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To the various parties engaged in the effort to return IndyCar to a force of note in the sporting world, and the many other interested fans whose insights can surely build upon mine:

The moment is upon us.  With new car regulations imminent, IndyCar shall soon take the first step in defining its long-term approach.  But to chart a purposeful course, the philosophical lines must first be drawn.  What is IndyCar?  What must IndyCar be if it is to thrive in the future?

The answers to these questions are of vital importance, and I have become concerned with the lack of broad responses to them (and the glut of partial and short-sighted responses) being offered both by fans and IndyCar leaders.  Thus, I have attempted to craft my own.  They are, of course, based upon the perceptions (albeit carefully considered) of a fan, but in a popularity contest is not the perception of the fans the reality of the sport?

I hope that you will consider the following arguments:

1.  The IndyCar series must look like Indy.

The Indianapolis 500 IS IndyCar¹.  Throughout the various incarnations of its series, this sport has been defined by one constant: The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.  And this single event transcends its sport to a greater degree than any other one contest in the world: The Daytona 500, The Masters, Wimbledon, The Kentucky Derby – none of these can claim so great a portion of their respective sport’s identity.  The Indianapolis 500 is the only IndyCar race that has ever truly captured the imagination of America, built stars, created legends, and pulled a sizable television rating.  Nothing else in the sport comes close.

Why, then, does the series that races at Indianapolis look less and less like the field that would take the starting grid were the 500 the only race on the schedule and more and more like a European formula league?

This must change.  The IndyCar series must be contested by the people and equipment that race at Indianapolis.  The Indianapolis 500 must not be contested by the people and equipment that race at, say, Watkins Glen.  In their mutual relationship, the essence of Indy must imbue the series, not the other way around.  At present, it certainly is the other way around, and this is to the detriment of the 500 – and thus in turn to the series.  This is a downward cycle whose flow it is necessary to reverse.

2.  Indy must look like Indy.

The heart of the matter.  What exactly does this mean?

Here is what I contend: the essence of Indy itself has changed, and not for the better.  Certain crucial qualities surrounding the nature of the competition have been lost, universal characteristics that until recently had been a part of the 500 for the duration of its existence.  Among these:

“The Pursuit” – The Indianapolis 500 used to represent achievement, progress, the thrill of going where none had gone before.  Between 1946 and 1996, no more than four years elapsed between track records.  Indeed, “It’s a new track record!” became an indelible lexical trademark of the Indy experience.

Since 1996, the sanctioning body has not allowed speeds to approach their historical maximum.  Is this really over?  If so, Indy has permanently relinquished a portion of its identity.

“The Limit” – Regardless of absolute speed, competition at Indy was characterized by the ragged edge.  As former driver Gil de Ferran recently put it, “To me, an Indy car was always a slightly insane car to drive.”*  Indy was a fascinating showcase for drivers testing the limits of skill and courage, cars tuned desperately to the edge of disaster in every turn, the threat of malfunction which hung ominously over the proceedings – every time past the yard of bricks seemed a small victory.

Over the past decade, the neutering of the formula has largely relieved the tension which was inherent in the simple act of watching a car lap Indy at speed.  Increased downforce, decreased power, and the closing down of the supply chain have all conspired to made Indy not the domain of the skilled, courageous, and slightly insane, but of anyone who can afford the ride.

“The Intrigue” – Stories.  Variables.  Indy was fascinating not only for what happened on-track, but for the multitude of elements surrounding the competitive experience.  Established teams trying to find the perfect balance of components and engineering necessary to win.  Lesser teams cobbling together second-hand cars, hoping just to make it in.  There was not often great parity among the field, but anything COULD happen.  Mario Andretti leading by a lap was the height of suspense.  And who can forget the shock of watching Roger Penske’s cars fail to qualify in 1995?

For the fans, variables offered great enrichment the Indy experience.  For broadcasters, they offered talking points and storylines.  As the cars that race at Indy have ceased to feature any obvious diversity, these storylines have dried up.  And a great vacuum is left.  The introduction of the “overtake assist” button is admission enough of this reality.

“The Identity” – The Indianapolis 500 must clearly feel like a current incarnation of the deeply American tradition that it is.  A walk around the paddock demonstrates that this sport is still largely an American-led, American-staffed pursuit.  But drivers are the public face.  And today this face is largely foreign.

Foreign drivers have always been a significant part of the 500.  But in the past, it was clear that THEY came to play OUR game.  Not too many years ago, the paradigm of the 500 was deeply ingrained into the grass-roots middle-American racing world – most of the drivers who made it to Indy grew up racing on ovals, dreaming of one day winning that very race.  Today, most of the drivers who take the green flag grew up racing on road courses and dreaming of being in Formula One.

This is madness.  The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an oval track in the heartland of the United States.  It cannot not be a game contested largely by international road racers.

“The Prestige” – The Indianapolis 500 should be THE race that everyone wants to be a part of.  It should attract the best oval drivers in America.  It should test teams and drivers like no other race in the world.  Making the field should be a great honor.  Demand for positions on the grid should drastically outweigh supply.  The rewards for success at Indianapolis should be overwhelmingly compelling.

These things used to be.  They are no longer.  If the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar are to thrive, they must be again.

3. NASCAR-ization must be avoided

Four of the five qualities above largely differentiated the Indianapolis 500 from NASCAR in the past, and if re-captured would do so again today.

This is an important thing.  Our races have become measured by the NASCAR stick.  “Was there a lot of passing?  Was the finish close”?

In the long term, this must not be. The appeal of Indy was never dependent on “putting on a show”.  It ran much deeper than that.  To implement the contrivances necessary to put on a consistent show, to become more like NASCAR, IndyCar tacitly admits that its appeal has indeed waned to this mere, superficial level.  And if that is actually true, must we not also admit that The Indianapolis 500 has forfeited almost everything that once defined it?

4. The new regulations must be visionary

As IndyCar attempts to hammer out the regulations for 2012 and to create a new vision for the future, I urge those in power to consider the implication of the above arguments: the new regulations must put us on a path to reclaiming the essential qualities of the Indianapolis 500.

We must reclaim “The Limit,” “The Intrigue,” “The Identity,” “The Prestige”; perhaps even “The Pursuit” (at the very least, this last should never be discounted as an impossibility!). The new regulations must move us closer to these.² Short-sighted cost containment cannot be the basis for the rules package.

There are sure to be objections: “You must be crazy!  We can’t run a series without aggressive cost containment!”

Then don’t.  Strip away everything else and throw all the resources into putting on an Indianapolis 500 worthy of its great heritage.  If the rebirth of a popular IndyCar is the goal, it must begin here, where nearly the full identity of the sport resides.

This must be the vision – an Indianapolis 500 that is once again an undeniably compelling marker on the American sports landscape.  History has shown that there is no other starting point.

Respectfully,

William Cheek

¹The one thing on which we must agree.

²A little discussion of Delta Wing (to be posted)

*http://gordonkirby.com/categories/columns/theway/2009/the_way_it_is_no195.html