"Has any event gone to irrelevance as dramatically as the Indy 500? I remember as a kid, I couldn't wait to listen to it on the radio. Now it's a barely a blip on the radar screen.
No doubt! I wonder what caused this - did we change, or did the race change? Or both?"
Ever heard of Tony George? Thats what caused this.
No, it's not Tony George. It's a lot of things. I think the major reason that has contributed to the "decline" of The Race is the proliferation of racing on television. Nearly every single week of the year (certainly at least 40), a person can watch a major race, whether it is Indy/Champ car, F1, NASCAR, Le Mans, Sebring, etc. During The Race's heyday, in the 60s and 70s, there simply wasn't that much racing on TV. If you liked racing, well, there weren't too many other choices than watching the 500 in May. That made it huge. Even since the split in 95, look at the amount of television coverage that NASCAR has gotten--since 95, NASCAR has gone from basically a time-filler on ESPN to having most races broadcast on a major network. Certainly you have to give credit to the folks in NASCAR for the growth they have experienced (I tend to like the "old" NASCAR a little better myself), but you can't deny that the growth of NASCAR has had a detrimental effect on Indy.
Second, I think Tony George had the foresight to realize that there was a problem inherent in IndyCar racing that needed addressed. I'm not a fan of all of Tony's moves (changing the qualifying format from three days to two or this year's move from three days to four or moving the start time to noon instead of eleven) but one of the major things that people complain about in open-wheel racing now is a lack of American drivers, and that was what George attempted to address when he started the Indy Racing League--American drivers with affordable, safe, cars. Don't forget, lots of the American drivers currently in NASCAR came up racing Indy-type cars, whether it was IndyLights or whatnot; a bunch of them switched to NASCAR because they weren't able to get rides in the CART-dominated series. Certainly you can quibble with the way Tony George has handled things at Indy, but all in all, he's been a really good force for the 500, and I think he's done a fine job.
Third, I think an increase in all sports on TV has contributed to the decline of The Race. I think there are a variety of other reasons, but to lay the "decline" of the 500 at the feet of Tony George, in my mind, is just plain wrong.
And by the way, the 500 thumped the Charlotte race in tv ratings.