From ESPN:

Quote:Roger Penske was a car-loving, 14-year-old who regularly listened to the Indianapolis 500 on the radio when his father landed tickets to the 1951 race. They made the trek from Cleveland, and when Penske saw the cars zipping around Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 200 mph he fell instantly in love.

Now he owns the iconic speedway, its hallowed grounds, "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," the IndyCar Series and all its properties in a stunning deal announced Monday. By early next year, Penske Entertainment Corp. will take over all those entities owned by the Hulman family for 74 years in one of the biggest transactions in the history of motorsports.

Quote:Penske has missed only six Indianapolis 500s since that first race with his father, and five of them came when the IndyCar Series was formed by Tony George and split from CART. Penske teams remained in CART, and CART teams were not welcome at the 500. CART was once the most popular form of motorsports in the U.S., but NASCAR swallowed open-wheel racing during the tumultuous times after Tony George created the Indy Racing League. The split fractured open-wheel racing in North America and it has never fully recovered even after CART conceded and merged into what is now known as IndyCar.

Quote:Penske said he is eager to add events to IMS and explore opportunities for the speedway and the series. He has been open to new ideas, including guaranteeing spots in the Indianapolis 500 field to full-time IndyCar teams. Fans are vehemently against the idea and argue the show is enhanced by the trials of a driver trying to qualify for the event.

Penske said it was too soon to comment on guaranteeing Indy 500 spots, but he wants to discuss bigger and bolder visions.

"We've got to break some glass on some of these things," said Penske, who mentioned 24-hour races, a return of Formula One and an increased relationship with NASCAR, which has raced at the speedway since 1994, as items he wants to study.

"We've got to try some things. I am prepared to take a risk. No risk, no reward."

I find this all interesting. I'm not a big racing fan or anything, but I did attend my first IndyCar Series race last April at Barber Motorsports Park outside Birmingham. I thought it was pretty cool and the facility was gorgeous. It was also pretty easy to get in and out of.

Anyway, I think IndyCar is probably more my speed if I were to compare it to NASCAR. I've never been to Talladega, but it doesn't sound like the type of party scene I would be interested in.

Anyway, NASCAR has been waning in recent years and I'm wondering if IndyCar is going to be in a place to take back the lead position.

I love puns...