Hooray, hooray......

[DeputyDog]

it's the month of May! Being from Indiana, the month of May has a special significance. Here's a little taste of why that is. This video is a few years old, but it's still true.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orN97ds0UjY

[Thumper]

A bunch of obscenely expensive cars driven by the biggest snobs in auto racing! ;)

BUT ... I'll admit, the history and pagentry of Indy will never be surpassed.

FYI ... my godfather was a riding mechanic for Peter DePaolo at Indy and built Miller engines (precursor to Offenhauser) for many of the Indianapolis racers back in the day. He and DePaolo eventually hooked up, switched to Ford and started a NASCAR team. I couldn't begin to tell you how many nights I slept on a stack of tires while he and my dad worked on racecars.

[DeputyDog]

I know that you were talking about NASCAR with that first line. ;) (A NASCAR team's budget is astronomically higher than an Indy car team's, even with Indycar's using entirely different body packages on ovals than on road and street courses.)

That's the thing about Indy. You really don't have any idea of the history and spectacle of the 500, the speed of the cars, or just the size of the place unless you've seen it in person.

In just over two weeks, I'll be at my 34th Indy 500.

[DeputyDog]

I know that you were talking about NASCAR with that first line. ;) (A NASCAR team's budget is astronomically higher than an Indy car team's, even with Indycar's using entirely different body packages on ovals than on road and street courses.)

That's the thing about Indy. You really don't have any idea of the history and spectacle of the 500, the speed of the cars, or just the size of the place unless you've seen it in person.

In just over two weeks, I'll be at my 34th Indy 500.

[Thumper]

Indy cars have been stripped of their luster for the past 20 years or so. The spat between CART and IRL put the series in the toilet IMHO and for the past 20 years, the Daytona 500 has far surpassed the Indy 500 as far as tv viewers numbers are concerned. When the CART/IRL battle began, I slowly distanced myself from Indy racing and probably haven't watched a full race in many years.

As for cost ... F1 is just totally ridiculous and over the moon for most but the wealthiest in the world. Indy car costs have plummented with their cost cutting programs ... but, in the end, I think the sport has suffered in the long run. That said, I would MUCH rather watch an Indy race than an F1 race. Here are some interesting comparative figures. I suppose you need to take into account how many races are in a particular series, otherwise you're comparing apples and oranges. A decent NASCAR team will run about $400,000/week. There ain't no such thing as budget racing when you're in the major leagues.

TOTAL BUDGET
Top F1 team: $470 million; Top IndyCar team: $15 million

This includes the following key areas of spending:

THE CAR
Top F1 team: $125 million; Top IndyCar team: $3 million

The largest single cost for most F1 teams is the design, development and construction of a bespoke chassis. F1 teams must construct their own chassis and although the manufacturing costs of an F1 car are a relatively small $15 million per year, top teams can spend well over $100 million on research and development.

All IndyCar teams must buy their chassis from series provider Dallara. The price is $345,000 per chassis, but the purchase of aerodynamic packages designed for different circuits can add another $150,000-$200,000. A team typically gets through three chassis per driver each year.

THE ENGINES
Top F1 team: $130 million; Top IndyCar team: $2 million

F1 manufacturers such as Ferrari and Mercedes spend more than $100 million annually on engine development. This is principally to supply their own teams, but they are required to also supply other teams with engines and typically charge $13 million per season to do so.

Honda and Chevrolet typically charge IndyCar teams around $1 million per year per driver for an engine package which will allow the use of eight engines.

TESTING
Top F1 team: $15 million; Top IndyCar team: $1 million

Restrictions on F1 testing in recent years have seen budgets slashed from $35 million to $15 million annually in order to cut costs. This is still far larger than the IndyCar teams’ $1 million annual spending.

DRIVERS
Top F1 team: $47 million; Top IndyCar team: $3 million

Two times world champion Fernando Alonso is one of the highest paid sports stars in the world, receiving an annual salary of $40 million from Ferrari. In contrast leading IndyCar drivers receive $1-2 million per year. Unlike F1 drivers they also receive prize money – $2.5 million for Dario Franchitti when he won last year’s Indy 500 – but are usually expected to give at least half of this to their team.

ENTRY FEE
Top F1 team: $3.3 million; Top IndyCar team: $456,000

F1’s governing body, the FIA, operates a complex system for entry fees where each team is charged a basic fee of $500,000, plus $6,000 per point scored in the previous season for the constructors’ champion and $5,000 per point for everyone else. This has left 2012 champion Red Bull Racing with a bill of $3,260,000 this year. In contrast, IndyCar teams pay $12,000 per car per race.

HOSPITALITY
Top F1 team: $13 million; Top IndyCar team: $1 million

Hospitality may seem like a frivolous extra but it is a crucial part of how an F1 team operates. Sponsors spend up to $100 million annually so expect to receive silver service treatment when they visit a Grand Prix. A top F1 team can spend more on hospitality in a season than an IndyCar team spends on its entire budget. In contrast leading IndyCar teams may spend up to $200,000 at a showpiece event like the Indy 500, but far less at other races.

KEY SUPPLIES
Top F1 team: Free; Top IndyCar team: $1 million

One area where IndyCar costs far outstrip F1 is in the area of key supplies. Due to the high level of exposure F1 generates, many companies are keen to supply top level products free of charge in return for becoming an official partner of the team. Ferrari, for example, has sponsorship from a range of automotive companies including Shell (gas), SKF (bearings), NGK (spark plugs), Magneti Marelli (electronics) and Brembo (brakes). A typical top IndyCar team spends around $1 million a year on purchasing similar supplies. There ain't no such thing as "cheap" racing when you're talking the major leagues.

OTHER
Top F1 team: $136.7 million; Top IndyCar team: $3.5 million