The Month of May in Indianapolis

Milt Thompson

On the eve of qualifications at our venerable Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I am at great pause with respect to the shadow of what once was great, but not so great.

I grew up in the hay day of Indy Car racing and recall the magical attraction of the place. I continued to be a spectator well into my adulthood and have been fortunate to have worked with great race car drivers and race teams.

I witnessed the Indy Care split, lost of prestige, and consequent reunion of the series more than a decade later.

I, like others, always appreciated the posture of the Motor Speedway and the Hulman Family as they operated a successful enterprise without taxing government for a subsidy. I also, like others, watched before our eyes, a private business implode when the family squabble became public.

What we now expect of new management as they attempt to restore luster to a diminished jewel?

I would submit that gimmicks and get well quick schemes will only exacerbate a market that has lost interest. I will, like you, hope that current management will not forget their history or I fear they might lose their way.

Not only has the Indianapolis 500 lost its mind share in the international and national market; it has lost a great deal of its local appeal. As much as I try, I am having a difficult time “feeling” the month of May with great enthusiasm.

I hope that management will listen carefully to the market place and take steps to reengage its core business so that we may once again proclaim Indy as the “greatest spectacle in racing.”