Start your engines!
It seems appropriate to explain the BIG picture when it comes to the significance of the Indianapolis 500 to the world of racing since it just ran a few weeks back. Also since SPORTS ILLUSTRATED referred to it as "the race that was once America's most watched and celebrated". Now their statement could be a matter of semantics, but it definately got me thinking as to the real significance of the Indianapolis 500.
OK let's deal with this subject with straight forward facts. In the world of auto racing there is no autorace that has been around as long as the Indianapolis 500. Starting in 1911, it has been through both World Wars and is nearing 100 years old. Here are the facts on some of the world's other very siginificant races. The 24 Hours of LeMans, started in 1923; the Monaco Grand Prix, started in 1929; the Daytona 500, started in 1959. Two of these had to deal with World War II, but not World War I. The Daytona 500 did not have to deal with either. In this crowd, the Daytona 500 is a relatively new race. Only Indianapolis stands alone in the racing world as having been around for both World Wars. This alone is one of the reasons why winning the Indy 500 is a major event in any drivers life. Actually if you accept SPORTS ILLUSTRATED's opinion, it would more accuratly be stated "the race that was once the world's most watched and celebrated". My change is in bold type and is "the world's" instead of "America's". In case you may not realize it, Peugeot, Mercedes, Fiat, Opel and a few other "foriegn" car makers were involved in the race from virtually the beginning. And these "foreign" cars included many "foreign" drivers.
This was a significant event to the world from the beginning.
Yes I understand that many are trying to trivialize the significance of the Indy 500, now. Look very close and you'll find that these opinions and statements are motivated by reasons of biased competition from other forms of racing or for reasons of profit and dollars. Here's a fact about Indianapolis that is lost by even those that drive in it today.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the longest running and oldest surviving purpose-built racetrack in the world.
Read the last sentence again. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is hallowed ground for ANY fan of speed and racing. It's not just a mass of steel, asphalt and cement in the heatland of America known as Speedway, Indiana. And since 1911 it has held the Indianapolis 500, the longest running speed contest testing man and machine at the limit.
I stood next to Jackie Stewart, Formula 1 world champion and former Indy 500 competitor, right before the start of the race one year while he described what Indianapolis is, to a group of guests. We were standing on the track next to the cars, minutes before "Gentlemen start your engines". He told everyone that in his life he had been able to witness many exciting events, which included non-racing events, like seeing the Pope in Vatican Square. He said that witnessing the Indy 500 was as thrilling and exciting as any of these. I'm sure he didn't mean that the Indy 500 is a religious experience, but if you have been to Indy, you'll understand what he means.
Now I know there will be some out there that will say that the old statement that the best drivers in the world compete in the Indy 500, is far from true. Realistically if you're looking at the whole field, I agree with that. But I will also agree with the fact that the same is true for Formula 1. It's been this way for both, since the beginning. Formula 1 has had it's share of "sportsmen" racers since the beginning that have "bought" their way into the competition, and so has the Indy 500.
Yes Indy's luster has been tarnished by 13 years of fighting between two sanctioning groups, but it's still the Indy 500. Just sit back and watch in the coming years. And to those of us who love racing, we owe it to ourselves, whether we be stock car fans, drag racing fans, dirt track fans, road racing fans or open wheel fans to honor such an important part of racing history.
Copyright MMVIII Ed Justice, Jr.