Indy Invited Me To Baltimore And Now My Head Hurts

"Raphael Orlove" (orlove) 09/02/2013 at 13:14 • Filed to: IndyCar, Motorsports, Baltimore

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This was my first IndyCar race (technically, it was only the second full IndyCar race I'd ever seen, counting TV) and I was surprised at how many fans came from all all age groups, all of whom were having a great time, with tons of access and exciting racing to watch.

So now I have a few questions.

Is IndyCar really struggling as a series? It always seemed to me that IndyCar is in jeopardy. I come to IndyCar from an F1 fan's perspective. F1 has huge global viewership, while IndyCar is restricted to pretty much just the US market. Talking to the fans, everyone seemed happy that not too many people showed up to the race, and you could easily bump into your favorite driver strolling through a crowd. Maybe IndyCar is small (since its market is so much smaller than F1's) but still healthy.

Is IndyCar viewership on the rise or on the decline? When I think of the glory years of American open wheel racing, I think of the '20s, when Miller was building among the most advanced, powerful race cars anywhere in the world. I think of the '60s, when the Indy 500 brought in the world's best drivers and cars from around the world, and was open to some totally gonzo design experimentation. And I think of the late '80s, when Alfa Romeo, Porsche, and maybe almost Ferrari came to compete in the fastest racing series in the world, which threatened to take over F1's role as the dominant international open-wheel racing series. But I don't know if today's current series is on an upswing from the '90s and '00s, or if it is still in a continuing decline from its last glory days. I have no long-term viewership data to look at, and I haven't been watching the series for very long at all.

Who the hell watches IndyCar? When I was at Baltimore, the crowd was reasonably mixed across ages, races, and incomes. Still, the dominant group was middle-aged families with very young kids. Is this healthy for a racing series? Does it offer as much potential as, say, drifting, which is cheap and almost totally populated by that ever-so-desirable teens-through-thirties age group?

Are the race cars as bad as I think they are? I mean, their sidepods are hideous. They're very curvaceous, but they make the cars look fat, and in the racing world, a fat car is an uncompetitive car. Put an IndyCar next to an F1 car, and you'll immediately understand which is the first-rate machine and which is the secondary. That said, these Dallaras may be safe in a way that I don't quite understand (F1 cars aren't dealing with close packs at over 200mph), they seem to have a very good aero package in terms of not greatly hindering the car behind them (unlike F1), and their closed-rear-wheel design may have been decided upon after a number of crashes when cars locked their wheels together. Again, this is stuff I'm not familiar with.

The central issue, I suppose, is that I don't know how IndyCar has really been doing while I haven't been watching. The series seems to have so many strengths, with lots of passing, a strong field where many more drivers have a shot at winning (particularly when compared to F1, where three quarters of the field only bothers to show up to try and collect points), a very fan-friendly atmosphere at the races, a cheap price of entry for potential teams, decent tracks (even as an F1 fan I want to watch open wheel racing at Pocono and the Glen, thought that's been off the calendar for a while), and the Indy 500 itself (which I've never had any interest in sitting through, but brings a lot of history and momentum to the series).

Those are my big questions. If you have any opinion on these matters, shout 'em out, these aren't rhetorical. Also, if you think you can explain the legendary fallout in American open wheel history and how Nascar took over as America's motorsports, give it a shot. I've never heard a particularly clear explanation of the whole thing. Most importantly though, if you have any thoughts on what is or is not right with IndyCar, here's a place to let that all out.

Photo Credit: Me

Somethingwittyer likes noisy > Raphael Orlove 09/02/2013 at 13:34

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I was surprised to see so many people who knew what they were talking about. That said, a good chunk of the people who were in attendance happened to be inside the convention center because

1. It was really damn hot out (to the point were my Ipad had to shut down because it overheated) and they didn't care that much about the race

2. There were a lot of family attractions inside

I'm not complaining, just means less people were standing around near turn one. Also, the GP was advertised more as an event, with the race just being one of the attractions. I'll let you make up your mind about that.

Blondude > Raphael Orlove 09/02/2013 at 13:36

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Porsche probably knows. Porsche always knows. Just wait for him to show up.

McLarry > Raphael Orlove 09/02/2013 at 13:51

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You don't really have to be an Indy fan to go to the race...compared to going to an Orioles or Ravens game it could be cheaper than either and a much bigger/better event. I'm a racing fan in general, but I don't follow Indy closely (I prefer F1), but I live not too far from Baltimore and the prices were reasonable so...why the heck not? We passed on Sunday, but Saturday they had a bit of everything...IMSA, ALMS, Indy lights, Indy... I brought my sister along who's not really a race fan at all and just wanted something to do (tho she is a pretty big Patrick Dempsey fan...) and she loved it - we saw the ALMS race Saturday and now she wants to watch every race. We saw lots of families bring their kids, which is cool (less than half the kids I saw had earplugs, though....cmon parents.).

Raphael Orlove > Somethingwittyer likes noisy 09/02/2013 at 13:53

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It was indeed hot as balls. On the plus side, the underground, air conditioned paddock was pretty cool.

Raphael Orlove > Blondude 09/02/2013 at 13:54

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He's on CA time, but yes, I hope he and the rest of Oppo's motorsports contingent drops some knowledge here.

Raphael Orlove > McLarry 09/02/2013 at 13:56

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Yeah, Saturday was the day to go. When you watch a race live, it's really not all that different from watching practice live, and getting to see all the sports car racing was a great bonus. And there were a few battles that were definitely worth watching in GT3 Cup, yeah.

McLarry > Raphael Orlove 09/02/2013 at 14:04

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Ha, exactly... and watching the ALMS race it was pretty hard to tell what was going on without screens around (we were between turns 2 and 3). Conversely, it was pretty funny to see how much people came out to see the race live and stood there watching the screen instead of the track. Twitter finally showed it's usefulness, @ALMSNotes tweets all the penalties and cautions so that was a big help. DVR'd the race so I could rewatch and actually follow the action. If it happens again next year, I think I'll have to splurge for those chicane suites...Tried standing there and at turns 1, 2, 9, and 11 throughout the day but the chicane had the best action I think.

desertdog5051 > Raphael Orlove 09/02/2013 at 14:14

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You must attend the Indy 500 then.

Raphael Orlove > McLarry 09/02/2013 at 14:14

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I thought you could get a pretty decent view of the chicane if you stood out in the sun in the big stands just after them, but not many were willing to bake like that. I was also a big fan of watching the braking zone into T1 (where many IndyCar spotters hung out) and watching the T5/6/7 complex was also fun, though devoid of much passing.

Raphael Orlove > desertdog5051 09/02/2013 at 14:16

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That's what everyone tells me, and I agree with them. My thinking is, getting people to actually attend the Indy 500 isn't a great way to gain viewers. How many people actually go to the Monaco GP? How many people actually make it out to Le Mans?

Maybe I'm wrong, though. maybe the Indy 500 is one thing that IndyCar gets right.

GatorEight > Raphael Orlove 09/02/2013 at 14:43

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I didn't catch much of the race but I can agree that Saturday was the best day to go to see everything. Aside from IndyCar, the ALMS paddocks were full of action. There were wrecked cars and broken car parts littering the parking lot. One of my colleagues tried to claim a hood from a destroyed 458. He didn't get away with it, but it was still cool to see the carbon fiber and lift a hood that weighed so litte. The entire paddock cleared out and headed to Texas by morning, so no one on Sunday got to witness that angle of American motorsports.

desertdog5051 > Raphael Orlove 09/02/2013 at 14:50

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I think it is the feeling that pervades at that race. Sort of like Daytona in February for NASCAR, US Nationals for drag racing, Monaco for F-1.

McLarry > Raphael Orlove 09/02/2013 at 14:53

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Yeah I stood at the chicane by the big stands for the 2nd half of Indy Qualifying and , oh what amazing noise. The view from the ground wasn't great but you could see the chicane. If the view was better (and the sun not so bad) I might've stayed there the entire day. Turn 5/6/7 was next on my list to check out but never got there...I'd love to find a good spot near there to watch all the pit lane action.