Enthusiasm Versus Truth

I watch a range of motorsports. I remember back in 2010 watching the Indianapolis 500 on May 30 and cringing at some of the commentary. They talked up every single possible element of the race as being the best, greatest, hardest, or most in the world, without exception. It was the greatest race in the world. The drivers were the best in the world. The corners were the most challenging in the world. I specifically remember them referring to Turn 4 as "the most challenging corner in all of motorsport".

Let's see that most difficult corner out of any race track in the entire world.

The most challenging corner in all of motorsport.

On the exact same day I watched the Turkish Grand Prix, the seventh race of the 2010 Formula 1 season. It was held at Instanbul Park, which included a quadruple-apex Turn 8. Turn 8 was a single turn with the exact same number of apexes as the entire Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Istanbul Park, Turn 8

Whenever I want to do some sim racing but I'm tired and my brain isn't up for road courses, I hop onto an oval like Indianapolis. At no point have I ever taken Turn 4 and Indy and thanked God I made it around it, and that includes in Indy cars. I never even felt it any different from the other three turns. Turns 1 and 3 are a bit different from 2 and 4 in that the odd ones you enter from long straights while the even ones you exit onto long straights, but I never really think any differently between them. I certainly never thought they stood out as particularly difficult.

I watched the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, and the commentary was more of the same, including still hyping up the Indianapolis 500. We again had the greatest drivers in the world. The Indy 500 was again the greatest race in the whole world. Are they, though?

Credit where due, IndyCar does have drivers from around the world. In fact, during the Freedom 250, only eight drivers were Americans. Still, there's countless motorsports around the world, and drivers from around the world competing in them. Some are even international, like Formula 1 or the WEC. Realistically, how likely is it that an upcoming driver from Australia or Belgium is coming up thinking "Screw F1, I want a place in IndyCar"? "Yeah, I could compete on the world stage and in Le Mans, but I'd rather run laps around Baltimore." Drivers from other countries aren't growing up aspiring to by IndyCar drivers. IndyCar is their Plan B, or maybe their Plan C or D, when they couldn't do what they really wanted. It's like wanting to get into Harvard but settling for Fordham.

Again in fairness to the Indianapolis 500, it is one of the most famous races in the world. Most races are unknown to anyone that isn't a motorsport fan, and even then they often have series that they know and don't know a great deal of races. Everyone's heard of the Indy 500. It's considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, along with the Monaco Grand Prix (Formula 1) and 24 Hours of Le Mans (World Endurance Championship). Of the three, the Indy 500 is the longest-running, with its first race held back in 1911, versus 1923 for Le Mans and 1929 for Monaco.

However, does this make it the biggest, best, or greatest? The Indianapolis 500 draws around 350,000 spectators, between 235,000 to 275,000 in the grandstands and tens of thousands more elsewhere on the grounds. It's viewed by millions worldwide, with the 2026 running viewed by an average of 6.635 million and a peak viewership of 8.349 million for about fifteen minutes. These are nice numbers, but for comparison the 2026 British Grand Prix (F1) saw attendance of 564,000. Australia had 484,000. Belgium had 400,000. You have to get to Canada, with 360,000, to get an F1 race similar to the Indy 500 attendance. That's just people physically there. Worldwide viewership averages around 76.1 million viewers per Formula 1 Grand Prix, or nearly 11.5 times the global Indy 500 viewership. The Monaco Grand Prix specifically does a bit better at 80 million viewers. Reportedly, the 24 Hours of Le Mans had a staggering 113 million viewers across 196 countries, and it regularly draws crowds of 350,000, which is basically spot-on for the Indy 500.

Don't misunderstand me for a second. I like IndyCar. I watch the Indianapolis 500. I'm all for getting excited about something you love. I'd just appreciate if you're not lying to me while you're hyping it up. Please keep the comments realistic and honest.