FAN INPUT: Should the length of races be longer ?

[Ydawg]

In another thread, one suggestion that I think may resonate with many fans on
this board was to lengthen the races. Would you be strongly in favor of this ?
If so, how long should a race at a short track (like Milwaukee or Iowa) be compared
to a race at a 1.5 miler (like Vegas or Kentucky) ? Is there any desire to have longer
twisty events?? Folks from Indycar do read this message board,
and I have a feeling that several of us feel that the races (for me - the ovals)
are too short. If you are not in favor of this - why?

Let's stay on topic - the question is length of events ... discuss:

[Truth Detector]

Do the math but a race should last at least two hours.

[Seadog]

No.

Indy is tradition. Other than that, we don't need longer races.

[Stick500]

heck yeah- all race lengths should be set so that a typical race is at least 2 hours or more

milwaukee and Iowa always leave me wanting for more, especially after the 3-4 hour drive I just made and have to make again!

[jackinbox]

No. 1 hour and 45 minutes seems about right.

[Jimmy_22]

My response - maybe and sometimes. I am not in favor of the dreaded two hour timed event, but I do feel that an event that runs around two to two and half hours is about right. Beyond the Indy 500, which is over three hours, too much can be too much.

Here's a good read regarding NASCAR's length of races - and fans asking for shorter events.

In a gotta-have-it-now world speeding ahead 140 characters at a time on Twitter, could the length of NASCAR races be too much for some people?

That's a question NASCAR faces - and has asked members of its Fan Council - with Sprint Cup races lasting an average 3 hours and 15 minutes this season. Cup races last nearly 25 minutes longer than the average length of a Major League Baseball game this season.

The length of most sporting events is critical when considering TV ratings. Will viewers continue to watch long events or drift away? What about coveted younger viewers? David Hill, Fox Sports Media Group chair and CEO, lamented the loss of the 18-34 male viewer earlier this summer, saying NASCAR should be "burning the midnight oil" trying to find ways to re-engage that audience.

More.....

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/08/3-ho...print-cup-race

[No_Fenders]

Let's see how the racing is with the new car first. Frankly, I don't care to watch the current car for 500 miles, even in May.

[NDFIVEFAN]

I would say 2 hours (without a time limit) on the road and streets.

I would say 2 1/2 minimum on any oval.

[indyracefan]

I believe that all oval races should be a minimum of 400 miles. Texas and Indy should both be 500 miles (not km). The road/street races should be to where they are at least 2 hours of racing however I'm not an advocate for any of the races being a timed event.

FWIW - This is kind of veering from the topic and I don't want to derail this thread. I'm all about tradition especially at Indy and usually very slow to accept changes. However in the very near future I believe thought needs to be put into making the Indy 500 a longer race, perhaps 700-800. The Indy 500 used to be an all-day, endurance event that was as taxing on the machines as it was the drivers, now it's usually run in less than 3 hours.

[fenderless]

Let's see how the racing is with the new car first. Frankly, I don't care to watch the current car for 500 miles, even in May.

Brilliant minds think alike. lol!

Anyway- Assuming the new car is a hot rod on a road course I can't think of a better way to end the season than a race of 499 miles or less on the IMS road course. (Any IMS race of 500 miles or more that doesn't take place in May would most likely cause massive heart failures and/or suicides throughout Indianapolis. lol!) The league is supposedly looking for venues when there's one right under its nose. Go figure.

[Z28]

All the oval races should be longer, some of the RC/SC races as well and there are multiple factors to be considered. First you start with the sanctioning fee the series is charging a promoter or track. If the IICS is the only Sunday or Saturday nigt race how high does the ticket price have to be to have the event make a profit? You don't want to force such a high ticket price that people don't think the money spent is worth the length of the show seen. A FIL race three hours before the IICS race doesn't keep the fans in the stands in the intermission they mostly skip the early race.

Iowa, Milwaukee and New Hampshire all need to be 300 miles to make the trip to the track worth it for enough people to make a crowd. You hope for a caution free race and at Milwaukee 225 miles goes way too quick even with yellows. The 300 mile races at the 1.5 mile tracks didn't take two hours some times, 400 would be more like it. There are no 2 mile tracks to be found on the schedule anymore so why bother talking 500 miles.

Of the RC/SC races leading up to the 500 next season it will take 3 of them to total more than 500 miles. They don't make much of the average speed of races anymoe because if they put up 87.45 mph at Long Beach for 187.5 miles it would register as pretty slow for a car race. When paired with a GrandAm or ALMS race you expect the Saturday crowd to come close to the Sunday attendance so it's less of an issue for the promoter selling weekend tickets.

TV time is another factor. Why are we spending nearly an hour on pre race for a race that doesn't last two hours? Nobody tunes in to see Jack Arute fumble his way around his props, and there's no need to review a season of racing that hardly anybody watched when it was live. You've got three hours, show more racing and less gabbing.

[SBRS Racer]

Get rid of timed races. Run the race to its actual scheduled distance/conclussion on road and street courses. On oval, look at going another 50 laps or so, just to have them run approximately 2 hours. A 200 lap race is over too quick. We do not need a 600 lap race on a 1/4 mile track, like some series do, but races a little longer in length might be nice. I would also like to see a triple crown again- Indy, Michigan and California, or some combination of Indy and 2 Superspeedways.

[FTHurley]

I go back and forth on this. I like the current oval distances for high-speed tracks. A 300 fits neatly into a 2 hour window of actual racing, maybe pushing a little longer with some cautions. I can schedule around that. I can still get stuff done that evening.

I'd like to see tracks from 1.0 to 1.5 miles be run at a 300-mile distance (or as close as you can get, in the case of oddball track lengths).

I'd like to see tracks less than 1 mile be run at a 250-miles distance.

Anything over 1.5 miles (and I don't mean a speedway that's 1.51 here - I mean meaningfully more than 1.5 miles) should be a 500-miler.

In a perfect world, I'd love the Indy 500 and Michigan 500 bookending the summer, with lots of 300-milers and a couple of 250's.

The road races seem to be about the right length. They fit into the ~2 hour time frame. I could see making one of them a longer race, as a test of endurance. Tired drivers make mistakes, after all. Maybe make Edmonton, with all its bumps, 20% longer? But really that's nit-picking.

Overall, I think 300 miles on most ovals is a good target. I think you spin it the same way you spin 20 races vs. Cup's 36: you say that just like each race really matters, each lap really matters. You can't lose a ton of positions and know you'll have time to make it up. To be champion, you need to be almost perfect for the entire season.

[debris on the track]

Keep them where they are. The longer the race the more likely it will be won by penskeganassi.

[ArtVandalay]

Less than two hours is about right for most races. Seems all the NASCAR races are really long and really boring. Watch the start, then come back about 3 hours later and watch the finish. If there is one thing I hate more in an interview than "we were saving fuel" it's "I was taking it easy, saving the car until the last 50 laps". In other words, in a race longer than two hours, the entire middle section involves cruising around, saving the car, staying on the lead lap and getting ready to race at the end. I'd rather have them racing hard for the entire distance.....no pit service during yellows.....shorter yellows.....two hours (or less) of intense racing.