none
Nitro Member
An unbiased opinion from a guy with no axe to grind,
Interesting read,
The Daly Planet
Alan
Interesting read,
The Daly Planet
Alan
Nitromater
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An Outsider's take
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- Start date
yoda
Nitro Member
The nicest thing about The Big Go is that so many different events for so many different classes during the week of racing. NHRA could take a page from NASCAR in the sense of hyper-promoting each event with ESPN coverage (tape delay on the day of the event, to allow for some slick editing to put together a nice 1 hour package for TV all week long).
Too bad the folks at IRP lost all that pre-400 income
Too bad the folks at IRP lost all that pre-400 income
The bottom line is IRP a dump and nothing will change until it becomes a first class facility.
yoda
Nitro Member
Ya know- it's drag racing. As long as the john's don't stink, it's fine. I think too many folks are looking for too many First Class accomodations, at a freakin drag strip....
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TooTall999
Nitro Member
While Indy isn't at the level of a Bruton Smith facility (thank god, no 4 wide!) it has it's own charm and unique history. How can you not be reverent to the aura of Indy? I've only been once,back in 2005, and going again is on the top of my bucket list. I don't care if I never make it to "the bellagio of drag racing" or the 4 wide megaplex in Charlotte. I'd rather go to Pomona again, Gainesville, Englishtown, Maple Grove or the grandaddy of them all Indy.
rckymtn3
Nitro Member
A lot of interesting language in those two articles, though one is almost a year old, I expect no new information has come along.
What struck me was the overall feeling of a microcosm of what is wrong with this country. The quick buck winning out over the good for America buck is the way private investors run American companies into the ground. It's never with an eye to the future, it's all-about exploiting something and wringing the most money out in the shortest amount of time.
some of the key phrases that grabbed me:
sluggish ticket sales at the Brickyard
Jeff Belskus, who took over the Speedway's (IMS) top job in 2009, has been intent on cutting costs and raising revenue.
That will be good for the fans and it will be good for the sponsors. It's going to be a fun weekend, really. Almost sounds like pleading.....really.
There's something to be said about character....if sleek, new, futuristic were terms that really meant something to the American public, malls across the country wouldn't be full of empty storefronts and void of people. There is definitely an "x" factor when it comes to uniqueness, let-alone historically important venues versus the newest and shiniest.
The dirt pits, parking lots, and troughs in the head never bugged me. Adds to the particular flavor that drag racing has always had for me. Anyway, I am there to see drag racing, not impress a mother-in-law.
What struck me was the overall feeling of a microcosm of what is wrong with this country. The quick buck winning out over the good for America buck is the way private investors run American companies into the ground. It's never with an eye to the future, it's all-about exploiting something and wringing the most money out in the shortest amount of time.
some of the key phrases that grabbed me:
sluggish ticket sales at the Brickyard
Jeff Belskus, who took over the Speedway's (IMS) top job in 2009, has been intent on cutting costs and raising revenue.
That will be good for the fans and it will be good for the sponsors. It's going to be a fun weekend, really. Almost sounds like pleading.....really.
There's something to be said about character....if sleek, new, futuristic were terms that really meant something to the American public, malls across the country wouldn't be full of empty storefronts and void of people. There is definitely an "x" factor when it comes to uniqueness, let-alone historically important venues versus the newest and shiniest.
The dirt pits, parking lots, and troughs in the head never bugged me. Adds to the particular flavor that drag racing has always had for me. Anyway, I am there to see drag racing, not impress a mother-in-law.
vegasnitro
Nitro Member
The thing that bothers me the most about Indy is getting to the pit side from the spectator side ... That bridge is terrible and should be easily rectified. The rest of it doesn't affect me much as we have the RV across the street.
Tumbleweed
Nitro Member
Ya know- it's drag racing. As long as the john's don't stink, it's fine. I think too many folks are looking for too many First Class accomodations, at a freakin drag strip....
After long days at Indy, they do stink Martin
It may not be Chocago or Vegas, but it's still my favorite race!
JRX
Nitro Member
I like Indy, that's no shock to some. I view it as a link to the past. A track with a storied history and a view of cornfields from the staging lanes. It still feels like America to me, not corporate or glamorous. I'll have a corndog and enjoy the Midwest, drag racing, and try to get a hint of days gone by.
Better restrooms would be nice, and some more pavement for the sportsman racers. The new pro pit side stands are nice, although a bit cramped. They shrunk the size of the seats when they replaced the portable ones.
No worries, in 35 days I'll be there!
Better restrooms would be nice, and some more pavement for the sportsman racers. The new pro pit side stands are nice, although a bit cramped. They shrunk the size of the seats when they replaced the portable ones.
No worries, in 35 days I'll be there!
scubasteve
Nitro Member
john u and adam better be ready!!! if i could only do one race a yr itd b INDY,,,,luckily im blessed to have a great racing family out there all across the country so i can do a few extra here and there,,c ya there
BF
Nitro Member
IRP...not even close to "dump" status. I've seen a lot of racetracks in worse shape than (oops) Lucas Oil raceway. The best racing of this weekend will still be about 7 miles from IMS this weekend. They should televise the USAC Series races and ARCA and forget about NASCAR's "races". IMS is horrible for those cars. I would be very surprised to see full stands on Sunday because of a N'wide race on Saturday. They ruined it for many with the tire fiasco a few years ago. Most people never came back after that. I wish I could get motivated enough to make it back to the US Nats. It's been 10 years since I was last there.
rckymtn3
Nitro Member
What tire issue are you referring to Barry?
I saw mention of the tire issue in the story as well, and it seems the writer was speaking as if it was a NASCAR thing, which I didn't know anything about, but what I did know about was the USGP Indy F1 tire mess
What tire issue are you referring to Barry?
It was the NASCAR race in 08 I believe. The tires wouldn't last 10 laps before they would blow out.
Dave
Nitro Member
SOOO NASCAR in their briliant wisdom decided they could put the Pocono tires on the car and see what happens OR they could just throw a yellow flag every 10 laps. What happened? The last half of the race was run in 10 lap "heats" practically.
BF
Nitro Member
Not practically...it was run in either 10 or 12 laps heats......mandatory caution flags for safety. The track was literally eating the tires to dust.
NASCAR apologizes for Indianapolis tire fiasco - USATODAY.com
Dave
Nitro Member
It was actually not the tracks fault, it was the tire compound they used. Instead of "rubbering in" the track, it just balled off and turned to marbles or dust. Something similar happened at Bristol this year or last year, and they rushed in a different compound during friday practice to solve it. They knew there was a problem well before the race, but they chose to hope for the best and the track would eventually rubber in. It did not. Now they close entire sections of grandstands for a once sold out race. No refund. No voucher for the next year. Just a thanks for your money, sorry for the show.
BF
Nitro Member
I wasn't trying to place blame, I was just trying to explain explain what happened.
"the surface became the equivalent of a cheese grater and the rubber turned into a black dust that made the track even slicker -- forcing NASCAR to take control of the race."
I think in this day and age of the Bruton Smith Palaces, anything less is considered a Dump to many!
Didn't NASCAR push NHRA to spend $3-4 Mil. On those new Suites to keep the race there? So much for loyalty!
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