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/...