Just fifteen years ago, Race Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway meant celebrities out the ying-yang, corporate helicopters at a massive temporary heliport 1/4 mile south of the track, U.S. and international press packs wandering around looking for one more angle on the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.  Limousines and police escorts ran back and forth non-stop, rushing privileged folks from their helicopters to their suites at the track.  A select few landed their helicopters inside the massive track.  General Electric, Philip Morris, British Petroleum, Coca Cola, Annheiser Busch, Proctor & Gamble, Ford Motor Company, Mercedes Benz, Ferrari Motorsports, and MANY other companies brought their best customers to the Speedway for the most well attended and exciting single day event on the sports calendar.  The cars wore all of the most prestigious colors and brand names of many of these companies, the drivers had readily recognized/popular name brands emblazoned on their colorful firesuits - the obvious attention of the worlds top corporate organization, as well as the common sporting fan, was clearly focused on Indianapolis on that day.

Fifteen years later, the race is MORE competitive and exciting in terms of action on the track.  However, the corporate presence has radically dimmed and, with it, some of the air of electricity surrounding not only Race Day, but Indy's entire "Month of May" experience.  Much of the top U.S. sponsorship has shifted to NASCAR.  And much of the international business sponsorship and attendance has simply gone away.  The massive temporary heliport exists no more.  Fewer than a dozen helicopters ferry people to and from the track (from local airports and the downtown Indy heliport).  The limousines are there, but more often they are we common folk renting the limos as a somewhat cost effective way to expeditiously get into and out of the track on Race Day.

Race Day remains an incredible spectacle, one well worth seeing in-person.  There is NOTHING in sports more intensely exciting than flying start of The 500 - NOTHING.  However, it is different seeing only a few cars with major sponsors:  Target, the Marlboro colors (can't advertise cigarettes ...), the New York Stock Exchange, Panasonic, ... and a few "B" players:  Patron (tequila), Canadian Club, AAMCO, and one or two others.  And then there is the pathetic ...   It is truly depressing to see these incredibly powerful, quick, aerodynamic machines fly around the brickyard at 225 mph with names such as "Jays Chips", "Z-Vision" (what the hell is that?), ABC Liquours, and the like.  The Indy 500 keeps the series afloat.  Without the money raked in during the month of May, there would be no IRL.  Even at that, they are unable to attract the types of sponsors that you'd expect anymore.  And it's been this way for about a decade now.

There will be a full house on Race Day.  ABC Sports will telecast the race live to the rest of the country - for many, it's still a tradition to listen to the radio broadcast or watch the televised broadcast of The 500, although the audience is declining (as it is for most major motorsports including NASCAR).  If this years race is anything like last years, it will be a great event - with plenty of pomp & circumstance. 

But, if Tony George and his crew don't put a full-on push to unify the open wheel series and direct all of their energies on attracting the best sponsors and drivers back to this series, I'm afraid the race will eventually suffer irreparable damage in that it will become hopelessly irrelevant in the racing world.   Nothing against "Jays Chips" or "Z-Vision" - but those names belong on the sides of late model stock cars competing at the bullrings around the country, NOT the Indy 500.