the 500 before (and I'm sure some of you have been more years than I might end up living) will have heard all of this before, but I'm going to share anyway because this is a forum and it's what we do, right?

It was quite the road trip to get there—after six hours of driving my wife and I united with my parents and we went the remaining 9 hours together. Of course, no roadtrip is complete without some beaver, which sustained us on our journey to a Sleep Inn on the seedy side of the Shadeland Township. Dinner was at an American staple.

It was in the low 40s Fahrenheit on Carb Day (close to 4 °C aka refrigerator temp) morning. We arrived early and thankfully it was warm and sunny by the time things were underway. On the recommendation of several who have frequented the race as well as the commentary team at NBC, we were camped out at Turn 1 for the entirety of final practice. It was difficult to get good pictures through the fence but not at all difficult to be blown away by the insane speeds of these cars. Seriously, if you're in the "oval racing is boring and takes no skill" camp, go watch an IndyCar race (preferably this one) in person. Your mind will be changed. Townsend Bell was right when he said during qualifying that the first time he watched the drivers do qualifying runs from outside the car, it suddenly didn't seem like such a sane idea!

After practice, we went to eat. I am not enough of a Marcus Ericsson fan to get the "Marcus Ericsson Championship Fries" but I'm sure there were several who did and maybe some who became new fans (in case you're wondering, I definitely would've preferred the Ericsson fries to the Ed Carpenter fries). During lunch we discovered that the midwestern obsession with cheese is not a myth and afterwards took a tour through some of the merchandise shops, where we found a signed Grosjean diecast inconspicuously sitting on the shelves. I forgot to take a picture because I was distracted by my dad wearing one of the silly giant IMS hats. Oh well. Once I finally found a Scott Dixon hat we wandered over to the only part of the midway worth visiting (yes I would say that) and then suddenly IMSA.

Now some of you may be aware that Indy holds a concert on Carb Day. I had no intention of going until I learned who the headline act was. As with any concert, waiting in line required sitting in a cloud of weed smoke visible from space, but I'm fairly certain I wasn't hallucinating when I saw Indiana police officers on ponies. Speaking of ponies, the opening act was a band called Soul Asylum, who, as far as I could tell, played about 12 variations of the same song for what felt like 400 years. I guess you'd appreciate them you were into pseudo-intellectual, cringingly angsty, ball-less 90's coffee shop grunge, but at some point midway through the fourth song (I'm making this up I have no idea how many songs they played) I was willing to trade places with Kyle Kirkwood circa 3:30 PM on Sunday afternoon, even though we were getting to watch on the front row. Thankfully, once Soul Asylum vacated the stage and Doug E. Ballz himself appeared (thanks DWR), we knew things were going to get better. The difference between Soul Asylum and our headline act? Every single person in the crowd knew all the words to every song he played. It was pretty much magical and unless I get to see David Gilmour may end up being the best concert I ever attend.

We took a break on Saturday and went sightseeing. My wife loves nature and hiking so we went to a fabulously secluded area called Eagle Creek Park. If you prefer the Walden-like tranquility of wildlife to the bustling industrial cityscape that is many a midwestern urban center, you won't be disappointed. We had planned on eating at Tegry Bistro, a spot we'd heard many amazing things about, but ultimately ate a nearby, perfectly lovely Asian restaurant named Kasai. Unfortunately I was a bit photography'd out from taking so many nature photos at this point, but I ate a plate of sesame chicken the size of my face for $10. Hard to beat that. On our way out we passed a record store with a familiar design and stocked on provisions at Walmart, where I was delighted to see that local merchandise support for the race is as strong as local support for college sports teams in Anytown USA.

I don't have many pictures from race day. Mostly because I was enjoying the race. On the way in I did have a laugh at the locals gouging race-goers for last-minute parking, or the locals who apparently were able to justify investing in branded vending machines for this one day of the year. As I'd mentioned in the build-up to the race, our seats were just across from the last row, and before they gridded we got to see the world's largest drum as well as the fabled Borg Warner trophy pass us by. The weather on race day was just about as perfect as you could've wanted it to be, and the pre-race ceremonies were spellbinding and emotional. I can't even describe what it was like—you just have to be there to get the atmosphere, the significance of it all, the importance this race and those moments have to so many who've been going for so long.

The race itself went by faster than I'd imagined it would. While I'd been to the Speedway for F1 before, and a NASCAR oval race at Daytona, and was familiar with the sound of the cars echoing throughout the track, I was stunned at how quiet the Indy cars were in comparison. When they were surging down the back stretch, there was relative calm. The most wonderful part of it all to me was how great the crowd was—they knew the significance of everything that happened and cheered for almost every driver. Maybe you could say this of a lot of places—I've been to F1, IndyCar, IMSA, NASCAR, and SCCA races at eleven (?) different tracks—but I truly feel that Indianapolis has the best fans of any sporting event anywhere in the world. The roar that Newgarden received upon crossing the line was almost mythical.

Knowing we weren't getting anywhere quickly, we stuck around for the full post-race celebration. We had a pretty good view of Victory Circle, and thankfully our view of the parade lap was unobstructed by "Spider Mans" (thanks Josef). The parking area had transformed into a giant tailgate by race's end and it took us until 7:15 PM to get out of our lot. No worries, though, as we ran into some old IMSA friends while we waited.

What an unbelievable experience. Al Jr. was right: "You just don't know what Indy means."

We're already planning on going again next year.

[GlenWatkins]

Great post! 👍

[Jim Thurman]

I thought it was a great, if frenetic, race until the red flag madness. Not a fan of that (or green/white/checkered) in NASCAR, and even less of a fan of it for Indycar. Yes, every effort should be made to insure a green flag finish, within reason.

 

I'm old enough to recall when the Indianapolis 500 was a true grind, a real endurance race. So, that - and the strategy with it - has been lost. But, then again when Sebring and LeMans are run at almost sprint paces, what's to be expected? 

 

Also, as Ross has mentioned in the past, the great reliability has taken a lot out of it. Having 19 cars on the lead lap for a green/white/checkered, or 30 cars running around at 150 laps, is something I could not have imagined as a kid. I recall years where 10 or fewer cars were on track by the end. Grosjean finished 30th...and he crashed out on lap 150(!).

[HerbieMcQueen]

What a trip! Those who've been to the 500 before (and I'm sure some of you have been more years than I might end up living) will have heard all of this before, but I'm going to share anyway because this is a forum and it's what we do, right?

It was quite the road trip to get there—after six hours of driving my wife and I united with my parents and we went the remaining 9 hours together. Of course, no roadtrip is complete without some beaver, which sustained us on our journey to a Sleep Inn on the seedy side of the Shadeland Township. Dinner was at an American staple.

It was in the low 40s Fahrenheit on Carb Day (close to 4 °C aka refrigerator temp) morning. We arrived early and thankfully it was warm and sunny by the time things were underway. On the recommendation of several who have frequented the race as well as the commentary team at NBC, we were camped out at Turn 1 for the entirety of final practice. It was difficult to get good pictures through the fence but not at all difficult to be blown away by the insane speeds of these cars. Seriously, if you're in the "oval racing is boring and takes no skill" camp, go watch an IndyCar race (preferably this one) in person. Your mind will be changed. Townsend Bell was right when he said during qualifying that the first time he watched the drivers do qualifying runs from outside the car, it suddenly didn't seem like such a sane idea!

After practice, we went to eat. I am not enough of a Marcus Ericsson fan to get the "Marcus Ericsson Championship Fries" but I'm sure there were several who did and maybe some who became new fans (in case you're wondering, I definitely would've preferred the Ericsson fries to the Ed Carpenter fries). During lunch we discovered that the midwestern obsession with cheese is not a myth and afterwards took a tour through some of the merchandise shops, where we found a signed Grosjean diecast inconspicuously sitting on the shelves. I forgot to take a picture because I was distracted by my dad wearing one of the silly giant IMS hats. Oh well. Once I finally found a Scott Dixon hat we wandered over to the only part of the midway worth visiting (yes I would say that) and then suddenly IMSA.

Now some of you may be aware that Indy holds a concert on Carb Day. I had no intention of going until I learned who the headline act was. As with any concert, waiting in line required sitting in a cloud of weed smoke visible from space, but I'm fairly certain I wasn't hallucinating when I saw Indiana police officers on ponies. Speaking of ponies, the opening act was a band called Soul Asylum, who, as far as I could tell, played about 12 variations of the same song for what felt like 400 years. I guess you'd appreciate them you were into pseudo-intellectual, cringingly angsty, ball-less 90's coffee shop grunge, but at some point midway through the fourth song (I'm making this up I have no idea how many songs they played) I was willing to trade places with Kyle Kirkwood circa 3:30 PM on Sunday afternoon, even though we were getting to watch on the front row. Thankfully, once Soul Asylum vacated the stage and Doug E. Ballz himself appeared (thanks DWR), we knew things were going to get better. The difference between Soul Asylum and our headline act? Every single person in the crowd knew all the words to every song he played. It was pretty much magical and unless I get to see David Gilmour may end up being the best concert I ever attend.

We took a break on Saturday and went sightseeing. My wife loves nature and hiking so we went to a fabulously secluded area called Eagle Creek Park. If you prefer the Walden-like tranquility of wildlife to the bustling industrial cityscape that is many a midwestern urban center, you won't be disappointed. We had planned on eating at Tegry Bistro, a spot we'd heard many amazing things about, but ultimately ate a nearby, perfectly lovely Asian restaurant named Kasai. Unfortunately I was a bit photography'd out from taking so many nature photos at this point, but I ate a plate of sesame chicken the size of my face for $10. Hard to beat that. On our way out we passed a record store with a familiar design and stocked on provisions at Walmart, where I was delighted to see that local merchandise support for the race is as strong as local support for college sports teams in Anytown USA.

I don't have many pictures from race day. Mostly because I was enjoying the race. On the way in I did have a laugh at the locals gouging race-goers for last-minute parking, or the locals who apparently were able to justify investing in branded vending machines for this one day of the year. As I'd mentioned in the build-up to the race, our seats were just across from the last row, and before they gridded we got to see the world's largest drum as well as the fabled Borg Warner trophy pass us by. The weather on race day was just about as perfect as you could've wanted it to be, and the pre-race ceremonies were spellbinding and emotional. I can't even describe what it was like—you just have to be there to get the atmosphere, the significance of it all, the importance this race and those moments have to so many who've been going for so long.

The race itself went by faster than I'd imagined it would. While I'd been to the Speedway for F1 before, and a NASCAR oval race at Daytona, and was familiar with the sound of the cars echoing throughout the track, I was stunned at how quiet the Indy cars were in comparison. When they were surging down the back stretch, there was relative calm. The most wonderful part of it all to me was how great the crowd was—they knew the significance of everything that happened and cheered for almost every driver. Maybe you could say this of a lot of places—I've been to F1, IndyCar, IMSA, NASCAR, and SCCA races at eleven (?) different tracks—but I truly feel that Indianapolis has the best fans of any sporting event anywhere in the world. The roar that Newgarden received upon crossing the line was almost mythical.

Knowing we weren't getting anywhere quickly, we stuck around for the full post-race celebration. We had a pretty good view of Victory Circle, and thankfully our view of the parade lap was unobstructed by "Spider Mans" (thanks Josef). The parking area had transformed into a giant tailgate by race's end and it took us until 7:15 PM to get out of our lot. No worries, though, as we ran into some old IMSA friends while we waited.

What an unbelievable experience. Al Jr. was right: "You just don't know what Indy means."

We're already planning on going again next year.

 

What a beautiful write up. There really is nothing on Earth like the Indianapolis 500, and I haven't always been able to fully articulate it to friends or family. Likely being because IMS isn't a matter of the mind, but that of the heart.

 

Glad you had a good time.

[jonpollak]

I second that emotion.
Thank You AB for the wonderful recollection.

Jp

[jonpollak]

The average for both 2022 and 2023 is significantly behind 2021 though. 2023 average is marginally higher than 2022 and 2018 but behind every other year…yada yada yada.

WRONG AGAIN…

See the link in FLB’s post

“ Sunday’s race (12:48-4:19 p.m. ET), which was won by Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden in a thrilling last-lap pass over 2022 winner, delivered a 13 share (percentage of homes watching television at the time of the race), its best in 15 years “

Jp

[ensign14]

I'm old enough to recall when the Indianapolis 500 was a true grind, a real endurance race. So, that - and the strategy with it - has been lost. But, then again when Sebring and LeMans are run at almost sprint paces, what's to be expected?

 

I still think they missed a trick by not having the 100th anniversary race (or the 100th running) as the Indianapolis 1,000...

[loki]

The point is that Indycar should have offered more.  Somehow.

I don‘t know Indycar had the viewership to fully leverage her popularity to scale compared to how popular Nascar was at the time.   The reach and demographic of Nascar was much wider which lead to her outsized popularity.  I don’t see Indycar having the reach at the time to make her as famous as she was.

[amerikalei]

I wonder if anyone (MP?) will get to do a deep dive about the Cannon/Foyt interaction, because they were the big surprise of the month.  Did they get a big cash infusion as well as new engineering talent?  And like him or not (personally, I've not been a fan, but maybe he's matured..), I'd have been happy for the team if Ferrucci had pulled it off at the 500.  The kid drove a strong race and stayed clean, but also looked like he was driving hard without blowing it.  Wonder if they stay together as a team for next year?

[jonpollak]

No comment needed.

https://twitter.com/...tCLRgzN2HXWvyAQ

Jp

[Alan Lewis]

What a trip!...

This post perfectly encapsulates why the IndyCar threads are the best part of this forum.

[FLB]

The fan whose car was hit is getting a new car from IMS: Nathan Brown sur Twitter : "Robin Matthews isn't going to have to worry about how to explain this wild story from Sunday to her insurance company. IMS says it's getting her a new car: https://t.co/Ha9giiaaYC" / Twitter

[jonpollak]

Jp

[B Squared]

Doug Boles hires Kanaan at IMS:

 

Tony Kanaan, family help clean up after tearing up grass during Indy 500 - YouTube

[B Squared]

I still think they missed a trick by not having the 100th anniversary race (or the 100th running) as the Indianapolis 1,000...

So are you advocating for the 48 Hours of Le Mans this weekend? 

[ensign14]

So are you advocating for the 48 Hours of Le Mans this weekend? 

tbf they could do the 72 hours over the next 3 years

[Anja]

A happy conclusion to the flying wheel story - the owner of the wrecked car got a replacement.

 

https://twitter.com/...925706983456786

[jonpollak]

She’ll live large off this for ages.



Jp

[AustinF1]

A happy conclusion to the flying wheel story - the owner of the wrecked car got a replacement.

 

https://twitter.com/...925706983456786

That's good. Much better than the alternate ending of that story. Scary.

[B Squared]

A happy conclusion to the flying wheel story - the owner of the wrecked car got a replacement.

 

https://twitter.com/...925706983456786

I'd heard IMS had gotten her a new car within a week of the race. Rumor was a "pace car" which would have been a nice new Corvette, but pace truck is a great alternative. She should name her new rig "Lucky."

[Risil]

Haha, love it

[red stick]

I'd heard IMS had gotten her a new car within a week of the race. Rumor was a "pace car" which would have been a nice new Corvette, but pace truck is a great alternative. She should name her new rig "Lucky."

Or "Firestone."