After down decade, the Indy 500 is regaining its buzz

	Fueled by the star appeal and solid driving of Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick, the Indy 500 has enjoyed a renewed fan interest. AP

Is the Indianapolis 500 in the midst of a renaissance?

The last two 500s have spurred renewed interest in the event known as "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," giving it momentum and reversing what had been a period of decline that began in the mid-1990s and has lasted a decade.

Time was, an Indy 500 would sell out its seating less than a week after the previous one was run, but in recent years the event has had to advertise for ticket sales in the weeks leading up to it. This was the race that could count on a blockbuster television rating to justify expensive sponsor commitments for the entire season.

But with the formation of the Indy Racing League in 1996, the 500 went into a freefall as rival CART teams ignored the race and took with them household names such as Andretti, Penske and Unser, as well as the biggest sponsors.

Critics derided the race as ruined and devalued. Even when the big names and sponsors returned to Indy starting in 2000, the 500 didn't regain its prominence. The damage, it seemed, was permanent.

Then along came Danica Patrick in '05.

She was the fourth woman to drive in the 500. She had a different panache than previous Indy drivers, Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James and Sarah Fisher. Patrick wasn't afraid to pose like a centerfold. She was fast, too, nearly winning the pole. Her performance before the race sold more than a few tickets.

When Patrick passed Dan Wheldon on a restart with 11 laps to go to take the lead, Danicamania was born. She slipped back to fourth at the finish, but an atom-like energy had engulfed the 500.

"It was lightning in a bottle," IndyCar Series commercial president Terry Angstadt said. "She's on the cover of Sports Illustrated, she has big time sponsorship, she's in consumer advertising and she's on the billboards. That's big."

That isn't just talk. Indianapolis had a 4.1 television rating in '04, which had been rain delayed. That figure jumped to 5.2 in '05 and was 5.0 in '06.

"The Danica factor brought the awareness back to Indy," former driver and ABC television analyst Scott Goodyear said. "It was like the opening of a new restaurant. Danica was the special entree that got people interested, and now they're coming back to try the rest of the menu. All [Indy] needed was somebody to get them in the door.