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An Indy Tradition Passes

5/19/2008

Time, technology - and money - have combined to end an Indy 500 tradition.

In a different - better - era, some of the best Formula One, NASCAR and sports car drivers would come to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to take their month-of-May shot at The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The prestige and prize of the Brickyard made giving the 500 a go a requirement to achieve historical greatness.

Remember? I do.

Jimmy Clark, Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill, Bobby and Donnie Allison, Cale Yarborough and LeeRoy Yarbrough, Dan Gurney plus Mark Donohue vs. A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Johnny Rutherford, Bobby and Al Unser, Eddie Sachs and Tom Sneva, Gordon Johncock plus Roger Ward.

No more.

The days of versatility have yielded to an era of specialization. In recent weeks, authorities no less than Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Dario Franchitti have gone on record as saying even with Indy's spec Dallara-Honda-Firestone formula, it's no longer possible to just show up in May and be a contender for Borg-Warner immortality.

"I have some desire to do it, but at the same time, I'm realistic," Gordon admitted last month. "I don't know those cars. Just like the open-wheel guys (Franchitti, Sam Hornish Jr.) come here (NASCAR), it takes time, and to just go do one race and not be competitive would bother me."

Stewart, the five-time 500 starter turned twice Sprint Cup champion, was at the Speedway earlier this month. Asked the inevitable question, he sounded a theme similar to Gordon's.

"If I was going to come to Indianapolis again, I don't want to come and show up and run the month of May," Stewart said. "If I am going to do it, I need to start at Homestead (season opener). I need to run all the races leading up to the month of May to really feel like I am being fair to the team and being fair to myself, and have enough time in the car to where when we show up in the month of May, we are ready to go.

"Where I'm comfortable in the car, I'm comfortable with the people I am working with, and feel like I am in tune and up to speed with the technology of the setups and what is going on. As long as I am driving a stock car, that basically takes that part of it out of the equation.

"I'm not going to be one of these guys who just shows up and runs the Indy 500. I've ran the Indy 500; I want to win the Indy 500. I honestly don't believe in the era of the driver that you can just come in on a one-off race and do that. It's virtually impossible. You can't come in and expect (to be) as good as the guys doing it every week."

Franchitti, Indy winner turned NASCAR rookie, agrees.

"I totally understand," said the reigning IndyCar Series champion. "I understand how difficult it is, and how different it is.

"To be honest, even for me, just having been away from those cars for a few months, I don't think I could show up this month and be competitive to win."

Then, there are these modern motorsports' realities: Contracts that restrict a driver's freedom to moonlight, and expanded series schedules that conflict on almost a weekly basis.

So, this is sad, but true:

For racing's biggest names, soloing at the Indy 500 no longer makes sense. Tradition be damned.

[ Next column: June 2 ]

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(I.N. Sider is the pen name for an independent motorsports business-person who has a quarter-century of professional experience working in almost every major North American racing series. The writer is not an employee of Valvoline or Ashland Inc. The column is intended to inform, entertain, and stimulate thought on the contemporary motorsports scene. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Valvoline or Ashland Inc.)

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