NASCAR is Exciting Racing While IndyCar Just Can't Pass.

Just one number: 25,122.

Dave in Indy, you ignorant slut. That one number is all I need to win this entire argument.

That one number is what proves that NASCAR is exciting racing, not as you say, "the pack circling and circling" until the final three to five laps.

But we'll get back to that magic number later.

As I've said before Dave, the first race I ever attended was the 1986 Indy 500. IndyCar was my first love in motorsports. I don't dislike IndyCar. In fact, I even cheated on NASCAR and went to the IRL race in Richmond. Oh no, I think that makes me the ignorant slut.

It's just that IndyCar is a disappointment. The caretakers of the sport have let it fall on hard times a bit.

There are some things about IndyCar where I've got to give them their props.

More than anything, you guys have the coolest looking cars and they go super fast. Okay, they sound like my leaf blower now instead of a fully loaded F-15 like they used to. But they look like race cars.

The caution lights on the race cars is an excellent move and piece of safety equipment.

The most important piece of safety equipment IndyCar has is the traveling safety crew. Those guys are outstanding. NASCAR should listen to Jeff Burton on this one and follow IRL's example instead of relying on uneven local talent..

Also, when there is a wreck in IRL, it usually looks far more spectacular.

On top of that, it's great that women can get a ride in the top IndyCar series while for women in NASCAR even blowing your boss isn't even enough to keep you in a Craftsman ride.

That said, there are so many ways NASCAR is better than IndyCar today. The milk has soured and the bricks taste sweet.

NASCAR has better racing, stronger tradition, bigger field sizes, more fan and sponsor support, is completely unified and simply more exciting. Then there is the entire issue of TV.

IndyCar has road races, a crumbling history, shrinking fields, small purses, weak fan and sponsor support, is a sport divided and a TV disaster.

Let's break it down....

Tradition and History
IndyCar has been around much longer. The sport has a great history. But it's tradition is gone. Even Indianapolis is a mere shadow of it's former self. Beyond IMS there is nothing.

NASCAR on the other hand is filled with rich tradition even with a much shorter history. At every single watershed moment for NASCAR, there has been a seamless transition to the next phase of growth and success.

Field Size and Strength
Other than the 33 cars that start the Indy 500, you are looking at a mere 18 cars on the grid each week. Cup takes the green with 43 every week. And that is with 48-53 trying to get in every week.

That speaks volumes right there.

What's more, there are maybe ten drivers in all of IRL who have a realistic shot of winning a race this year.

In NASCAR, there aren't ten drivers who don't have a realistic shot of winning a race.

Sure, many NASCAR fans and commentators have bemoaned Hendrick Motorsports total dominance this season. That's nothing compared to the gap between the haves and have-nots in IRL.

Fan and Sponsor Support
This one is pretty clear cut. You have NASCAR looking up only at the NFL and most venues sold out. IndyCar has to give tickets away (and still has to close off 60% of the seating).

At the Richmond IndyCar race I attended, nearly half of the 40,000 there were on free tickets. Most of them were actually NASCAR fans like me who were cheating.

The PR team couldn't even find anyone in the stands to answer even the most basic IndyCar trivia in order to give away stuff. They finally gave up and asked a question a NASCAR fan would know ("What is the distance of RIR?").

NASCAR has primary sponsors for more teams than can make the race. IndyCar doesn't even have a title sponsor for the series.

As far as TV goes, we'll get there....

Unified vs. Divided
NASCAR is a benevolent dictatorship. There are times when that is more than a little frustrating for everyone. But it sure beats the fratricide that exists in the American Open wheel racing between IRL and CHAMP.

Talk about killing the golden goose.

Purse Size
After twelve races only six IRL drives have won over $1 million. In NASCAR, you had 38 who had won over $1 million after twelve races.

It looks like IndyCar is going to lose at least one driver -- a former champion no less -- to NASCAR in 2008.

The best thing to happen to the series since the IRL/CART split has been Danica Patrick (although not everyone is thrilled about that). If she decides to go drive stock cars, what is going to happen to the purse size and the stability of IndyCar then?

Television
Ratings aren't even worth discussing.

But Dave, while you and your fellow corporate types are sipping Chardonnay in a suite at an IndyCar road race (where you get to see your favorite driver for ten seconds every 70 seconds), I'm watching a NASCAR race from the best seat there is: on my couch watching in the race in beautiful, High Definition.

Sure, the experience of being at the track is a great experience. But NASCAR fans get to do something 38 times a year that IndyCar fans have only ever gotten once: a race in HD. If you want to watch the race, it is the best seat in the house.

Sure, NASCAR fans have to put up with the nightmare amateurs at TNT (and there are plenty of times those clowns make us want to go Kyle Petty), and sure ESPN has shown they can underwhelm, but at least we've get a solid dose of racing on Fox.

Of course, don't forget, NASCAR fans get 38 races a year and IndyCar only gets 17.

Racing
This is what it's all about. Good solid racing.

More than anything else, this is where IndyCar has slid and NASCAR is consistent and solid.

Sure, NASCAR puts on a couple of snoozers (hey, we have two road races on the schedule). But remember that magic number? 25,122.

That is the number of quality passes in NASCAR just so far this season (a quality pass is a green flag pass of a top 15 car -- a stat they don't even bother to keep in IndyCar because it happens so rarely).

Go to IndyCar.com and do a search on "difficult to pass".

It turns up 20 results. IndyCar has only had 12 races so far. Yet plenty of IRL drivers keep talking about how "difficult to pass" it is.

As frustrating as it is for the drivers, how frustrating is it for the fans? How many lead lap passes for position have there been in IndyCar this year? 250, 500, 600, 1,000?

Nobody knows, but it is a real small number.

In racing, passing is like scoring. Americans like lots of scoring. NASCAR has lots of scoring, kind of like the NFL.

IndyCar doesn't, kind of like soccer. Get a few more paying fans and with that much frustration there maybe you guys could create some interest with some good solid soccer style riots.

So when you think about the "pack circling and circling" aren't you really thinking IRL, Dave?

Because in NASCAR, that pack of rabid dogs is fighting tooth and nail, metal on metal for track position in nearly every corner on every single lap in every race -- not just the final few.