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Pole Day At Indy: Big Action; Tiny Crowd

SPEEDWAY, IN: For those of us who have been attending Pole Day at Indy for more than a few decades, the lack of spectators on hand Saturday was quite a shock. It’s hard to believe that, not so many years ago, the opening weekend of time trials at the Speedway was the second most heavily attended sporting event on the planet; only the Race itself drew more.

There are, of course, any number of reasons for this apparent lack of interest in the traditional preparations for the annual 500 mile classic. Most would probably point to the infamous open-wheel split of 1996 as the root of the problem. It’s also apparent that the lack of identifiable American drivers is part of the problem, although the Indy Racing League was created primarily to correct that issue. It seemed to be working for a while, too. Suddenly, American racing heroes like Steve Kinser, Jack Hewett, Donny Beechler and Billy Boat found themselves with an opportunity to compete in the one event that all true racers want to win. But, as we now realize, these under financed grass roots racers were unable to sustain their Indy Car careers. The dream fizzled.

There are, of course, other reasons for the pathetic crowds around the Speedway prior to the Race itself. The weak economy, the competition for the entertainment dollar from NASCAR and others, and the crummy weather that usually visits the Speedway each May are among the many problems.

Unfortunately, the negatives mentioned above are, for the most part, unfix-able. Creating a path for Americans to race in the 500 was tried, and basically failed. The only way to eliminate the weather problem would be to move the Race to June. (Yeah…like THAT’S gonna happen…). And of course, there will always be plenty of competition for our hard-earned entertainment $$$$.

There is, however, one other important factor that has contributed to the almost non-existent crowds at the Speedway for practice and qualifying days.

For the past 13 years, one building block of Indy Tradition has been missing. No one has heard the spine-tingling voice of Tom Carneige (or anyone else for that matter), uttering the famous, “And it’s a NEW TRACK RECORD!

There’s no question that the possibility of new track records, during practice and/or qualifying, used to pull the crowds through the Speedway gates. In the ’50’s, the one minute lap (150 MPH) was the target. As the years passed, the breaking of the speed barriers was a huge draw. 180 MPH, 200 MPH, 230 MPH…the spectators ate it up. Pole Day crowds of 150,000 were common.

Finally, in 1996, two time 500 winner Arie Luyendyk set what is still the official one lap record during time trials with a lap of 237.498 MPH. A few days earlier, Luyendyk was timed in practice at an amazing 239.260 MPH, which remains the unofficial track record. And, as we remember, the following year the new IRL cars came on line, and the speeds dropped nearly 20 MPH.

Is there some way to recapture the appeal of the absolute track record being challenged during the month of May? Would the possibility of a 240 MPH lap help to rebuild the diminishing fan base?

Hey…anything’s possible.

How about this: The IRL and the Speedway could promote the “Ultimate Lap Record Challenge”. The defending 500 winner and the current IRL champion could face off in a daily dual for for the best lap of the day. In order to achieve the additional 10+ MPH needed to challenge the 240 MPH barrier, the rule book would have to be thrown away. Thinking outside the box, things like wing sizes, gears, ground effects, perhaps side skirts, could come into play in order to go for the record. Of course, these “record cars” would not be eligible for the actual race; they would be strictly “exhibition cars”. Of course, the monetary reward for such an endeavor would need to be high: say, one million to the team that records the “Ultimate Lap of the Month”.

I think we’d pack ’em in…

It’s obvious that this idea is far fetched. But, if you think about it, had you had been told 20 years ago that the Pole Day crowd in 2009 would be maybe 15,000 tops, you probably would have found that far fetched, too.

All I know for sure is that it’s an ugly feeling to wander around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the first day of time trials with only a few thousand of my best friends in attendance.

And it wasn’t even raining!

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