Memorial Day is an American holiday to honor our war dead. Indy used to be an American event that coincided with the Memorial Day tradition.
I'm not a xenophobe but I have a little trouble getting excited about Indy drivers from foreign countries. A Brazilian won today, and that's fine. It's an international race. But it used to be wholly American and if I have my druthers I'll watch the Good Ole Boys of Nascar until it, too, becomes a multicultural event.
I agree with you. Today I tried to watch the Indy 500, but as soon as Micheal Andretti, Robbie Gordon, and Hornish were out of the race I lost interest. I have a very difficult time getting behind a driver who doesn't know how to speak english. The announcers were all excited that a Japananse driver was leading the race today, and I was thinking to myself where are the American drivers?
Secondly, IRL isn't as competitive as NASCAR. This year Chevy is having a problem with their engines, so you had 6-7 drivers who couldn't compete against Toyota or Honda. IRL needs to make drivers use uniform engines and body styling, so that the race will be based off of drivers skills.
I was disappointed in the Indy 500 this year, and IRL really need to do something to make the races more interesting.