IndyCar racing being left in the dust

By Max J. Dickstein, amNewYork Sports Editor | mdickstein@am-ny.com

May 23, 2008

Ah, the Indy Racing League. Let us count the ways of its potential appeal:

* An international field of drivers, including three women, one of whom is a sex symbol (Danica Patrick).

* The merger in February of IRL and CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams), the fulfillment of a promise to reunify U.S. open-wheel racing fans and simplify the IndyCar championship.

* The unbroken, 92-year tradition of the Indianapolis 500, "The Greatest Spectacle In Racing," which runs again this Sunday.

And yet IndyCar racing looks increasingly like a waste of gasoline.

Its product rests uncomfortably between the indelicate, paint-trading rowdiness of NASCAR and the elite speed and technical superiority of Formula One.

Last year's Indy 500 winner and IndyCar series champion, Dario Franchitti, left for NASCAR and a new challenge. Patrick and this year's top-ranked driver, Helio Castroneves of Brazil, have faced repeated rumors that they may do the same.

As these omens have developed, the youngest generation of IndyCar's great dynasties (the Andrettis, Unsers and Foyts) have faded from the leaderboards.

The sport will endure, of course, and it shouldn't be discontinued anyway. But better-defined alternatives to IRL are reaching for the racing fan's dollar, and IndyCar is not the big-time destination for talent that is has been historically.

Instead, IndyCar is a marginalized proving ground, and its top drivers should be, and probably will be, moving someplace better.