All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL) racing thread

Decent grandstand seats run about $100 face value and this is the first time in a long time they've sold out. You should be able to get them directly from the track. In recent years you could still get good seats into early May, but if you know you're going I'd do it much earlier. I can't price hotels for you cause I always stay with family, but I know the days of having to stay far, far away are mostly over.

In recent years we've been paying to park in Lot 2 - $40 - so my uncle could be close to our seats due to his health. The track owned lots tend to sellout a good bit in advance. I think it's been worth it.

 

We parked at a house near Lot 2 for $75 for Saturday afternoon until after the race. We have friends who rent a camping spot and an RV, and a few of us just bring tents and squat there. I finally had to tap out at 1:30 a.m. or so and the party was still going strong. Lot 2's culture is pretty grown-up, for the most part. Rowdy, but safe and law-abiding. The "Coke Lot," as I understand it and as I've observed it, is the outdoor frat house gone wild.

I don't know the hotel situation, either, because we've always done it either like this or stayed at my friend's house, and bought parking passes ahead of time.

I'd highly recommend camping out. Then you're there in the morning to avoid the worst of the traffic. More importantly, you can get that grill fired up, and then get in the track in time to soak up all the festivities and atmosphere.

I'm sad it's over. 365 days to go, give or take.

 

Oh, and my seats are always about $100. You can also try to scalp race day morning. I got in for $50 a couple years ago.

 

I didn't start going until 2002, so I never experienced the race before and after the split. By the time I started going, I suppose the event was on the rebound. I've never once been there and felt like it was anything less than the biggest single-day sporting event in the world. (Although I suppose it's really a month-long event in Indianapolis.)

I think there's this persistent myth out there since the split that it's a sparsely attended, washed-up has-been of a race these days. As over the top as some of the 100th running marketing got to be, maybe it brought some new or lapsed fans to the fold who want to experience that kind of communal event year after year moving forward. And maybe it helped move the narrative about the State of the Race forward after 15-20 years of being stuck in place.

Our world changes so much. It sure is nice to return to the track every year, though.

 

The last 5 years have been fantastic both in atmosphere and on the track racing, in my opinion. There were some years after the split in the mid-90s where it really was down on both fronts. I didn't go to any races from 2000-2009 because I was living too far away and not making enough money to justify coming back for it. The last few 90s races I went to were really blah.

The worst was probably '97. Weather was terrible on race day and Memorial Day so it got bumped to Tuesday. Had an awesome boss who let me and my buddies skip work to go down there. We had tickets, but no one was even bothering to check em. It was maybe 10 percent full.

'96 was bad too as many longtime fans stayed away out of anger and most of the big racing teams and drivers (Penske, Newman/Haas, Ganassi) were up in Michigan at the U.S. 500. The defending champ, Jacques Villenueve, had switched to Formula 1. I just remember it having this weird, angry vibe. The one good thing I remember about May 1996, though is that it was really the emergence of Tony Stewart out of sprint car into something else.

Anyway, to me it's felt like the race again in recent years, where it didn't there for awhile.

 

You also had the pole winner die in practice. Ugh. What a year.

 

Somehow I managed to block that out. You're right though. It was also a big part of the pall over the race.

 

Per usual, I was out of town for Memorial Day and just finished watching Indy last night.
Kudos to Rossi for going 36 laps like that. But it's too bad Bell and RHR collided. Bell was a cat using up lives chopping off Newgarden and later helping Karem find the wall. I like Bell, but he made some mistakes on the track.
Also too bad about Castroneves. Speaking of him and Penske, amazing how uncompetitive the team was overall. Power and Montoya never had anything to show and Simon disappeared after his penalty.
I haven't watched the pre-race yet, but during the race I was surprised the history didn't get played up more. And sorry, I've never cared for Eddie (Under)Cheever, either on the track or in the booth.
Overall, I don't care for the current qualifying and practice schedule. Two days only for qualifying is bad enough, but the idea of a fast 9 shootout isn't that bad. However, making 10-33 qualify again is just dumb. There's not enough time for teams to practice in race trim. In Indy in May you can usually count on at least one practice day being washed out. I believe there are only practice sessions after qualifying.

 

Can IMS not stand prosperity?

Tony George Named Chairman in IMS Transition of Power

 

Fernando Alonso is skipping Monaco to race Indy this year, and he's bringing the McLaren badge with him. Big coup for IMS.

It's not quite Nigel Mansell coming over as the defending F1 champ, but that's the closest comparison I can think of to a Formula One driver of his stature taking a crack at it.

Fernando Alonso to miss F1 Monaco Grand Prix to race in Indianapolis 500