Comments on: Debate: Monaco Grand Prix vs Indy 500

By: John D.

John D. — Sat, 28 May 2011 10:55:58 +0000

I will be watching both from Dubai. It is a shame that Formula One pulled out of Indianapolis. Though there are a lot of great racing venues around the world, one being here in Abu Dhabi, the true racing capital of the world is Indianapolis. Indy gave the Formula One the largest paid admission in the world. Indy has the largest paid audience comparing the two. Formula One has the largest purse for the winner. Both have a lot of class and both offer the racing fan the best in racing entertainment.

By: Mark Vieira

Mark Vieira — Sun, 30 May 2010 20:28:10 +0000

Does any one remember in the 70′s of a driver coming to the end of the race and couldn’t take it and drove to the lake in the center of the tract and jumped into the because he was over heating ??

By: sam

sam — Thu, 31 May 2007 17:46:22 +0000

Indy 500 is about as difficult as driving a bumpercar at the county fair. No talent, no skill, it’s all about driving around in a big circle. Driving IndyCars on ovals is about as idiotic an idea as it gets. Again, NO talent required. Push down gas. Just like Nascar. The first time you find a real race course, half the field crashes out because they can’t comprehend anything other than an oval.

By: chunter

chunter — Fri, 25 May 2007 21:49:12 +0000

Number 38 has another good point. I have to work that way, but from the magic of TiVo I’ll watch all the races eventually.

Anyone still bummed about the ChampIRL schism might find the second half of this interesting:

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/News/Article.asp?ID=11595

By: Journeyer

Journeyer — Fri, 25 May 2007 21:40:54 +0000

I’m with Number 38 and Paul… I can watch both, so I’ll watch both. Racing has different disciplines, and each has its own good stuff and bad stuff.

But if I’ll only pick one? I’ll take F1 any day of the week. If we think F1 is losing its soul, IRL and the Indy 500 lost it a long time ago.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 25 May 2007 17:06:03 +0000

I’ll be watching both Monte Carlo and The Indianapolis 500. In California the timing is right and I can record them on my DVR in any case.

Monte Carlo is so very exciting – I have been following it since the 50′s When many of the historic names competed.

The 500 is a sentimental favorite with my family and I cannot bring myself to miss it, even though it is the only non-F1 race I watch.

By: Robert McKay

Robert McKay — Fri, 25 May 2007 13:26:24 +0000

The one time I watched the Indy 500, two drivers slipstreamed each other with ease every single straight. Back and forth they went. Oval driving might require a different skill set to road racing, but passing was almost impossible NOT to acheive. This alternation of the lead went on for 190-odd laps. Every time they pulled away from the chasing pack, someone hit a wall and full course yellows brough everyone back together. This happened about 5 laps from the finish, effectively rendering the entire marathon race a sprint for the line.

Honestly, it wasn’t really a spectacle in my eyes. Sure there’s a lot of fans, but it’s an oval built to hold a lot of fans. Sure there’s lots of overtaking, but very little of it actually EARNED like in road racing. Add in the political schism and I don’t really see how there’s even a contest: Monaco wins by a mile. But I understand how to IRL fans, 22 cars stuck behind each other on a tiny narrow little circuit might seem as depressing to them as the Indy 500 seems to me.

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Fri, 25 May 2007 08:55:41 +0000

I see Dan Wheldon in The Independent today casts his vote for the Indy 500… but he would, wouldn’t he?

“Winning at Monaco would be great, but it’s nothing next to the Indy 500″ – http://sport.independent.co.uk/motor_racing/article2581135.ece

By: Lustigson

Lustigson — Fri, 25 May 2007 07:36:51 +0000

I’ll also be watching both races.

I don’t think you could say either one is THE race. They’re both THE race in their respective categories. After all, we can’t compare Le Mans or the Daytona 500 to these two, can we?

By: Nathan Jones

Nathan Jones — Fri, 25 May 2007 07:35:23 +0000

champcar drivers dont enter indy 50 because of injury!
look at bruno junquiera a couple of years ago!
was in title battle then out for season after indy.
they have nothing to gain and everything to lose!
if those 2 series merged we would have the glory days of champcar back! until then i wont watch either!
champcar is not even shown in oz this year! even tho there is an aussie winning!