Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

• Yellow finish.
• Ugly closed cockpits.
• Mostly bought ride foreigners.
• Empty Covid grandstands in August.
• Far removed from what it once was, not seeing anyway it can ever come back.
• Very sad.

 
 
 
They don't even know how to spell sprint car 
much less chromoly...http://www.ycmco.com

I thought the race was good.   A lot of different story lines.   Passes for the lead, different strategies in place, some crazy bonsai moves that took your breath away.   Race went the advertised distance without the sanctioning body manipulating the ending.   I was generally entertained.   Also, don't understand how you can complain about a safety improvement after watching the last wreck.   In years past, that wreck would have been a fatality.  

Yellow finish, unfortunate for some but they had no control over that

Closed cockpits, mite as well bring imsa in

Buy a ride has been indy car racing for years

Empty grandstands, get used to it, half the people that used to be in the stands I don't think are coming back

Indy was always indy, it's nowhere near what it used to be to the senior fan

Sad  only time will tell

The cars do look a little odd, but I understand the enclosed driver area given the driver being killed by a part that flew off another car a couple of years ago.   Would like to have seen it finish under green, but thought it was pretty good overall.  

The only Indy 500s worse than this one is where there were fatalities like 1964 when Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald were killed and they red flagged the race.

All that I will give them is maybe yellow finish because he tore up tires so bad at pit road entrance, might have taken too long to fix. Moreso just glad it was finally over.

Those ugly things are definitely a candidate for vastly different tire and areo package so they can at least run a little sideways, and not just snap out. They are way worse than NASCAR and NASCAR sucks.

This year has to be near the bottom of a 50 year decline? The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is too hallow a ground for such disrespect to what it once was. 

 
 
 
They don't even know how to spell sprint car 
much less chromoly...http://www.ycmco.com

Being a bit dramatic aren't we..... I don't like the looks of the car, haven't for years. I only caught the last half of the race but I thought it was exciting. I would have prefered a green finish.. Not sure why you are so upset, does Sato have stock in XXX?

I thought the race was pretty good. It is my understanding that the damage to the attenuator was so bad that there was no quick fix. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, nobody had anything to do with Sato. I understand the windscreens and I am okay with it. I miss them being actual open wheel cars now when the rear wheels were virtually closed in several years ago. Then again, the only decent looking rear engine Indy car that I ever cared for was the 1971 Foyte Coyote car...

Member of this message board since 1997

Just got done watching the race on replay. I thought the racing was very good and I have followed more Indycar recently than in years past

I used to hate yellow finishes but after seeing a decades worth of races being manipulated or the use of the whole GWC being overdone, I have grown to wishing the advertised distance was the only difference. Maybe the officals would be less likely to throw a yellow if someone does a simple spin, or in some cases a driver sneezes and moisture gets on the track.

Cockpits do not bother me as it did not appear to diminish the racing which was good plus it increases safety so no complaints about that

Ride buying has been happening since I have been alive in all forms of racing so nothing different. I also do not give two monkey farts as to what piece of land a driver was when they crawled out of their mom's vagina the day they were born. Some people's xenophobia makes me laugh when they think they are special just because they happened to crawl out their mother's vag between a completely different set of borders. Like any person ever living had a choice as to where they wanted to be born and as if it is some sort of accomplishment. I was actually happy that Sato won for Rahal-Letterman as their headquarters used to be down the street from my high school and my parent's house. I think they still use it in some capacity but they do not build the cars their any more.

Grandstands are empty everywhere in a sporting events so no like they tried anything different. Yes it is August but at least the race happened and it was still good. Plus if anyone has gone to Indy knows you can't see crap anyway as at best you might see about 25%-35% of the track. Went to the Brickyard in 400 in 2001 and it was the second worst race I have seen (or not seen) for the simple reason of only being able to see part of the track.

It will still come back as there have been far worst races especially in the 90's and 2000's. I stopped watching the race after 98 and would probably catch parts of if here and there until about 2010/2011 when I started watching it again. 

All in all, I was happy with it and will tune in again and probably will tune into the next Indycar race. My son thought the cars were pretty cool also and asked for some diecasts for his birthday. Slowly working through ebay. Hopefully they race at an oval nearby when the restrictions are lifted as I would like to go to an Indycar race some day. Maybe Iowa will have a day race and can do a Knoxville combo.

We are Takuma Sato fans so we were very excited. Tough year for our favorite sprint car teams so nice to see someone we like get a big win.

Sorry for your sadness cubic. But indy will be just fine. Roger will make indy great again. He just needs to put Larson in a car. Full Stands, slide jobs, and shotgunning beer in victory lane.

Im not going to complain about this season, all racing has been this year what it is and its all because some miniscule entity that has reaked havoc on the world.

My problem with Indy Racing is what it has turned into.  Indy Car racing when it started was just awesome.  It took the best of the best from DIRT Racing Mostly Midget and Sprint Cars and whne Dirt Champ Cars came into the scene they were part of it.  Teams and or drivers had to win at certain tracks and run a circuit just to be part of that race.  It was a drivers race and the cream always rose to the top.

It eventually went from that to MONEY.  If you had enough money you could go to the track buy yourself a ride and try to prove you could get up to speed and qualify.  That was the first thing that started to ruin the racing.  My biggest peave though is that The Indy 500 was AMERICAN.  American Cars engineered in the USA.  American Drivers that learned how to Drive how to build and how to get the most performance out of the car and still keep it as safe as possible.  Mechanics and Drivers went to school.  The School of Hard Knocks.  They experimented on the cars inovated things and were in the for front of technology for the times.  Some of the inovations worked some ddnt.  

It was all American, then I dont know who, but then the foreign drivers were being invited to the USA.  When that happened the Grass Roots Racer in this Country was htrown to the side.  The poor guy that put all the money he had into a Midget Car or Sprint Car, ate hot dogs, beans and rice and drank water for diner weekly because every last penny he had was put into his race car to try and stay in the hunt.  The Hunt to drive the Greatest Race in the world.  He was the same type of guy that started the Great Race years before. 

It a real shame that the Grass roots Sprint Car and Midget car driver of today is an after thought for Indy Cars, when in fact the Indy Car was the Midget Car and Sprint Car when the race itself was born.  Only the Best Drivers in the Country ere in that race and they had to prove themselves to even be considered for the race.

Just a little Story before I finish my rant.  Im sure some of you on this site have heard of KEN BRENN.   If not, Ken Brenn was one of those innovators I mentioned earlier.  He had 2 sons Kenny and jimmy Brenn and both of his sons were very good dirt drivers.  They both started their carreers in Midgets but ended up in Modifieds.  I beieve it was 1979 or 1980 Old man Brenn took his sons to Indy hoping to buy one them a chance to run a Indy car and possibly qualify.   He went to half a dozen or so teams and had offered them 1.5 million dollars to let his son try to drive.  All those teams basically said was Im sorry but you dont have enough money.  Worst part of it is that all those teams knew Ken Brenn Sr. they also knew that his sons were VERY GOOD Drivers,  and they all told him no.  Another guy who should have gotten a shot at Indy, but never had the money to do it, was a Midget Car Driver named Nick (NOKIE) Fornoro.  I signed a petition 3 years straight for some team to give him a shot at it.  These petitions went around the Country and had Over a Milliion Signatures on them, and not one team ever considerd him.  

The born and bred all American most pretigious race in the world, has turned into the League Of Nations and you have to pay your way into it.  Why is it that SKILL ALONE isnt good enough now, but when it all started, SKILL was the #1 Priority and the only thing you needed to get your shot 

Money talks. Daytona 500 had 23 million viewers, Indy 500 less than 5 million. Indy literally sucks 5 times worse than NASCAR.

 
 
 
They don't even know how to spell sprint car 
much less chromoly...http://www.ycmco.com

As your story points out, this has been happening for the last 40 years.   

When I go to the local dirt track, the vast, vast majority of the young drivers are in family cars spending their families money.   Money buys speed.   Always has....always will.   

As to the finish, the damage to the pit entrance was going to take an hour plus to fix from reports I read.  Also, I don't think the Indy 500 is the place to try to set up a contrived GWC finish for the TV show.  Just imagine a Talladega style last lap pileup with those cars.  The consequences could be bad for the health of the drivers involved.  Nascar has dodged that bullet for years IMO.  The bill came close to coming due at Daytona this year.  The increased speed & more exposed nature of an Indy car makes playing bumper cars on the last couple laps extra dangerous.  

Easily one of the most clueless posts ever.  

Glad they ran Indy this year but I'm sure the August date didn't help viewership at all.  The racing is good, plenty of stories and features to be shown and still have some of the historical figures connected to the current racing.  I can't say that I watch a lot of Indy racing, but what I do watch seems very competitive and there is a lot of passing and some darn crazy moves on the track.

The 500 is a Memorial Weekend ritual for me.  I get settled in for 1100 miles of racing, grilling, drinking beer and chatting with friends.  We watch the lead up to the 500, including "Back Home in Indiana", introductions, the National Anthem and the command to start the engines.  Once the race ends, that turns into a short nap and then NASCAR for the rest of the day.  I get my local racing fill the night before.  And then Monday for recovery. 

Sure, I wish there weren't so much ride buying and that guys like Justin Grant, Chris Windom, KTJ or Brady Bacon had a chance to get there, but that's just not how it works today.  Either adapt or get left behind.

Lack of fans really changed the feel of Indy 500.  I usually get a few tears in my eyes when they play Back Home in Indiana and the National Anthem.  This year was  not the same. Rules are rules and unless track was completely blocked it would finish on yellow.  It was coming down to be a thrilling finish.  Enclosed cockpit seemed strange, but if it saves a life it is worth it.  You can not base anything on 2020 race  because of covid has screwed   every thing up.  Yes money can get you a ride but this is starting to be true in sprint cars.  You need to bring in advertisers or 2 new engines to get a ride, or just plain cash.

Dick, the 20M people who didn't tune in think otherwise.

 
 
 
They don't even know how to spell sprint car 
much less chromoly...http://www.ycmco.com

Thought the racing was ok, but damn can they design a uglier car??  They are fn hideous IMO

Belgian Formula 1 GP is this weekend at Spa Francorchamps.