The Month of May in Indy

It's May 1st here in Indianapolis. For race fans, that means one thing...NASCAR races at Richmond, Darlington and Atlanta, right? Unfortunately, that's what has happened all over the country--even Indianapolis: the home of open-wheel racing in America. I don't know how many times I've heard conversations here between two or more guys where one of them says something like, "I used to be an open-wheel fan, but I follow NASCAR now. I like [insert favorite dumb driver name here]."

If you want to watch NASCAR, go ahead. Deep down inside, I'm a race fan and cannot tell you what to watch. If you enjoy week after week (32 in a season, I think) of races that last 4-5 hours where the drivers often purposefully run into each other and the fans throw beers bottles at you after you win a race, have at it. But if you live in Central Indiana, you need to teach your kids about the "500" (not that thing they do in Daytona every February). Tell them about Rodger Ward, Rick Mears, AJ Foyt, the Unser family, and even some of today's greats like Helio Castroneves (the FIRST guy to climb a fence after a race), Sam Hornish Jr., and Dan Wheldon. If you have daughters, let them dream about racing at the famed 2 1/2 mile oval just like Sarah Fisher and Danica Patrick (and perhaps Milka Duno).

Regardless of where you live--if you're a race fan, you need to respect the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing." You would also like the competitive action found in the Indy Racing League's current 17 race schedule where the races last no more than a couple hours (with the exception of the 500) and the competition is intense.