IndyCar's Popularity.

I know IndyCar has picked up all these sponsors, but I've noticed only a minor change in the amount of people IndyCar actually has following the sport. Do I actually think IndyCar has gained some fans? Yes, but not a lot of them though.

IndyCar still looks like they don't know how to gain a major fan base. Look at their T.V. contact, or how IndyCar likes to focus on only one driver i.e."DANICA PATRICK." Also IndyCar's popularity can really count on how the drivers treat their fans on and off the track to. I personally think just these few things alone have the most affect on the popularity of this sport.

I still feel IndyCar's TV Contract with Versus is a bad thing, considering IndyCar is struggling to average at least 600,000 viewers per race on that channel. How can you expand your racing series, if you can only offer your product to a limited amount of television viewers. I'm sorry, but IndyCar just needs to go back and have every race on ABC/ESPN again. At least everyone has access to watch the race on ABC/ESPN. You can tell why ABC/ESPN is better, just by showing all the races on IndyCar's schedule that were on ABC hit at least 1,000,000 viewers. Also a few more sponsors would be attracted to the IndyCar Series. There are always reports of sponsors turning their backs away from IndyCar, just because of poor TV ratings.

IndyCar needs to stop putting all the attention towards one driver or a driver that doesn't even win(Danica Patrick). I'm not saying she is a bad driver, but she has never been in contention for the IndyCar Series Championship or too many other wins during her career with IndyCar. Throughout the past few seasons IndyCar has focused nearly all attention on her, and many fans are annoyed with that. In the future IndyCar needs to start paying attention to the Championship contender's more, the drivers that win in the series. The Points race the last couple season has been surprisingly close, but this still seems to be put second on the IndyCar Series list. Remember fans don't remember someone in 20 years, because they had good looks, fans remember the winners, it will be drivers like Dario Franchitti, or Will Power that people will continue to talk about. Not some driver that won one race, and was a poor loser. Fans also remember drivers like Tony Kanaan, and Simona de Silvestro which throughout every race put sportsmanship first. IndyCar needs to put the first class drivers as the face of the series, not one driver that shows no sportsmanship, and shows no ability to win a championship.

I think one of the best ways to attract fans to start talking about the IndyCar Series, and to have fans come back every year to races with a pleasurable experience each time, starts with how the drivers treat fans. It seems most of the drivers are still all about their own ego. Look at Dan Wheldon he was the most respected driver around, he was always for the fans. He would take time out to give every autograph he could even when he had no time to. He would make you feel like you were supposed to be there. He felt like a friend to every fan that met him. He would also take time out to thank everyone that had come out to view the race. Only if every single driver would take some time to thank every fan with a smile, and all it takes one autograph to win over a fan. Only if every driver would act first class all the time. Then IndyCar would be exploding, but until everyone realizes this, I think IndyCar will be struggling to expand. Although the IndyCar Series has made some momentum, it's not enough to ensure the sport's survival in the long term.

"Dan Wheldon Day"

Another student at my school started this event on Facebook, and I thought it was really intriguing that someone would do this in remembrance of the late Dan Wheldon. As it says on Facebook the event is tomorrow Wednesday, October 19 · 12:00pm - 3:00pm. Here is more of what is says "at 12 u will close ur eyes and pray for dan wheldon even though he is dead he lives in our hearts forever." This is another heartfelt thing another IndyCar fan has started, and I hope you will participate in it to no matter where you live or where you are at the time. 

Here is the actual event link on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=294639463881899

In Memory of Dan Wheldon a Tribute From the Fans.

This shows how IndyCar is one big family with teams, officials, and fans all included. Copyright:500 Miles.

Dan Wheldon was one special guy to many people. Not only that, but Dan Wheldon was an ambassador for IndyCar, he was family, he represented what this series means to everyone. His death just put a hole in my heart, along with many others around the world. Dan Wheldon died while doing what he loved doing which was just getting into a race car and driving. No man loved the Indianapolis 500 or Open-Wheel racing more than Dan Wheldon did.  

There wasn't a moment that I ever remember seeing Dan without that famous smile on his face. Dan Wheldon always had time for his fans and for his family. There are many times that he would go out of the way just to give regular guys like me an autograph, He treated every fan like they were his best friend. Even if it's your first time you met him, trust me you felt like you were friends since you were in grade school. 

Dan Wheldon wasn't only respected by the fans and teams of IndyCar, he also did a ton for the U.S. Troops overseas and at home. He took plenty of time out to go visit the wounded troops that are stuck in the hospital. On a couple of special occasions he would go overseas to visit with the troops and speak with them on a personal basis. He would also have a veteran there by his side at all times while signing autographs. He was always giving thanks to our troops to, and loved representing them while with Panther Racing. Anyone who does this is held to the highest regards in my mind. 

Also Dan Wheldon was not only a winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, he was a Indy 500 winner who actually respected the race. Not to mention he is one of only 18 drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 at least twice. He is also a driver that deserves the recognition after winning the Indianapolis 500 twice. This is a driver that knew the race was bigger than him. He knew that he had to respect the race to win it. Everyday in the month of May he would be thinking about winning the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, The Indianapolis 500. He just wanted to win this race over and over again, he tried harder than everyone else. Dan Wheldon really loved the Indianapolis 500 in general, compared to some previous winners he makes them look like chumps when taking about the race.

While discussing with my dad our favorite memory of Dan Wheldon, it came down to this. In 2006, my dad pointed out that Dan Wheldon was giving out autograph's by the fence. So my brother and I went over to him to receive an autograph. While waiting with a few others he noticed he was running out of time to give out autographs. So he decided that he could only give out autographs to the kids, in which he did.

This is what Dan Wheldon the two time Indianapolis 500 winner meant to me. Here are other views from IndyCar fans just like me In Memory of Dan Wheldon.

From Michael Wendler, 

"This blog has been silent for a while now due to personal and professional reasons but it can remain silent no longer. I really wish I didn’t have to type this but I must. Dan Wheldon is no longer with us. It does not seem real. It must be a nightmare. Someone please wake me from this but it is true. Dan Wheldon lost his life doing the thing he loved the most racing an Indycar. If you don’t know who that is or how devastating that is. Well I don’t really have the words to explain it to you. I’ve seen many of my fellow fans search for the words that just won’t come. It’s not even about racing, if you never heard Dan speak, I feel bad for you because if you had you would have liked him.

Dan Wheldon wasn’t just a great racer he was a great person. Although I never personally met him I feel as though I did. Dan was a truly nice person and a great guy. I missed a chance to meet him this year at Indy on opening day. He was back in the garage and was interviewing with the track announcer while I was sitting watching practice laps in the grandstand. As soon as he came up on the TV screens at the track saying they were just a small team this year and weren’t even going out to practice on opening day I thought “Damn if I knew he was back there, I would liked to say hello and met him and get his autograph.” Dan always had time for fans. He was warm and personable so I’m sure he would have happily signed by checked flag that I had reserved for winners of the Indy 500. Although his career was up in air at the time and I worried that he might still not have a full time next year I was sure I would see him next year one way or another. The Indy 500 just wouldn’t run with out him being involved. How wrong I was. I can’t believe it but it is true. The Indy 500 will still be there but it will continue without its champion.

 It came close to running without him this year, until Dan made a call to his friend Bryan Herta who owned a small racing team that ran on a shoestring budget. The call wasn’t really a business call since they were former teammates and friends from their time at Andretti Green Racing. When Bryan asked Dan what his option for this year’s race were, Dan laid what little option he had which consisted on smaller team that didn’t really have a chance to win the race in Dan’s opinion so he had not committed yet. Dan didn’t want to run the Indy 500 just to run it. He wanted a chance to win. Bryan told him to hold on because he had something in the works and he would call him back. Dan knew that Bryan didn’t joke about business and was serious about this. Somehow Bryan put together a deal and was able to convince Dan that they had a shot. As it turns out they had more than a shot, they did the improbable. They won.

This would eventually lead to Sunday’s events. I am sure many will seek to blame someone about this but there is really none to be had. Dan Wheldon was a racecar driver. Whether there was a five million dollar challenge or not there were cars available for that race and Dan Wheldon would have been in one of them. His love for the sport was that big. It was infectious. You could not help but be pulled in by his enthusiasm. As he worked as a commentator this year joking about being “an unemployed guy” his love of the sport came through. As people heaped praise upon him about his announcing he thought that was nice but I’m not ready to retire yet. I want to race. So he did one last time.

 I am struck by his final words as they interviewed him in the car before the race. A practice I always hate because I feel that you should not distract a driver while he is on the racetrack. They need to have their full attention on the road even under warm up or yellow. Racing is dangerous. We forget that. The first thing Dan did was name drop every sponsor on that car even the little ones because he knew what it was like to be without one. He even made a little joke about Curb Records that was a small sponsor that was something about Taylor Swift that I couldn’t quite make out. That was Dan, always joking, always upbeat and happy. When they asked him about whether he thought he could win this race from the back of the field he said “If I didn’t think I could win I would not be here.” It was typical Dan.

Everyone liked Dan. Even if they were mad at him they could not stay mad for long. Dan was supposed to replace Danica Patirck in the GoDaddy car next year. These two are forever linked since she appeared on the Indycar scene the year he won the Indy 500 the first time. While she garnered more attention he liked to remind people, I won the Indy 500 that year. Later on they would famously have words over a racing incident, which Dan would brush off the argument as Danica being feisty. After the race Sunday when interviewed about the tragic events of the day, Danica described though tears that it was hard because she had lost a friend. Rivals had become friendly. Not close but friendly. You just could not stay mad at the guy.

That is what we should remember about Dan. He was a great guy. He was a great racer indeed but a better human being. If we had more people like Dan the world would be a better place. He left us doing the thing he loved. While this saddens us and brings us to tears, we know he would want us to continue. You need look no further than the last tweet from his twitter account. Although he didn’t tweet it, I know he meant it. It simply said “Green.”

It is green Dan. Time to go."

From Tim Cychulski, 

"When I think about open wheel racing I think of some of the greatest names in motor sports:  Andretti, Rahal, and Unser. When I think about my generation of great drivers, Dan Wheldon is on the top of the list.  Not because he won the most races, or the most championships.  Not because he was the flashiest or most flamboyant driver in the Indy Car series.  Not because he raced dangerously or took too many risks on the track.  Dan Wheldon will forever be one my favorite drivers, and the greatest of my generation because of how he handled himself not only on the track - but off of it as well.  He was such a giving person, and never said no to anyone that wanted an autograph or a picture with him.  He worked with too many charities to count and brought joy to so many young boys and girls in hospitals in the last 10 years for those acts of kindness alone he should be immortalized forever.  How will I remember him?  As the guy that was always smiling, racing hard, and giving back to the fans.  I could go on and on about the future he had in the sport, as I firmly believe that he had a bright career in broadcasting and commentating had he lived to see his retirement from racing.  It was such a pleasure to listen to him this past year calling races when he wasn't behind the wheel competing in them.  We lost a great man and father this past Sunday, and I for one will never forget that moment in the grandstands where I was standing when they first announced that we should keep Dan in our prayers...because I knew that at that moment open wheel racing had lost one of it's best.

Rest In Peace Dan...we'll miss you forever and always.  I hope your wife and kids grow old cherishing the memories that you've given us all and never forget how great a man you were.  Thank you for so many years of enjoyment on and off the track, the world will never see the likes of someone like you again.

Here's to hoping that the Las Vegas Motor Speedway never forgets Dan and makes Turn 2:  Wheldon's Turn."

From Megan Sauce,

"My favorite memory of Dan was when I met him in Texas. He was just so kind, and was very genuinely interested in his fans. It was nice to see that type of appreciation for the fans. Dan was truly remarkable."

If you want to add your favorite memory of Dan Wheldon or just want to give appreciation to him just email me at 500milesnow@gmail.com. I will still post your writing if you still want to contribute.

This is a toast to a great race car driver named Dan Wheldon. You have affected many lives in many great ways. Goodbye buddy. 

Why Is It So Hard For IndyCar To Get Ovals on The Schedule?

Here are just the blatant reasons why the IndyCar Series has trouble getting a good amount of ovals back on the schedule year after year.

Race Attendance
At all the ovals other than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, and Iowa Speedway, there are major issues with race attendance. Everyone complains that IndyCar needs ovals on the schedule, but no one seems to attend these specific events. IndyCar just needs to promote all oval events themselves, which I think Randy Bernard is going to do next year. If you want tracks like New Hampshire Speedway, and Kentucky Speedway back well then instead of having crowds of 20,000 aim for at least 40,000 next year. Next year IndyCar needs to advertise that specific race earlier on all the local TV Stations, and they need to advertise their new cars. IndyCar needs to advertise that they are a whole new series that is exciting to watch. Basically that they have a whole new product to offer the spectator, to get people to come back and get interested into American open-wheel racing again.

Sponsors 
Once again finding a title sponsor for a road course or street race is not hard compared to ovals. All of these events have more people that attend these event so sponsors are attracted to these automatically. It's hard for IndyCar to find a Title Sponsor for an oval race that will not have a big audience for that event. Once again IndyCar needs to express that they have all new cars, and that they are a growing racing series that new people are getting attracted to next year.

The Venue Making a Profit After Paying Sanctioning Fee
It's really hard for a racing venue to actually say they want an IndyCar race at their facility if they are not sure if they are going to break even at least. Some ovals like Milwaukee Speedway or Chicagoland Speedway will not be on the schedule next year simply because they are not sure if there is any profits to be made in holding an IndyCar race. Many ovals are just fine only holding Nascar races, because they already make plenty of money off those races.

TV Contract
IndyCar doesn't necessarily have the best TV Ratings either. I would like to see all races on a Channel like ABC. Although I love Versus' broadcast better than ABC's, but at least you know you will get around 900,000 viewers on ABC. Let's face the fact, you have to know there are sponsors that turn their backs on the IndyCar Series when they see TV Ratings under 200,000 viewers. Also with ABC at least everyone has access to watching the IndyCar race. Even the SPEED Channel has more access to viewers than Versus. Once again I do like Versus' broadcast better, but IndyCar on ABC would be better to attract sponsors.  Sides how is IndyCar supposed to expand and get bigger with a channel where a big part of it's fan base does not even access to that channel.

Kentucky Indy 300 Review.

Overall the race was great, but I wish more people were there to view on of the greatest races in IndyCar Series history.

A little too much action in the pits. 
There was a couple of big incidents in the pits on Sunday leaving a few drivers out of the race. First Simona de Silvestro's clutch broke, causing her to go into EJ Viso's pit stall, hitting chief mechanic Darrin McMahon. Darrin was then sent flying about 15ft away from where he was hit, and he fractured his knee from that incident. Simona would then have to stay out of the race a couple laps later due to reoccurring clutch problems. Then under caution another incident in the pits happened when JR Hildebrand's(R) brakes locked up when pulling into his pit, and hit tire changer Erik Scheumann causing lower leg injuries. In that same accident Marco Andretti and Alex Lloyd were hit and knocked out of the race to.

• Other accidents. 

The only other accident was when Ana Beatriz hit the wall in turn 4 and made contact with Will Power. The only driver put out of the race was Ana Beatriz though.

How the whole field did.

Ed Carpenter celebrating his first IndyCar Series win with his daughter McKenna. From:SPEEDTV.COM

What really made the race exciting was Ed Carpenter and Dario Franchtti battling for first place the last 20 laps of the race. The whole time they were neck to neck. Although Ed Carpenter never seemed to be able to pass Dario for the lead, but overall Ed Carpenter had the better car, and won the race. This was the first win for both Ed Carpenter and Sarah Fisher Racing. Hopefully both of them will have more wins in the future. Dario Franchitti went on to finish second, and teammate Scott Dixon finished third. Newman/Haas teammates James Hinchcliffe(R)  and Oriol Servia finished 4th and 6th. Other notable results were Ryan Hunter-Reay in fifth, Wade Cunningham(R) in seventh, and Buddy Rice in ninth.

Sarah Fisher Racing/Ed Carpenter loose sponsorship.
In an interview after the race Sarah Fisher announced that Dollar General has said they will not be back as the team's sponsor next season. Hopefully this win will convince Dollar General to come back and support the team through the 2012 season.


Poor Race attendance/TV Ratings. 
The race attendance for Kentucky was maybe around 20,000. If this race comes back, they will need a better plan to promote the race. TV Ratings for the Versus broadcast were around 188,000. This shows how IndyCar needs to find a better channel to advertise their races on TV, maybe NBC?

What I thought about the facility and this race needs to come back next year.
No Kentucky is not the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but this is still a top notch racing facility that IndyCar needs to come back to. I was impressed with the fact that I could actually see the whole track. Finding a good place to sit in the track isn't a problem, because you can see the whole thing from just about anywhere you sit. This is another action packed oval that needs to come back in 2012. 

Kentucky Indy 300 Preview

Obviously this is one of the most exciting race circuits that IndyCar will be going to this season. With a full 29 cars set to race tomorrow this is looking to be a very competitive race. I'm also proud to say that I'll be viewing the race at Kentucky Speedway tomorrow. So I'll give you my input next week on what I experienced first hand at Kentucky Speedway.

Anyways qualifying today was packed with plenty of action. Will Power is on the pole, giving him another point over Dario Franchitti in the IndyCar Series Championship. Three American's qualified in the top five with Graham Rahal in 2nd, Ed Carpenter in 4th, and JR Hildebrand(R) in 5th. Also James Hinchcliffe(R) qualified in 3rd, and Marco Andretti in 6th. Simona de Silvestro showed an impressive qualifying run, ending up in 13th. This could be showing that she is rebuilding her confidence on ovals after her crash at Milwaukee. Dan Wheldon didn't qualify in his Sam Schmidt car, because his car did not pass tech inspection due to the fact that the backing plates were wrong. Now he will start in the back of the pack in 28th. Also Pippa Mann didn't post an official lap because she crashed on her warmup lap. Other Disappointing qualifying runs: Helio Castroneves 16, Tony Kanaan 19th, and Takuma Sato 22nd.

My pick to win the Kentucky Indy 300 is Graham Rahal, because he has been patiently awaiting for a chance to win and he has that chance in Kentucky this weekend.

Savor the Moments.
Kentucky Speedway may not be back on the schedule next year due to the fact that Bruton Smith and Randy Bernard have not found sponsors for an IndyCar race here next season. Other ovals that have the same circumstances are New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Chicagoland Speedway. Let's face the facts, unless Randy Bernard has the magical spark to find sponsors for each of these tracks, IndyCar will not be back at any of them for a long time to come.


Kentucky Indy 300 Starting Grid.
1. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 219.283
2. (38) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 218.348
3. (06) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 218.186
4. (67) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 218.004
5. (4) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Honda, 217.872
6. (26) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 217.807
7. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 217.692
8. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 217.632
9. (2) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 217.520
10. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 217.357
11. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 217.213
12. (27) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 217.110
13. (78) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 216.924
14. (7) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 216.768
15. (17) Wade Cunningham, Dallara-Honda, 216.763
16. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 216.732
17. (44) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 216.685
18. (6) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 216.669
19. (82) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 216.484
20. (24) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 216.424
21. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 216.300
22. (5) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 215.856
23. (59) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 215.789
24. (19) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 215.607
25. (34) Dillon Battistini, Dallara-Honda, 215.578
26. (22) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 215.404
27. (18) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 214.297
28. (77) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, no speed
29. (30) Pippa Mann, Dallara-Honda, no speed
The Kentucky Indy 300 will be on Versus live at 2:45 ET. Race coverage starts at 2:00 ET.