Brickyard 400 - All Hype and No Racing

Aug 4 2003

Awesome facility, but the racing just isn't worthy of the hype

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is legendary. The raw size of the facility, the huge number of people all in one place, and the glorious history of the track are each truly awe inspiring. The problem is, the racing is terrible.

I have attended all ten Brickyard 400 races, this one was my last. The racing just isn't very good. There is just no side-by-side racing at all. You get 399 miles of follow the leader, a couple of passes in the pits and one or two single-corner battles for the lead.

Indianapolis was built for pointy-cars. Long high-speed straights and relatively flat corners were deemed ideal for open-wheel racing. While it may be perfect for the Indianapolis 500 the racing groove is too narrow for NASCAR and that leads to poor racing.

Not Just Me

Judging from the number of empty seats this year, other people are noticing too. Turn three had large sections of shiny aluminum showing through the crowd that were never there before. My seats are in the top row in the exit of turn three and I'll bet my section was barely half-full, if that.

Contrast the race on Sunday with Saturday night's Busch race across town at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Side-by-side racing for the lead was the order of the day as the progressive banking on the 5/8 mile allowed for two full racing grooves.

I will be back in Indianapolis next year, but only for the great racing at IRP. I'll leave Saturday night after the Busch race and watch the Brickyard 400 on tape after I get home.