IndyCar Racing News

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Here's one writer's troubling outlook for IndyCar vs F1. The attached Autoweek article from today (March 15th) lays out a few of the problems along with some ideas that might help shore up Indycar's potential dilemma. There are some glaring attendance differences already.

"IndyCar Needs to Evolve in Face of F1's Exploding Popularity in the US"

https://www.autoweek.com/racing/indycar ... d568259d8a

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IndyCar

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The first Indianapolis 500 was held in 1911. That's been awhile.

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MarmonWasp - first Indy 500 (1911) winning car.JPG (15.63 KiB) Viewed 3957 times

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Autoweek today, May 25, 2023: "Top 8 Indy 500 Racing Storylines of the Last 30 Years"


[/https://www.autoweek.com/racing/indycar ... ubscribers

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[Stormy_Monday]

good stuff

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Hagerty's Larry Webster from his 5/27/2023 newsletter:

"When an IndyCar driver is traveling more than 300 feet every second, at 240 mph, down the front straight of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, their next task is unthinkable to most of us: They have to hang a left."

https://view.member.hagerty.com/?qs=dd0 ... 8d4941e1a0

The length of a football field per second. In a race car. On the ground (hopefully). That's moving.

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Katherine Legge (car at right) and Stefan Wilson were involved in a scary crash during Monday's seventh practice session for the Indy 500. (Photo by John Chilton-USA TODAY Sports)

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Parts of an Autoweek article highlighting John Watson who won five Formula 1 races during his F1 career that ran from 1973 to 1985 and was the Grand Marshall at last week's IndyCar Grand Prix in Detroit. He's now a pundit and one of the best racing storytellers on the planet, per Autoweek.

"He appreciates all forms of racing, serves as a TV voice for GT3 races, and was thoroughly blown away by this year's Indianapolis 500."

Mr Watson: "I watched (the Indy 500) last weekend," Watson said. "That race is a national treasure. I'm getting goosebumps even now. What a fantastic show. And I couldn't believe the finish. Some people felt it was controversial, there were concerns about cold tires (on the final restart) going flat out into turn one and turn three. I thought it was a fantastic show. Honestly. It was one of the greatest spectacles that I've seen."

"I can't imagine what it's like going into Turn 1 at 240 miles an hour."

A nice, quick read and yet another former F1 racer's assesment of F1 & IndyCar.

https://www.autoweek.com/racing/formula ... d568259d8a

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IndyCar 2024 Schedule & Broadcast Info

TV viewing was a success this year with the announcement that the just-completed 2023 season was the most-watched campaign in IndyCar history, with an average of 1.32 million viewers per race. They are hoping to grow on that for 2024.

"One other change of note in the schedule: the season finale will no longer be at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca along the Central California coast. That race will be moved to June 23, while the final race of the season will now be the Sept. 15 street race in Nashville on a slightly different 2.17-mile, seven-turn layout than in the event’s previous two races."

https://www.autoweek.com/racing/indycar ... d568259d8a

IndyCar 2024 Schedule.pdf

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"New Faces, New Places: 2024 IndyCar Driver Lineup at a Glance"

https://www.autoweek.com/racing/indycar ... d568259d8a

[WillyDaP]

Thanks for the post, plenty of interesting changes and sorry to hear that Pagenaud is still suffering from the concussion, will not race and one wonders about his future?

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Concussions can be bad, both short term and especially later in life if severe enough or if there have been multiple head injuries such as the case for some players in the NHL for example. However, I too found the fact that Pagenaud is still dealing with his from last year to be a bit unusual. It's certainly not a good sign. Hopefully he will fully recover.