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Owners seek return to earlier start at 500 to get NASCAR drivers
I really hope it happens!
JOLIET, Ill. -- The Indianapolis 500 will return to its more traditional start time -- 11 a.m. -- if some influential IndyCar Series team owners have a say in it.
The leaders of Team Penske and Andretti Green Racing said Saturday they support a change back to the earlier start time to help the event attract NASCAR drivers, which they figure would boost television ratings for the 500.
Currently, the 1 p.m. start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway does not allow enough time for drivers to complete the 500 miles and then fly to Concord, N.C., for the Sprint Cup Series night race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Team Penske president Tim Cindric brought the subject up in an owners meeting held with Indy Racing League officials prior to the race at Chicagoland Speedway. "It's worth one (ratings) point, at least," Cindric said after the meeting.
Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and John Andretti have competed in both races on the same day, Gordon the last in 2004. It was the fifth time Gordon had competed in both races. In 2005, IMS officials changed the start time of the 500 to noon. The next year the race started at 1 p.m. after Indiana switched to daylight-saving time.
AGR team owner Michael Andretti said he always liked the buzz a try at the double created.
"I always thought it was something to talk about," he said. "It created a little more buzz."
Andretti was correct in noting that IMS officials will make the decision, not the IRL. New IMS CEO Jeff Belskus did not attend Saturday's meeting as he was focusing on the MotoGP event at the Speedway.
As for other topics discussed at the meeting, Terry Angstadt, the IRL's president of the commercial division, said TV ratings for IndyCar Series telecasts were right where the networks forecast at the beginning of the season: 1.2 on ABC, 0.39 on Versus. They tend to know their business," he said.
Angstadt said Versus officials aren't worried about resolving negotiations with DirecTV. He also said IndyCar has received a commitment from Honda to lower -- for a second year in a row -- the cost of an engine lease.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20090830/SPORTS0107/908300351/1052/...
JOLIET, Ill. -- The Indianapolis 500 will return to its more traditional start time -- 11 a.m. -- if some influential IndyCar Series team owners have a say in it.
The leaders of Team Penske and Andretti Green Racing said Saturday they support a change back to the earlier start time to help the event attract NASCAR drivers, which they figure would boost television ratings for the 500.
Currently, the 1 p.m. start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway does not allow enough time for drivers to complete the 500 miles and then fly to Concord, N.C., for the Sprint Cup Series night race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Team Penske president Tim Cindric brought the subject up in an owners meeting held with Indy Racing League officials prior to the race at Chicagoland Speedway. "It's worth one (ratings) point, at least," Cindric said after the meeting.
Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and John Andretti have competed in both races on the same day, Gordon the last in 2004. It was the fifth time Gordon had competed in both races. In 2005, IMS officials changed the start time of the 500 to noon. The next year the race started at 1 p.m. after Indiana switched to daylight-saving time.
AGR team owner Michael Andretti said he always liked the buzz a try at the double created.
"I always thought it was something to talk about," he said. "It created a little more buzz."
Andretti was correct in noting that IMS officials will make the decision, not the IRL. New IMS CEO Jeff Belskus did not attend Saturday's meeting as he was focusing on the MotoGP event at the Speedway.
As for other topics discussed at the meeting, Terry Angstadt, the IRL's president of the commercial division, said TV ratings for IndyCar Series telecasts were right where the networks forecast at the beginning of the season: 1.2 on ABC, 0.39 on Versus. They tend to know their business," he said.
Angstadt said Versus officials aren't worried about resolving negotiations with DirecTV. He also said IndyCar has received a commitment from Honda to lower -- for a second year in a row -- the cost of an engine lease.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20090830/SPORTS0107/908300351/1052/...
Views: 8
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by gorobbygo7 on
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oh tht is would be awesome. Can you imagine the promotion Jim Beam could do.
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Permalink Reply by Nena Patrick on
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I would love it if they did this.
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Permalink Reply by Turtle7 on
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Getting the Nascar drivers back into Indy 500 would be get for both sports. However, with the new IRL aero package and side by side running, the NASCAR boys would need to remember that they can't use the chrome horn or leave donuts on their competitor's car.
I saw the race at Chicagoland on cable last night and it was wild. Talk about side by side racing - many time three wide through the turns. And that was not just the leaders. More then once, there was only a second or two between the leaders and the last lead lap car and that was long after a restart. You were literly glued to the TV watching the cars bounce and spark.
Now if only NASCAR would take some time and watch the IRL, they may see that is the future of oval racing. Hopefully, they will then fix the COT so it can do the same and run side by side on all the ovals and stop the TV spectator yawns.
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Permalink Reply by Mike/WC77 on
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Turtle you are dead on. I was at the track this wknd. The ARCA race was pretty good, but still looked minor league. My 1st truck race, I was impressed how those trucks haul ass. TV really doesn't do them justice. Indy Lights looked like a freakin IROC race, they stayed in one lil pack the whole race. Talk about hard to pass.
The Indy cars were up @ 9pm local. Theres my only complaint, they had like 2 1/2 hrs of dead time between races. Guess they wanted to sell more beer. The Indy race was great though. Another 1st for me, I was up on the backstetch (speedway ridge), & the view was amazing. The racing was great too, several times I thought there was going to be a wreck. Those care were dicin it up from green to checkers. Nascar should def take a pointer from them.
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Permalink Reply by vak7 on
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We get to see all these events in Homestead every year. Those Indy Lights can put you to sleep, even if you're in the stands. No passing, no action. Just driving in circles. The trucks are really the only NASCAR series to still rub 'n race. Always put on a good show. Hope they don't catch the $$ bug that snagged cup and nationwide.
Moving the Indy time would be great all around. Both series need major help. Robby might have made a comment about the horsepower, but if he has another chance to win the 500 I think he'd be there in a heartbeat.
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Permalink Reply by Matt on
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I had garage and pit passes from some old associates. It was very apparent after watching that race that I have truely forgotten what good racing is. That show was great, and makes any race with the COTs this year pale in comparison. Not even with the ridiculous two wide restarts can Nascar dream of that kind of competition.
If Indycar is smart, they will move the time up and do anything else they can to attract the large amount of jaded Nascar fans. I am almost mad at myself that I havent watched more Indycar races this year, although I did catch the Kentucky race. Perhaps that should be another area Indycar should address; find a more suitable network than Versus for the exlusive rights.
Perhaps a shift of power will happen once again, and Indycar will return to its form from the early 90s. That is still my favorite age in racing.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Cartwright on
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I really want this to happen, but a few months ago on trackside Robby came up with another excuse not to do the 500, first it was Danica's weight and now a horsepower issue. C'mon Rob suck it up and just RACE
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Permalink Reply by Jaci on
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Not actually. The problem came when they bumped up the time the year before they went to DST. Regardless, if it was a noon Central start in 2005 or a 1pm EST, it was still 1pm EST in Charlotte.
The Indianapolis 500 will start one hour later this year because of Indiana's switch to daylight-saving time.
That means the May 28 race, which was changed last year from the traditional 11 a.m. start to noon to boost television ratings, will begin at 1 p.m. to keep its national television schedule unchanged.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/irl/2006-02-06-indy500-start-t...
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Permalink Reply by GasOnRobby on
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If they moved it who do you think will attempt it? I am thinking Sam Hornish, Danica if she moves to Nascar, Robby (?), Montoya,
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