Indy 500 today; were you aware?

Is everybody pumped up about the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 this weekend?  No?  Well, probably not.  I get it.

You are probably focused on getting to the local pool, cooking out with friends and spending some time honoring our fallen service members (which is eminently more important). 

Historically, the Indy 500 used to grab America's attention like no other race.  According to Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian Donald Davidson, "There was nothing like it.  There was Christmas, there was Easter and there was the Indianapolis 500."

That just isn't the case anymore.  The Indy 500 doesn't pop into your Facebook feed and you have to hunt for it on any sports media site.  Sports culture, let alone pop culture, doesn't revolve around Speedway, Ind. in May like it used to.

While doing research for this post, most of my searches on "Indy 500 popularity" only produced articles a year old or older.  There was a decent amount of reporting prior to the 100th running of the great race last year.  Yet, you have to go to IndyStar.com to find any news about this year's run with Formula 1 star Fernando Alonso participating for the first time.

Much of this popularity decline can be attributed to the split from the Championship Auto Racing Teams series in 1994-95.  Feeling a bias against American drivers and fearing rising costs, IMS heir Tony George pulled the 500 out of CART, the most popular national auto racing circuit of the time, to form the Indy Racing League.  That begat an Indy 500 populated by lesser-known drivers (17 of 33 starters were rookies in 1996) and allowed NASCAR to overtake open-wheel racing as the dominate American motor sport.

Since then, CART, which became the Champ Car World Series, folded and all open-wheel racers consolidated into the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2008.  And fans still attend the event in massive numbers.  The Indianapolis 500 achieved incredible attendance last year with approximately 350,000 race-day attendees. 

You will still be at the local pool today though, and you won't be bringing a radio to stay abreast of motor sports happenings in central Indiana.  Will you at least watch it on TV?  Probably not.

The 500 is immensely popular in Indiana, but does not resonate nationally.  Television ratings are up 35 percent over the last two years, but still 70 percent below what they were prior to the CART/IRL split.  NBC Sports Network pays $60 million for the majority of the IRL season, while NBC forks over $4.4 billion for half of the NASCAR races.  Five times more people watch NASCAR than the IndyCar Series. 

While the race isn't as popular as it once was, last year's race was spectacular with 54 lead changes and a close finish.  The injection of more Formula 1 talent has drawn international eye balls and is adding even more excitement.  The IndyCar Series has weathered the mid-90s split,  NASCAR's surge to prominence and our late recession.  Things are trending upward for this classic race.

Three Hoosiers attempting to watch the '93 Indy 500 from atop a minivan.  You need an RV.

I am a sucker for all Indiana sports, but the 500 does not tug on my heart like the Pacers, Colts or IU Hoosiers basketball.  I went to one of these great races back in 1993 with some Indiana high school friends and non-Hoosier buddies from college.  I don't think I saw a single car from the infield that day, but it was cool to be a part of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Today, however, this Hoosier sports fan will be at the local pool and might follow the race on my phone in between cannonballs with the kids.