The battle for supremacy in the Indy car racing world is
being waged on the Web, as well as in the press and on the
tracks. Both the CART and IMS have organizational Web sites (as
profiled in this space in March), but our focus is on race-
specific coverage with the dueling 500's just four days away.
Head-to-head, there's no clear winner. The sites for both the
Indy 500 (http://www.brickyard.com) and the U.S. 500 (accessible
through either http://www.us500.com or http://www.indycar.com)
have fairly standard news and information features. The U.S. 500
does list its sponsors and offers a downloadable "spotters guide"
for race watchers, while Indy makes available replays of "track-
side press conferences" via Real Audio. The overall edge may go
to Indy through its exclusive deal with The Auto Channel's Web
Site (http://www.theautochannel.com). Dubbed "The Automotive and
Motorsports Information Superhighway," TACH (through sponsorship
by Pennzoil) will offer real-time race updates and video from
Indy. TACH's site also offers a photo gallery and "trackside
news" (THE DAILY).
