Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, frequently shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500, is an American race for open-wheel automobiles held annually over the Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Run for the first time in 1911, "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" is one of the oldest and richest motorsport events in existence. This event lends its name to the "IndyCar" class of race cars.

Organizational problems

At the end of the 1995 season, the Indianapolis 500 was transferred to its fourth regulations ruling body since its inception. At its very beginning, the race was organized under the auspices of the AAA (American Automobile Association), alongside the National Championship, but the USAC (United States Auto Club) took over in 1956, when it became the motor racing sanctioning authority in the USA, allowing AAA to concentrate on its membership program aimed at the general motoring public. Due to control issues of monetary prizes and regulation amendments in the 1970s, the team owners banded together and formed CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams), which started organizing the Indycar World Series in 1978. However, the Indy 500 sided with the USAC for the next several years and became the only high-level race the body still sanctioned once its own Championship series was discontinued the next year years, and the race was temporarily removed from the championship calendar, although the same cars and drivers were in attendance. The stand-off was eventually diffused and the race became part of the CART calendar in 1983. Although the race only payed the same points as any of the other races it was by far the highest-profile race of the championship, with the largest purse of the year.

Related Topics:
AAA - USAC - CART

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Despite the CART - USAC divide, from 1983 to 1994 the race was run in relative harmony, with CART and USAC occasionally disagreeing over the technical regulations. However, in 1994, IMS owner Tony George announced that he planned to remove the race from the CART series and make it the centerpiece of a new series, to be called the Indy Racing League (IRL). Opinions varied on his motivations, with his supporters sharing his disapproval of Indy's lack of status within CART when it was obvious that it was the series' flagship, the increasing number of foreign drivers with big bank accounts forcing professional American racing drivers away, and the decreasing number of oval-track races in the series, while his detractors accused George of throwing his weight around and playing politics with the race and its heritage just for a power play futhering his own interests at the expense of the sport overall.

Related Topics:
Tony George - Indy Racing League

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With an eye towards the skyrocketing popularity (and profitability) of NASCAR, the IRL was to share some of that series' emphasis on capital-A Americana, with more up-and-coming American drivers and fewer imported established champions, more oval races and fewer road courses (and especially fewer city street races, with their lack of revenue-generating grandstands), less technical sophistication and expense, and more positioning as a racing series for the whole family to enjoy. This last point was symbolized by the IRL holding its first-ever race at the new oval track at Disney World, but the event was slightly marred by the clearly audible agony of Eliseo Salazar, whose leg had been pierced by a suspension arm broken when he crashed during the race. In its first season in 1996, the IRL attracted mainly little known and inexperienced drivers, smaller teams, slower cars, and widespread ridicule as "replacement players". Both pundits and fans alike predicted success for CART and failure for the IRL, but the IRL played its hole card, the "25 and 8" rule; George announced that 25 of the 33 starting positions at Indy would be reserved for the top 25 cars in the IRL points race, effectively leaving only eight entries for teams who had not competed in the first two IRL races. CART's reaction to this move was to announce a competing race, the U.S. 500, to run on the same day as the Indy 500. Nevertheless, the showdown between the U.S. 500 and Indy 500 ended in something of a tie; relative unknown American Buddy Lazier won a competitive but crash-marred Indy, while the CART race had to be delayed when the front-row drivers collided at the start and triggered a mass pile-up, somewhat spoiling their carefuly chosen public pose as the "old pros". The U.S. 500 never generated much in the way of fan interest or TV ratings associated with a "big-time" race; it was moved from being directly opposite the Indy 500 on the same day and then discontinued altogether.

Related Topics:
NASCAR - Disney World - Eliseo Salazar - U.S. 500 - Buddy Lazier

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Since the IRL had decided that their "crown jewel", the Indy 500, should be the climactic last race of the season, the 1996 IRL season consisted of only three races; the Disney World 200 in January, the Phoenix race in March, and the Indy 500 in May. The next race, in New Hampshire in July, began the 1997 season. However, this confused fans who were used to the universal early-spring-through-late-fall season used by almost all motorsports organizations; worse, it did not meet the needs of corporate sponsors, whose budget sheets ran on the fiscal year. Therefore in September, the IRL changed their season back again to the standard early-spring-through-late-fall; however, since the 1996 season was now officially concluded and the 1997 season had already officially begun, this caused the 1997 season to run for 17 months, from the New Hampshire race in July of 1996 through the Las Vegas 500K race in November of 1997. This marathon season coming right after the three-race 1996 season did not help IRL's image as a bunch of amateurs and beginners. Finally, in 1998, IRL's calendar once more fell into sync with the rest of the automotive world.

Related Topics:
Disney World 200 - Phoenix - New Hampshire - Las Vegas 500K

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1997 George made his next move and specified new technical rules for less expensive cars and "production based" engines that outlawed the CART-spec cars that had been the mainstay of the race since the mid-1970s. For the next few years almost all of the CART teams and drivers did not compete in the race. While this situation allowed many American drivers to participate in an event they might otherwise have been unable to afford, the turbulent political situation and the absence of the many of the top Indy car drivers, the big-name sponsors and faster CART-spec cars undoubtedly cast a shadow over the race; it was certainly arguable that to the average fan the replacement of at least fairly-well-known foreign drivers by almost-unknown American ones was not perceived as a real gain.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 2000 Chip Ganassi, while still racing in the CART ChampCar World Series, made the decision to return to Indianapolis with his drivers, the 1996 CART champion Jimmy Vasser, and the 1999 CART champion Juan Pablo Montoya. On race day Montoya put in a dominating performance to win. The defeat was somewhat humiliating for the IRL teams, with the Ganassi team's pit stops frequently being several seconds quicker than their main rivals. Yet the real winner was George, who had brought back one of the CART teams, and its sponsor, to race with the IRL cars. A year later, Penske Racing, CART and Indy's most successful team, also came back to Indianapolis and won. For 2002, Penske and Ganassi became permanent entrants in the IRL, with many other former CART teams joining them in switching sides. In 2003 Honda and Toyota switched their engine supply from CART to the IRL. CART went bankrupt shortly following, with its rights and infrastructure purchased by remaining car owners.

Related Topics:
Chip Ganassi - Jimmy Vasser - Juan Pablo Montoya - Penske Racing - Honda - Toyota

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~