We are 6 days away from the 17th running of the Brickyard 400 and the excitement is building…very little excitement that is. Most people in the state of Indiana probably had no clue that the 400 is this weekend. NASCAR drivers and their teams are looking forward to racing at the World’s Greatest track. But fans do not.
The popularity of NASCAR and the Brickyard is dwindling. Earlier this decade years ago when stock car was at its peak. A couple years ago there was the tire debacle at Indy.
The series desires something to grab the nation’s attention. The series needs something to spark interest. NASCAR was hoping that Danica Patrick may be that answer. She did nearly triple ratings for a Nationwide race in her first run. But she hasn’t won and hasn’t performed very well. It truly takes time for IndyCar drivers to get comfortable in the stock car. And vice-versa.
There is something however, special about the Brickyard. It is home of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing — the Indianapolis 500. The 500 is also the largest sporting event in the world with over 300,000 fans in attendance. Jeff Gordon said the 400 is second in the mind’s of drivers…Behind that of the Daytona 500.
Only nine drivers have won at the Brickyard and every other driver looks to join that elite group. Jimmie Johnson has won six races on the series this year and his teammate Jeff Gordon looks for his first win in 16 months. Johnson, who is looking to 3-peat, says winning here in Indy doesn’t come easy.
This track has been really tough on me over the years. Although I have three wins it’s either a victory or on fire – you know one time I had a helicopter ride out of here because I hit my head so, this track it doesn’t show you any – give you any favors. You have to go out and earn every lap, every victory and really fight for it.
Speedway officials have to a bit worried about the future of the race. Many argue the race doesn’t drive enough fans. Jimmie Johnson averaged about 145 mph on his way to victory lane last year…compare that to the Indy 500 where open-wheel cars average over 215 mph.
It certainly will be interesting to see what kind of crowd shows up this year. About 95,000 tickets have been sold to this point. For the sake of the race–you have to hope there is a last minute surge.