Goodbye USGP

No doubt of that. And as much as I like F1 and want the race to be in Indy, I can't knock Tony George for his decision. Ecclestone will be dead by the time the damage is done from his extortionary sanctioning fees. He's pulling the same shit in Europe and he is running a serious risk of ruining his core fanbase to chase the money.

In retrospect, the worst thing the track ever did was sell those 200,000 tickets in '00.

They sold many sections that were far out of sight from the race course, sections they later removed from ticket circulation. For example, there's no reason at all to sit in the oval's south short chute, you can't see much of anything because the cars ride the wall in that portion of the track.

It was like selling the entire football bowl of a dome for a Final Four, which they don't do anymore.

Of course that didn't stop dipshit news organizations (not naming names) who wouldn't provide all of the context as to why there was a drop from 200,000 to the 100,000-120,000 fanbase the race had settled into. Some of the selective misinformation or just plain ignorant reporting in some of the stories I read was amazing.

As far as ticket sales alone, the '05 tire debacle had very little effect. If anything, despite reports that suggest otherwise, attendance seemed to be slightly up this year.

 

I've always wondered about that -- I wasn't there in 2000, but I've been to the last 5, and I can't imagine where you would put that many people. The areas with a halfway decent view have been packed.

I'm also tired of reading that sections that are full for the 500 and for NASCAR sit empty for the USGP. Well, no shit. You can't see the F1 track from those grandstands.

 

From a sport's perspective, the event had little traction in Central Indiana. A substantial percentage of fans hailed from Europe and South America.

The reaction in and around the track was more like losing a top-flight convention, one where the attendees had lots of money to spend at high-end hotels and restaurants. That money will be missed. The race will not be.