Indy 500 stutters on

The organizers of the Indianapolis 500 call it 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing' and it's certainly an impressive event. It has taken place on Memorial Day weekend since 1911 and on Sunday your correspondent was one of about 300,000 who watched movie star Jack Nicholson wave the green flag.

The circuit - which measures 2.5 miles (four kilometers) - was originally laid with 3.2 million bricks, hence its nickname, 'the Brickyard'. The infield is so vast it could contain the Vatican City plus the Churchill Downs horse racing course (home of the Kentucky Derby), the Wimbledon tennis complex, the Roman Colosseum, the Yankee Stadium and the Los Angeles' Rose Bowl stadium. No wonder they call it 'The World's Greatest Race Track'.

Except that the world is not watching. It's always been a domestic event but at its peak the 500 attracted international interest. It was what all American drivers aspired to and was a close second to F1 on the world stage. The racing was highly professional and exciting. Al Unser Jn's margin of victory over Scott Goodyear in 1992 was 0.043 of second.