bob jennings' WORLD O' RACING  08/22/99

NASCAR - the National Association for SLOW car auto racing

At least that's what it seemed like, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for the sixth running of the "Brickyard 400."  

I love the Indianapolis Motor Speedway more than any place in this world. There 's no where I would rather have been on Saturday August 7, 1999. Next August, I'll walk up to some ticket "broker," about 20 minutes before the seventh "Brickyard 400," and give the guy less than face value for his ticket, which he doesn't want to "eat," just like I do every year, and I'll walk casually to wherever my newly purchased seat is located, and video tape and watch the race and try to get some photos from the grandstands, which will be mostly a futile effort. I'll get bored with the race, after about an hour and look forward to the finish. When it's over, I'll be glad that I was present for the "Brickyard 400," but also thankful it's over for another year. I'll go home, watch my personal video footage, then a replay of the television coverage. The next morning, I'll read the articles in The Indianapolis Star.

Then, I'll forget about it, unless, of course, I'm still doing this website and I want to write about the race, which is what I want to do now. 

With the exception of the "IROC at Indy," I want to be at every race, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I'll go to all three big events, in 2000, at IMS; my 45th consecutive "Indianapolis 500," my seventh "Brickyard 400," and the 19th Formula One event I've personally attended. If the "Indianapolis 500" has experienced a drop in prestige, from earlier years, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway remains the most famous and important racing venue in the world. The word "Indy" is still racing's most familiar word. If there's a race, at the Speedway, I want to be there.

Although I don't agree, there are some who will say that the "Brickyard 400" has surpassed my beloved "Indianapolis 500" in popularity. The "Brickyard 400" is a big deal and there was the feeling, as I walked down Georgetown Road, on the way to my seat, in Grandstand B, that the crowd was more enthusiastic than the one I'd seen, in May, for the "500."

Once I got seated, with a few moments to settle, look at my program, smoke a cigarette and get my old GE camcorder ready, the differences between the "Indianapolis 500" and the "Brickyard 400" became obvious though.  

I didn't see an empty seat (I did at the 1998 "Brickyard 400"), and the NASCAR folks were packed in, with their radio scanners, their Miller Lites and Buds, dressed in the very latest in Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett , Rusty Wallace, Terry Labonte and Tony Stewart fashion. I think I was the only one, in the 300,000 plus crowd, without a piece of clothing which presented the image of some NASCAR hero. People seemed friendly though and I didn't get any threatening looks that I know of.

The crowd hollered each time one of their heroes was mentioned by Tom Carnegie, over the public address. The sun was shining and the colors on the 43 cars were vivid and bright as they were lined up, ready to race.

There was something lacking though, which is always present, even in the current era, in the moments leading up to the start of the "Indianapolis 500."  It's called anticipation. Maybe I was the only person in the crowd who noticed it, but the electricity and magic that is the start of the "500" wasn't hanging over the huge gathering like it does on Memorial Day weekend. People were having a good time, but there wasn't a lot of tension in the air.

The "Brickyard 400" has all the racing heroes. The NASCAR stars are racing's major league players.

Arie Luyendyk and Tony Stewart were the only drivers resembling stars in the 1999 "Indianapolis 500." Now they are both gone from the "500." So actually, at the moment, the only thing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has to sell, in May, is the "Indianapolis 500."

For the August race, I'm convinced the Speedway is selling the stars of NASCAR as much as they're selling the "Brickyard 400." That's not true for the "Daytona 500," in February, which has a personality, history and tradition. I think it's true at every other circuit where the Winston Cup cars compete, however, that the NASCAR drivers are the show, rather than the race event itself.

It's probably difficult to determine which of the two events, "Brickyard 400" or the "Indianapolis 500," is more profitable for the Speedway.

The "500" race crowd is still larger than the "Brickyard 400" crowd. The Speedway doesn't sell general admission, in August, and there is no inside seating, in turns three and four, as there is in May. That has to account for a few thousand more fans, maybe 10,000 to 15,000. To balance the race day differences, however, the NASCAR race drew 50,000 on the first day, of NASCAR qualifying, and something like 100,000 people the next day, which featured the IROC race. I don't have numbers, but  the total number of people to come to the Speedway,  in May, prior to race day, didn't total 150,000 people. 

I believe this was the first year tickets for both events were the same price. In the past, "500" tickets were slightly higher. Revenues, from tickets and admissions, have to be pretty close from both races. Obviously souvenir sales would be much higher, for the "Brickyard 400," although it's hard to determine how many of those souvenirs were Indianapolis Motor Speedway items.

The Speedway pays racing's highest prize, for the "500." The total payout for the 1999 "500" was a record $9,047,150, with $1,465,190 going to winner Kenny Brack. This year's total "Brickyard 400" purse was a record $5,563,760, with race winner Dale Jarrett receiving $712,240. Last February, the total purse for the "Daytona 500" was $8,110,228, with winner Jeff Gordon receiving $1,194,246, plus an additional $1 million, from R.J. Reynolds, for winning the Winston Million bonus. Therefore the "Brickyard 400" costs the Speedway less than the "500" in terms of prize money expenses, by $3.4 million. Although I don't know the rates, the Speedway pays no sanctioning fees for the "500." I'm sure the money paid to NASCAR, for sanctioning, is big dollars. In terms of television ratings, the "Indianapolis 500" (5.5) had a higher rating than the "Brickyard 400" (4.7), which translates into more sponsor revenue. Keep in mind too, that the ratings, for the "Brickyard 400," included the Indianapolis area, where the race has been shown live the past two years. The live ABC telecast, of the "500," continues to be blacked out in Indianapolis and shown in replay on the night of the race.   

Only the Speedway and the Internal Revenue Service know for sure, I guess, which is the bigger pay day.

There can be no denying that Dale Jarrett put on a stellar performance and was as deserving a winner as the "Brickyard 400" has had. Jarrett's second "Brickyard 400" win had to be especially sweet after last year's race, in which he had the fastest car, only to run out of fuel, while Jeff Gordon went on to win and also collect another $1 million Winston bonus, from R.J. Reynolds.

Despite Jarrett's dominant run, however, the rest of the race (or lack thereof) was a huge bore.

To keep track of the race and to pass the time, I tracked the first ten cars, at ten lap intervals, on the scorecard, in the souvenir program. I copied my data from the scoring pylon, at the south end of the pits and only missed charting lap 60. Of the 43 drivers starting the race, beginning with lap ten, through lap 160, the following drivers ran in the top ten, at these intervals: Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, John Andretti, Mike Skinner, Tony Stewart, Kenny Irwin, David Green, Ward Burton, Jeff Burton, Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine. It doesn't reflect much competition does it?

Ten years ago, NASCAR had the most competitive racing in the world. In any given race, there were 20 to 25 cars that might win under varying situations. Today there might be five or six that can win on a regular basis, with another three or four that can win in unusual circumstances. Some fans might say that the Speedway isn't a configuration suitable for NASCAR, but I think the  facts point to the 1999 "Brickyard 400" being a prime example of what Winston Cup racing 1999 has become at most races.

During the first 50 laps, the only drivers running in the top four, were Gordon, Jarrett, Martin and Bobby Labonte. It took Jarrett about 40 laps to establish his advantage, so there were a couple exchanges for the lead, during that period of the race. For lap after lap, the leading four cars held about five seconds on the second pack, of Andretti, Stewart, Skinner, Irwin and Ward Burton, and that pattern didn't seem to vary. It was like a CART street race; more a parade than a race. A few nights ago, I saw Ryan Newman and Jason Leffler put on a much more entertaining show, in 40 laps of USAC Midget racing, at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

What's intriguing to me is that most of the actual racing for position took place after the final series of pit stops. In fact, except for leader Jarrett, every one of the other top five places saw drivers fighting for position. Of course this didn't seem to matter to many of the fans, who were leaving their seats, in bunches, with 20 laps left to run. These must've been the fans of the drivers who weren't in contention. I didn't see any one with a Dale Jarrett tee shirt or cap leaving. I recall this same thing happening, last year, when I was sitting in the North Vista, during the closing laps of the "Brickyard 400," when Jeff Gordon had things pretty well wrapped up.

I contrast this with last May 30, and the final laps of the "500." No one was going anywhere, as Kenny Brack and Jeff Ward were chasing and everyone was waiting to see if  Robby Gordon had enough fuel to hold on for the win.  It must be that racing versus hero worship thing I keep referring to, that seems to prevail in NASCAR.

Something else that kept coming to me, as I watched the Winston Cup cars circling the Speedway, was how slow they run, and how funny they look. I'm used to seeing sleek rear engine open wheel rockets running in excess of 220 mph around the Speedway. Winston Cup features four wheel boxes, that resemble billboards along the interstate, just sort of lumbering along about 160 mph, like they were running under the yellow flag. At no time, during the race, which ran virtually from flag to flag, under the green flag, did I feel a sensation of high speed; just repeated motion.

Yet, millions of people, in this country, live for NASCAR. A few nights, before the "Brickyard 400," I was going north on the east leg of I 465, when I saw a Pontiac Grand Prix painted to look exactly like Bobby Labonte's bright green Interstate Batteries car 18. I couldn't believe it! I wish I could've had a look at the driver to see who would paint their personal automobile to look like a Winston Cup car.

During Summer 1979, I was living in Chicago. I recall that Brown & Williamson Tobacco paid people to paint their Volkswagen Beetles in the green and silver colors, of a new brand of Kool cigarettes, that was being introduced. But those people were paid to have their cars look like that. I imagine the Bobby Labonte fan paid a lot of money to have his car painted like car 18. Labonte ought to take the time to meet that person. Without too much persuasion, I bet he or she would come to Bobby's home and do some free chores, house cleaning, laundry, yard work, etc. They might even pay Labonte to do them.

Therein lies the problem. NASCAR has found a gimmick to sell their personalities and the money keeps pouring in. Unfortunately, the competition, which was the element that used to shine so brightly, in NASCAR, has taken a hit, in the process. Now there are a growing number of mega teams and big money players coming into the sport, replacing some of the real racers that have played such a strong part in bringing NASCAR to its present level of popularity and commercialism. NASCAR icons, like Bud Moore and Junie Donleavey have more or less been cast off, and even more recent heroes like Bill Elliott and Ricky Rudd face tough times, with their one car teams.

Elliott, who has to rank as one of the most important personalities in NASCAR's rise to popularity, is set to lose his McDonald sponsorship in 2001. He looked like a victim, of this commercial explosion, during the "Brickyard 400." His car 94 McDonald's Taurus was painted in some sort of a silver, black, red design scheme, that looked like the inner workings of a Swiss watch. Isn't that a great look for a race car? Rudd, the 1997 "Brickyard 400" faces even more imminent problems. His long time sponsor Tide goes away after this season and Ricky is considering folding his team and driving for another operation.

I get excited about the "Daytona 500." February Speedweeks mark one of the highlights of the racing season. For the rest, of the Winston Cup season, I watch most of the races, on television, and some of them I enjoy. But many of them sort of seem to just run together in a weekly continuation of basically the same story, framed by infomercials, selling Rusty Wallace jackets, Dale Earnhardt die cast models and Jeff Gordon tee shirts.

In some ways, I feel bad that I can't connect with NASCAR and benefit from this growth period, for motorsport, that is being propelled by their explosion in popularity. It's a tough time being an Indy car racing fan because my sport faces a perilous and uncertain future, while NASCAR keeps growing and growing. Now, with some sort of an accord, between CART and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, looking more likely, I worry that means a return to CART style racing, at some point in the near future, in May, for the "Indianapolis 500."

Things aren't the way I'd like them to be. It may be that the only sanctuary I'll have in this current phase, is to continue what I've been doing this Summer and take refuge in the USAC events going on around Indiana.

One last thought I want to throw into the theme of this piece, which is sort of a loose comparison between the "Indianapolis 500" and the "Brickyard 400," is this, and it brings some comfort to me. The only continuing story, in racing, that seems to rival NASCAR for space, in the media, is the Indy car split, with May, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, being the primary focus of the discussion. That seems to indicate that the "500" remains the more important of the two events.