Posted: Mon May 18, 1998 at 6:50 PM ET

The IRL is trying to get the fans excited about the Indy 500 again    (David Taylor/Allsport)

INDIANAPOLIS (CNN/SI) -- There is perhaps no other sporting event that is so steeped in tradition as the Indianapolis 500. It was as much an event about the heroes of its past as it was a glimpse into the future of automotive innovation.

The "Month of May" at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was more than watching high-speed cars traveling around the 2.5-mile race course; it was a time-honored ritual as throngs of fans used to flock to the Brickyard to celebrate the 'Rites of Spring.'

Even fans that could care less about the sport of Indy car racing looked forward to spending sunny days at the Speedway as it afforded an opportunity to bring the cooler, wear the cutoffs and take in the scenery.

Times have changed at the Indianapolis 500, however.

Because of the 1996 split, in which teams from the CART Series left following creation of the Indy Racing League, some of the electricity and excitement that used to make the Indianapolis Motor Speedway one of the most colorful atmospheres in sports went with it.

The big-budget teams from CART used to complain about the expense of running laps at the Speedway for two weeks. Those concerns were magnified when some of the smaller budget IRL teams simply didn't have the money or equipment to run every day.

In an attempt to save equipment and expense, the Speedway changed its schedule in 1996, merging the Rookie Orientation Program into the opening weekend of practice for the Indianapolis 500. That didn't exactly thrill the fans who came out to watch a rookie driver go through the tedious process of five phases of ROP. The veterans didn't take the track until Tuesday of the opening week, followed by the traditional schedule of two weekends of qualifying.

Unfortunately for the IRL, the huge crowds that used to attend Pole Day and Bump Day shrank, although the Speedway was still jammed on race day with crowds of more than 400,000. When the IRL switched from the CART-style formula of 2.6-liter, turbocharged, purpose-built racing engines to the current formula of 4.0-liter, normally aspirated, production-based engines, equipment availability became an issue. There was a real possibility there wouldn't be a full field of 33 cars if several teams experienced engine problems.

So the Speedway instituted a mandatory 90-minute lunch break for the competitors, which shut down the track and gave fans even less of a reason to attend.

Realizing it was time for the Indianapolis 500 to change with the times and rejuvenate interest in the activities leading up to the world's biggest race, IMS president and IRL founder Tony George announced last fall the schedule would be changed. Instead of two weeks of practice and two weekends of qualifying, the new schedule would be one week of practice and one weekend of qualifying.

Pole Day and Bump Day would be the same weekend, providing fans with back-to-back action.

Fans were expected to flock back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and bring with them some of the electricity.

Through the opening days of practice for this year's Indianapolis 500, teams have felt a stronger sense of urgency and a renewed sense of purpose. But the new format has done little to capture the imagination of fans as crowds were sparse despite glorious weather.

The irony of it all is the Indianapolis 500 is as competitive as ever with drivers who have arrived from an open-wheel, oval-track, grass-roots background. So many fans, however, are no longer convinced that "best in the world" race is the Indianapolis 500.

With the advent of the NASCAR Winston Cup Brickyard 400, which began at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1994, some believe that is now the biggest race of the year at the Speedway.

George and the IRL remain undaunted, convinced that changing the May schedule was necessary in today's ever-competitive sports world.

"I've gotten a lot of reaction out of it and for the most part, I think it's been positive," George said. "You tend to hear more from people who are excited about the change. It really is more of a response to the changing environment. The sports entertainment business has become very competitive.

"Anybody who doesn't recognize the fact change is required from time to time will probably go backwards. We feel like this is a step forward for us. We have opportunities now to add some more dates at a very important time in our growth of the IRL. We've had two races spaced out before Indianapolis and in the future, we'll be able to have three or four races before the Indy 500. That is what we are working toward now and it will come in time for Year 4 and Year 5 of the IRL."

George is banking on a less-is-more philosophy that hopefully will create interest in the Indianapolis 500.

"We hope there will be a lot of folks there for qualifying through the race," he said. "The indications I've been getting are a lot of people are planning to stay and are excited about the changes. A lot of people who only used to come to the race are now planning on coming for qualifying and the race from all over the world.

"I got a letter from a guy from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands not too long ago. He is very excited about it. He has been coming to the race for 33 years and will really come to qualifying for the first time. He has listened to it on the radio and watched it on television and is excited about the new format."

In a sense, May has been turned into "Indy Speedweeks" with the new schedule format. In fact, there is growing concern that the Indianapolis 500 already has been upstaged by the Daytona 500 as the world's biggest race.

"I think the France family has done a tremendous job, not only building the event, but the series," George said of NASCAR. "I think they really focus on the series and the championship.

"You have to be realistic. The Daytona 500 is one of the great events in sports and, certainly, so is the Indianapolis 500. We try to concentrate on our business and the Indy Racing League and the Indianapolis 500 are our business as well as the Brickyard 400 is part of our business."

George continued, "We are excited about the growth their event and their series has. We feel the Brickyard 400 has been a really good event for us. We are happy to be associated with NASCAR. We are just as committed to the Indianapolis 500 as we've ever been, however."

One former Indianapolis 500 champion and a legend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway does not believe shortening the May schedule is such a good idea.

"Go back to the full month again," said three-time winner Bobby Unser. "I know that CART doesn't like that because that was always one of their complaints when they raced here, but I also know that it's good for motor racing. Whenever I was here, for all the years I was here, I saw a lot more press than what I'm seeing here right now and that was good because it gave me all month to rag you guys, talk with you, further my career, help the sponsors, help everybody and make it a big thing.

"But now, this thing has been shrinking and I don't like it," he added. "It did more to help automobile racing than you could ever imagine and that was all because of the press. The press and sponsors -- those are the things that are important."

What the shortened month of May has created, however, is a change in attitude by the teams. It's time to go to work with little margin for error.

"We've been so used to having two weeks of practice and the first weekend of qualifying, the second weekend of qualifying, it's going to be interesting to see what happens when you have Pole Day on Saturday and Bump Day on Sunday," said Davey Hamilton of Nienhouse Motorsports. "It's going to be exciting, it's going to be different. We'll have to learn how it is going to work.

"It has definitely intensified the sense of urgency, that is for sure, especially for the teams that always want to put an extra car in the race. In the past, they could get their cars in the first weekend, have a whole week to get another driver up to speed to put in the race. Now, they have just one day."

Hamilton predicted, "It will change people's strategies and their theories what to do to get in the race and get up to speed. When you unload the car, you have to be pretty close because you won't have time to get the speed up."

Some of the IRL's most profound supporters believe fans will return as the series grows. The key is re-creating interest in the Indianapolis 500 at the deepest foundations of the sport -- the grass roots level.

"The fans had lost touch with Indy car racing and that was part of the theories that we developed in the series," said Cary Agajanian, who was the vice president in charge of the IRL for the United States Auto Club (USAC) when it was involved with the series. "As this series was being started with the various rules and regulations and principles for the IRL, one of my main goals was to bring grass roots racing back.

"Everything is grass-roots. Baseball and football all start with young kids going to Little League baseball games or Pop Warner football. Then, they become major league fans. We have to do the same thing in racing. That is why I believe this grass-roots movement, those fans are now saying, 'Gee, the guys we watched at our local track are now racing in the big time.' ... Now, the fans can go out and tell their neighbors, 'Hey, that kid Jimmy Kite that we saw, now he's racing at Indy. Let's go see him.'"

It may take more than that, however, as interest in the Indianapolis 500 has dipped. But many believe it can come back and with a competitive formula only in its second full year of existence, a close race may bring fans back.

As intensity and pressure, they are being felt by the smaller teams that don't have the resources and aren't assured of being in the field unless they post a fast speed during qualifying. If something goes wrong, however, it could lead to high anxiety.

"Qualifying on the first weekend won't change, but the pressure will build up for the guys who aren't running fast," said Raul Boesel of McCormack Motorsports. "That will put pressure on everybody."

Scott Goodyear of Pennzoil Panther Racing drives for one of the more high-profile teams in the IRL so he doesn't feel the pressure felt by Greg Ray or Team Pelfrey.

"There is no room for having a problem with the car or having problems with motors or taking the afternoon off and come back to work on a problem the next day," Goodyear said. "Those few days will go by pretty quick. And you might have weather problems. When you land on the track and pull it out of the trailer, you have to be ready to go."

With fewer people to contend with, it's much easier to get in and out of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway these days. But at least as far as the teams are concerned, they appreciate the loyal fans who have shown up, even though there aren't as many.

"It's a very nice atmosphere here," Goodyear observed. "It's a different atmosphere in the garage area. It's a very competitive atmosphere but it is a somewhat friendly atmosphere and everybody is looking out for watching the series grow and the well-being of the series, and are very appreciative of what the Speedway has done rather than thinking of themselves only."

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