The biggest race weekend of the year is once again upon me and all I can think right now is, please don’t suck Indy 500! I never worry about NASCAR’s Coca Cola 600 being in danger of major suckitude because I think that NASCAR in general is more self aware of its existence as entertainment. The show is everything, and they make sure it’s easy for you to come on in, take your shoes off, and put your feet up on the table. The Indy 500 is another matter in this respect. For one thing, it took me 10 minutes just to find out when the the race coverage began and who was covering it looking first on Yahoo’s Indy 500 page and then on the official Indy 500 site. It shouldn’t be that hard to find this kind of information. But more to the point, the coverage of the race itself over the past few years has not been nearly as entertaining as the NASCAR coverage.
I think maybe the Indy 500 takes itself a little too seriously. Yes, it is the grand daddy of big races and deserves major props for that. But it is still entertainment and should be presented in an entertaining fashion. I’m sure that if I go to the race myself I’ll easily find that sort of carnival atmosphere I would expect surrounding a big race. The coverage of the race should project this fun as much as possible for the viewers at home. At least that’s what I think. I guess all I’m really asking for is a little more color to the coverage. Open wheel racing, like Soccer, is a major religion in the rest of the world. But like Soccer, here in the US, coverage of open wheel racing in the IRL, CART, and F1 has been less than spectacular. Here’s hoping things will turn around with this year’s Indy 500. At least they’ve got Milka Duno!:D