Changing Indy 500 start time not being discussed: For those hoping that the Indianapolis 500 might change its start time to encourage drivers to be able to do both the IndyCar Series race and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, think again. Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Belskus, who oversees both the IRL and the race track, said Tuesday during a news conference at the track that he has had no discussions about changing the start time since taking over the position three weeks ago. The Indianapolis 500 start time likely would have to change from its recent 1 p.m. EDT slot for it to be possible for a driver to do both events. It would be hard for Lowe's Motor Speedway to start the NASCAR race later than 5:45 p.m. because of the length of the 600-mile race, which takes more than four hours to complete. With the crossover of open-wheel drivers to NASCAR - such as #14-Tony Stewart, #42-Juan Pablo Montoya, #7-Robby Gordon, #34-John Andretti and #77-Sam Hornish Jr. - heavy interest could be generated if drivers could do both races and rumors have circulated that the start time could be altered.From SceneDaily.

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This was one of the things I was hoping would change when Tony George was replaced.
I'm not much for the marathon that is the coke 600. some folks say we "don't have to race 500 mile at pocono but my thoughts are I would not travel from Buffalo to Long Pond for one of Jeff Burtons Pocono 300s'. So the question remains do we need 600 miles? The double duty has been done in the past and all was good with the world but times have changed and we now see start times being dictated by commercialism. However commercialism is what could revive the double duty as the storyline of cup drivers in the indy 500 could be seen as money makers and that's what drives the world.
Maybe Humpy will change it. He knows the value of the double, and also knows IRL would have a hard time competing with the Coca-Cola 600.

From Jayski:
Humpy Wheeler to Indy? Former Lowe's Motor Speedway president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler was at the Indianapolis 500 and plans to be back at the famed Brickyard for Sunday's Sprint Cup race. Could he be positioning himself to become a permanent fixture there? "Could be," Wheeler said on Monday night. There is an opening now. Joie Chitwood, the president and chief operating officer at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, announced on Monday he is resigning to become vice president of business operations for International Speedway Corp. in Daytona Beach, Fla. "We were talking," Wheeler said. "Things have kind of slowed down a little bit. The latest move about Chitwood leaving added to the drama. We'll see what happens." Asked directly if he were interested in a position at IMS, Wheeler said, "We'll see."(ESPN Insider)(7-22-2009)
Maybe we can also get the re-incarnation of the Humpy Bumper...lol... Soft walls really killed that dream.
I can confirm that Humpy has been in talks with the speedway ever since Robin Miller came out with the news of Tony George told to step down. It may happen but who knows. Good thing Kyle Krisloff is still getting information from the speedway and giving it out....
I sure hope Humpy takes over. That guy has always been my favorite nascar personality, it's a shame he's not involved anymore.
Blame the Governor of Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS, Monday, Feb. 6, 2006 -- The start time for the 90th Indianapolis 500 has been moved to 1 p.m. local time Sunday, May 28 due to the state of Indiana switching to Daylight Savings Time this spring, Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials announced Feb. 6.

The race originally was scheduled to start at noon local time. In addition, gates will open at 6 a.m. local time on Race Day, one hour later than in past years.

"This starting time change was made because of Indiana's shift to Daylight Savings Time, which also had an effect on scheduling with our television partners at ABC Sports," said Joie Chitwood, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president and chief operating officer. "We think this change will have minimal impact on our fans. Sunset will occur one hour later this year due to the time change, which will give us just as much daylight as last year, when the starting time was noon."

Indiana will adopt Daylight Savings Time for the first time this April after previously staying on Standard Time all year. Starting in April, Indianapolis will be on the same time as the East Coast of the United States year-round.

The remainder of the 90th Indianapolis 500 schedule, announced last November, remains unchanged.

Source
Wow I love the cheap cop-out
The start was 1 EDT in 2005 too, which was 12 local.
In 2004 the start was its double duty friendly 12 EDT, which was 11 local.

The change was made in 2005 at the request of ABC to try to get viewership up on the West Coast. 2006 just changed what the clock read when the race started, it was still the same "time."

You are correct.
And that's the problem. It was the WRONG choice for ratings. Starting an hour later for more Pacific Time Zone fans? At the cost of allowing drivers that would/could do the double?

And people can't figure out why that dumb ass piece of shit was kicked to the curb by his family after 15 years of throwing away their money.
and we all know they could start it at whatever time...and until the product gets better the ratings will be crap.....

My guess is.....we see that 11am start time again in a couple of years.....

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