YOU HAVE SEEN THE BEST THAT INDIANA HAS THIS WEEK
Stock Car Racing History
This weekend is a joke and has been for many years. What was a bit humorous before is now an outright gut-buster with the addition of the Nationwide and GrandAm races. All the drivers, owners and media go on and on about the grand traditions of Indy. But only ONE of those traditions belongs to them - the kissing of the bricks. I always hear the names Foyt, Andretti, Unser, Mears, etc. mentioned. I don't hear Earnhardt, Jarrett, Rudd, Elliott, etc. I hear the names of Gordon and Johnson mentioned in the same breath as Super Tex, Rick and Al - yet I roll my eyes knowing four 400 wins aren't close to being comparable to four 500 wins. I'm a NASCAR lifer, yet I have all the respect in the world for the Indy 500!
This farce of an event doesn't merit being on the schedule. In my brutally harsh opinion, the drivers and owners like it for 3 reasons: (1) Indy's CHAMP CAR traditions (2) it pays very well and (3) their sponsors don't know the difference. Tony Stewart chastised the media (and in turn us as fans/viewers) because we supposedly don't know the difference between Racing and Passing. Easy for him to say - he is getting PAID to be there. Fans have to PAY for a ticket or PAY a cable/dish fee to watch it. And my dollars and time go elsewhere.
NASCAR has proved its point. It went to Indy when conventional wisdom said it couldn't. And its had a solid 20 year run - although only the first 4 or 5 were the ones anyone cared about. As Tim Leeming's Racing Minutes have shown, NASCAR can pick up its circus tent and move to another location after only a handful of races - maybe even only one. Its time for this Brickyard Boredom to move on down the road to a venue more suitable for its type of racing.
I watched the first 10-15 laps on TV. Then I moved to the computer as the TV played in the background for the next 30-40 laps. Then I had lunch downstairs as the TV continued upstairs. I returned after all that to see the 48 still leading with the rest of the field in line like an elementary school fire drill. Finally just past half way, I took my teen daughter for a driving lesson and surprise ice cream visit. Best use of the afternoon without question.
