Indy needs to draw NASCAR drivers to succeed
Since the start time for the Indy 500 has moved to later in the day (1 p.m. ET) it is almost impossible to race at Indy, get on a plane to Charlotte and get in your race car in time for the start of the Coca-Cola 600 that evening (5:40 p.m. ET).
Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials should do everything possible to make it easier for the NASCAR drivers to race at Indy.
Either go back to an earlier start time on Sunday, or even better, move the Indy 500 to the Memorial Day holiday on Monday.
The Indy 500 remains an American classic, but the field of 33 drivers isn't what it used to be. Adding Cup drivers certainly would help.
So who would do it? Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon, two men who've done the double, wouldn't hesitate to race again in the Indy 500.
They wouldn't be alone. J.J. Yeley, Kasey Kahne, Casey Mears, Dave Blaney, A.J. Allmendinger and Indiana native Ryan Newman also would do it under the right circumstances. Juan Pablo Montoya won it in 2000.
And don't forget Jeff Gordon, who spent his high school years only a few miles away from the Brickyard. He grew up dreaming of racing in the Indy 500.
Even Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has no open-wheel experience, has said in the past he would love to try it. Imagine the interest that would bring, even if he just showed up to test drive one of the cars.
Isn't it worth making the change to get some of these guys in the race? ESPN.com [Editor's Note: NASCAR is not going to do anything to help rival IRL, and to think so is simply naive. They want their race to always have higher TV ratings. The only way you will see a lot of NASCAR drivers in the Indy 500 is when the current administration runs the Indy 500 far enough into the ground that the France family buys the Speedway and makes the Indy 500 a NASCAR race.]