The IndyCar Grand Prix has been first and foremost about attracting more fans in the Indiana marketgetty images
The fifth IndyCar Grand Prix is set for Saturday, and while the event has "undoubtedly added money to the pockets" of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar, it is time to consider whether the road course race can be "considered a success," according to Jim Ayello of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. IMS President Doug Boles said that prior to '14, Indy 500 qualifying weekend "drew 10,000-15,000 people," whereas the road course race has "annually attracted three to four times that many people." Whether the race has had an effect on the Indy 500 is a "more difficult question to answer." Ayello: "While 500 attendance has grown since the inaugural GP, and the anticipation for the 500 around the city is palpable, does the GP deserve credit?" There is "little evidence the GP has done anything to boost the stock of the 500 outside of Indiana." Then again, "boosting the 500's national TV audience wasn't among [IndyCar CEO Mark] Miles' primary goals." Miles said that the road race was "first and foremost" about attracting more fans in the Indiana market. But there have been "longtime IndyCar fans and even some within the paddock who hate watching the cars go 'the wrong way.'" Miles said of the road race, "We don’t expect to fill the stands, but we think it’s become a great opening act" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/9).
