Venting...

[Liz]

(useless, but oh well...)

I find it ridiculous that the BY 400 doesn't roll off before 1:40 - 1:45! Thanks to NBC, I'm sure! Though I'm only a paying customer and one of the bottom feeders of NASCAR, I think the race could start at least an hour sooner. After fighting traffic etc. they could at least send out some bands or so-called celebs to entertain us

Seriously, though, while I don't have to drive that far to get home, one of my family members who loves the BY had to drive another 3 1/2 hours and then go to work this morning and I hate it for her. I know a lot of us do that for the sport we love, but in this case, it just seems like the BY could definitely be started sooner. A time comparison - by the time the Brickyard finally gets the green, the 500 is almost over.

I just think it's very sad that a TV network can dictate the start time of any event to the detriment of the actual paying customer, but $$$ talks!

[IndyJim]

I thought the same thing about the MIS 400 last week. Starting that race at 3pm is a crime for all the folks that have to drive home, plus it doesn't give you much of a weather window if you get rain. Already the race doesn't end till 5:30pm.

I know they do it for the tv audience out west, but for the paying folks in the stands, it is a shame.

[Doctorindy]

Re: Venting...

Originally posted by Liz
I just think it's very sad that a TV network can dictate the start time of any event to the detriment of the actual paying customer, but $$$ talks!

Funny how the only race I can think of that isn't dictated by the network is the Indy 500 itself. An 11 AM EST start makes for a 9 AM start on the west coast. Been like that for decades...

Wonder if that one will ever slide later...

[jrandrew00]

I did not get out of the track till 8pm when my dad got off work. They need to start at least an hour or two earlier please. I went home and fell asleep while watching America Dreams on NBC. To entertain myself from 5:30 to 8pm was watching Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, Rusty Wallance, Ryan Newman, Robbie Lomis and other leave on helipcopters. Join a wife and husband from Wisconsin to wave to transporters and motorhomes. We got the 37, 24, 48, 29 transporters to honk which was cool. Others did wave though. Some owner or driver which was staying in the motorhome lot by my dad's post waved to us on the way out.

[SPM]

Good points.

I no longer attend the BY400 or the IRL race at Michigan because of the late starting times.

[rev-ed]

I attended the IRL race at Michigan specifically because of the late starting time. Had it started at 1, I couldn't have come.

Personally, I've been wanting the 500 start to be pushed back to at least 1:00 for years. . .

[Mr. Indy]

Glad this thread is here. I hope someone at the IMS reads this:

I am surprised no one mentioned the time stated on the tickets: 1:30 PM EST. Now, where I come from, EST is one hour sooner than CST which is where Indy is, so the race should have started at 12:30 PM in Indy. Instead, we spent hours sitting on our duffs looking at nothing cause NASCAR couldn't afford to put on some kind of show for the fans waiting on NBC to decide to show the race. I for one, don't care what time the race starts but at least have enough intelligence to know what time zone you are holding a race in and start it at the advertised time printed on the tickets. Indy starts at 11:00 AM Indy time, always has (as long as I can remember) and probably always will. The thing is, that is the time on the tickets, the newspapers, the radios and TV so that is the time that should be used to start the race. :mad:

[BigWheelHawaii]

Originally posted by SPM
Good points.

I no longer attend the BY400 or the IRL race at Michigan because of the late starting times.

SPM,,,, Alooha Buddie,,,


You just about sums this baby up,,, you just answered the 64 Thousand Dollar Question...

The "Warm Living Body" that fills the stands,,, that's who holds the "Keys to the Kingdom", that's the barometer, that's the one who tells all, how well the series is doing... It's not the TV deal, not the sponsors, it's not the teams, nor the drivers, they all are secondary...

It's the fan through the turnstile...

You better make the show very simple, concise, clean, and make it a very enjoyable outing, for that "Warm Body".... Or it's time to pull a Hara Kiri, or you might just as well make that big Swan Dive, off the Golden Gate...

That's why I just laught my AZZ off, and that's a lot of "Laughting" to do, in my case... When someone says, Tony is only interested in the big bucks, he won't listen to the fans... If that is the case, this dog won't hunt, and it will never hunt, might as well take it to the pound, and simply gas it right now... That's the main reason, CART was simply a passing joke, it was a conflict of interest, from day one... Pain and Simple, car owners and fans, aren't on the same page, never were, and never will be...

I forget now, but one of these Race Tracks, was kicking the fans around... That's a "Kamakazi Move",,,, hara-kiri with a dull knife.... it's that simple...

Through These Golden Arches, Pass the Most Important People in the World,,,, out Customers....

[stymie]

Originally posted by MrIndy
Glad this thread is here. I hope someone at the IMS reads this:

I am surprised no one mentioned the time stated on the tickets: 1:30 PM EST. Now, where I come from, EST is one hour sooner than CST which is where Indy is, so the race should have started at 12:30 PM in Indy. Instead, we spent hours sitting on our duffs looking at nothing cause NASCAR couldn't afford to put on some kind of show for the fans waiting on NBC to decide to show the race. I for one, don't care what time the race starts but at least have enough intelligence to know what time zone you are holding a race in and start it at the advertised time printed on the tickets. Indy starts at 11:00 AM Indy time, always has (as long as I can remember) and probably always will. The thing is, that is the time on the tickets, the newspapers, the radios and TV so that is the time that should be used to start the race. :mad:

Indy is on Eastern Standard Time, as we do not recognize Day Light Saving Time, and the race started right on time. My ticket clearly said 1:30 EST not 1:30 EDT.

[Taxpayer]

I suppose that anytime we get a ton of folks (well in the case of the BY400 27,000 tons of folks ) together at a venue that doesn't allow for adequate on site parking as compared to the arena's capacity we can have these kind of issues. There is really no adequate way for so many of the spectators at IMS to be able to tailgate and avoid the heat up until near race time.

The Memorial day event at IMS helps with the wait by providing the traditional entertainment we expect from 8:00 a.m. on. Perhaps NASCAR should expand their pre-race entertainment to help. Right now, at NASCAR events anything that preceeds driver introductions is mostly just up to what the track ownership or promotors would want to provide. Well actually that is not exclusive to NASCAR, is it.

Also, the Indy 500 times were set in tradition long before there was live television coverage of the event. For 20 years I attended the 500 via a charter flight from KC. It was traditional for us to fly back after the race and watch it again on the VCR in the evening. The earlier starting time of the Indy 500 allowed us to do that.

I don't think we can put the onus for a later event starting time of Sunday NASCAR events on broadcast television though. If we check the schedule, there are no Sunday NASCAR races that start before 1:00 p.m. eastern time. Down here in the bible belt (where NASCAR originates) it is just easier not to intermix our Sunday traditions of worship in the morning and NASCAR on TV in the afternoon.