The Greatest Race That Nobody Saw

[@jh60thegoat]

The grandstands are so empty that it felt like it was 2020/2021

[@DanArnets1492]

I made the joke that Indycar wasn't gonna notice the lack of fans at all the moment the Wuhan Virus started

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

It looked like a normal crowd during the IRL days.

[@carlsaganlives5112]

@@AndyFromBeaverton Fuckers (Tony George) ruined champ cars at a peak, NASCAR took over thanks to Tom Cruise and perfect timing. Sad.

[@jamesblunt1915]

Well it was a 105 degrees that day I could have went but man that heat.

[@liquidkameleon]

But really, how come there were so few spectators? Is it possible that nobody wants to go see Indycar live anymore?

[@lukebreadstick56]

You can just head the amazement from the announcers. At this point, they’re just watching with the rest of us.

[@interstate366]

Who’s the British guy? I recognize the other voices (Diffey and Tracy)

[@Posirep]

@@interstate366 Steve Matchett. mostly an F1 announcer. did some IndyCar that year.

[@interstate366]

@@Posirep thanks. He sounded familiar

[@senorsoupe]

@@Posirep He's also a former F1 mechanic (with Benetton) so you could tell he was thinking about broken cars

[@christopherwall2121]

@Bill Fraser I was going to say, before that first caution, they sounded more and more nervous, and then surpassed that as the cautions kept coming.

[@SpectralUmbreon197]

The irony is that Indycar moved the race to mid-afternoon specifically for the west coast tv audience, only to have nobody show up.

[@danielwest9955]

Why on earth did they think that would work?! Unless it's a Sunday afternoon, night racing is the key out here in SoCal.

[@boobsball]

Peak of summer in California. It was over 100 degrees

[@JJ48524]

How does that make sense though? Wouldn't the East Coast audience be benefitting because they wouldn't have to stay up an extra 2-3 hours for a race that ended at 11 or midnight?

[@SpectralUmbreon197]

I realized that it didn't make much sense shortly after posting the comment. I was thinking of the West Coast when I meant East. Even then, it didn't make much sense.

[@X2Lazy2WinX]

Hmmm sounds familiar...

[@zackhenderson4995]

I was in a Buffalo Wild Wings when this race was on. There wasn’t really a big game on that day so I asked them to turn it on. Gradually all of the people in the bar stopped their conversations and turned toward the televisions and just silently watched the 3- and 4-wide dive bombs. Every now and then you’d hear somebody mutter “damn” or “holy shit” as the action increased until Briscoe’s crash.

[@Buynot]

I was at this race. Went out to see it with my dad, grandpa, and cousin to celebrate father's day. It was without a doubt the best race I have ever seen. I bring it up every time this race gets mentioned, but the local marketing/promotion for this race was absolute garbage. If it wasn't for a tiny sign in front of the main entrance showing people where to park you wouldn't have known there was a race in town. Had they marketed the race better and gave it a better date, I firmly believe more people would've shown up and it would've stayed on the schedule.

[@toyotafan7881]

Y'kno, they could've scheduled it DURING the NASCAR race weekend earlier on that year. Maybe that could've brought more fans to the track and better promotions for the race itself, but who knows 🤷‍♂️

[@augustwatring888]

@@toyotafan7881 The issue is that the track owner wanted Fontana to be a night race and the last race of the year. However, Sonoma held that date and kept it because it's easy area to wine and dine sponsors.

[@samuelsunnyd7187]

Dude, I was there, too! I really remember how it felt when everyone was filing out of the stands when it was over essentially in shock at how amazing the show was.

[@TenaciousE03]

Oh my god, who was the other fan?

[@dcdude345]

Said it before and I'll say it again, indycar has no marketing

[@cito1101]

You can literally hear one of the commentators taking deep breaths while watching the intensity of this race

[@kevincorbat7084]

I'm pretty positive it was both steve matchett and Paul tracy. Gotta remember that Paul was there when greg moore (who I believe was his teammate) died at the same track with similar style of racing, and matchett knows all too well how racing like that in f1 can be deadly. They were both scared to death but will never admit to it

[@dannicolmatthew]

@@kevincorbat7084 Paul also saw what happened to Dan Wheldon's head after the Las Vegas crash in 2011, don't forget that as well.

[@tedioussugar384]

They’re scared. Scared they’re gonna see an accident like Hinchcliffe’s or worse, like the one that killed Dan Wheldon. People don’t mind crashes in racing, it makes for good entertainment, but nobody ever wants a driver to get hurt or killed, and IndyCar is the most dangerous form of racing on the planet, even more than NASCAR, F1, or the WRC.

[@lukebreadstick56]

“All 5 people in the stands” XD

[@CountyLineFilms]

hey your comment has more likes then this race had viewers lol

[@mrchief2417]

lol

[@ErikZarins]

I’m so glad we’re gonna have a short track configuration. ACS is a total nightmare

[@johnoxenreider9094]

Did you by chance count somebody twice?

[@Painful3rection92]

I was one of the lucky 5 lol

[@crippledcrusader1321]

10:38 “hey guys, where’s my tire?” “Found it”

[@GarkKahn]

Indy is so criminally underrated

[@noblegoldheart8508]

They really really are. Marketing is always a good way to draw attention, and NASCAR has been doing that lately, with the new commercial with Hamlin, and the Best Season Ever commercial. INDYCAR should do this too, I’m not sure how they would go about doing it, but they should try marketing themselves the way NASCAR is. INDYCAR isn’t just underrated, it’s a very historical racing series that a lot of people miss out on, and I don’t understand why.

[@TwoTeeTV]

na

[@HallucinatingHedgehogs]

@@noblegoldheart8508 I think first and foremost the marketing, advertising, and social media presence is insanely lacking. But also I feel like most Americans see nascar and just go for that since it’s the most popular, plus for casuals you have plate racing and good short track and road course racing (we won’t talk about mile and a half’s and Indy) for European fans or fans that like open wheel more than stock cars or touring or gt, they see f1 as the holy grail and Indy as the discount American version. Indy has better racing than f1 and probably more consistently good racing than nascar but I feel like due to it being very road course heavy and having no market presence it falls in a weird limbo between nascar and f1 and suffers from it.

[@RacingAtHome]

​@@HallucinatingHedgehogs Exactly. Plus, every season, their International TV deals are regularly unknown even weeks before the season starts. If IndyCar did this "fucking exciting, exhilarating racing" ad campaign aimed at new fans of F1, International fans and current fans of F1, they'd be in the money. But they don't. What they do is a seemingly half-assed thing in February/March of every year which never exists outside of that. What NASCAR knows is what their fans are there for. That's why we see additions like Overtimes, stages and campaigns focused on fights and crashes. IndyCar's version of that would be focusing on exciting racing with a good variety of top quality names. The nuances of an IndyCar race aren't projected anywhere as well as F1 and that's usually resolvable by having the increase in content like F1 have on their social media channels. Movements of personnel are essentially ignored by IndyCar whereas F1's version of Michael Cannon/Craig Hampson moving teams would be significant news in the F1 world. Showing more content is usually going to draw more people in and features like Tech Talk F1 have would absolutely fit in IndyCar. Especially with the variety of racing there is in the series.

[@mattiasgarbi9470]

@@HallucinatingHedgehogs I agree with the first part. As an Italian I know some of the drivers only because IRL was on a minor sports channel years ago. The League should improve his social media activity and, maybe, consider again racing abroad in other countries outside of North America.

[@jacobhueckstaedt3427]

It’s nice to see a big KZbinr talk about indycar. As a diehard fan of indycar I can say that the racing is still amazing without the pack racing. The oval races are always exciting and the road and street circuits are just as unpredictable. If you’ve never seen an indycar race I would just say give it a chance. Watch the Indy 500 or the race at Barber. This series is incredible and I wish more racing fans realized it.

[@jacobhueckstaedt3427]

@@psychlops924 Mostly just a fan of that car design but I do actually like Conor for a lot of reasons

[@thejman3489]

David Land covers the Indycar season pretty closely. He talks about Nascar and IMSA a bit but it's clear his focus is Indycar.

[@PNWhashmits]

F1 just tickles my fancy more.

[@EdibleGiraffe59]

I as at the Indy 500 in 2021. 10/10 would recommend.

[@rickb2432]

The race at Mid Ohio rivals anything you’ll see in F1. Beautiful course with lots of elevation changes and enough fast corners to make it exciting.

[@belf5]

Indycar said "yeah let's turn Fontana into Talladega, this can't possibly go wrong"

[@Konformation07]

Put IndyCar on Talladega you cowards

[@BeautifulAngelBlossom]

@@Konformation07 they try Daytona it did not go well

[@christopherwall2121]

@@BeautifulAngelBlossom and that was in the 50s, before these cars could even go 200

[@iqbalhussein5434]

@@christopherwall2121 put IndyCar on Monza and Hockenheim ovals

[@thatlithuanianboi6812]

@@iqbalhussein5434 Fuck it, put it on AVUS

[@Guelph35]

There was never a more perfect race to have Steve “Whoa!!” Matchett in the booth.

[@trooper838]

I was one of those 5 fans in attendance. Me and my old man went to see this race after Long Beach. We had heard there was another IndyCar race in the LA area and were excited to see them race in Fontana. We were extremely surprised when we got to the gate to park. We thought for SURE the race was cancelled or was not taken place as the lot was mostly barren. While we bought normal tickets to the track we were allowed to go into the pits and into the opening ceremony stage on field as no one else was really there. It was seriously one of the craziest races to watch. I will miss the race at this track however I could also see and understand the danger involved with it. I think was also did not help with attendance was how muggy it was. I recall it was sweltering in the stands. People started to group up under the suit boxes in the middle stands for shade. It was one HELL of a race that we will NEVER forget.

[@racingfanatic521]

This was the first Indycar Race I ever watched! And I haven’t stopped watching since

[@whoasked9500]

Watched this race live on TV, still one of my all-time favorite races in any series. 80 freaking lead changes. Man I wish Indycar still raced at Michigan and Auto Club.

[@oracle5200]

Same here I was a very excited 12 year old watching that finish and still is a great finish

California Speedway as a superspeedway is history. Is a short track after 2022.

[@davidpeters2625]

Hopefully, they will, sometime sooner rather than later. I am totally with you... I think this new package should ease the danger of pack racing, and if that ends up being the case, viola! Wish granted...

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

I want Michigan back on the schedule badly. The track usually produced great races and as an extra bonus it's only about an hour from my house.

[@ianpender5969]

Im glad the entire race has been uploaded to KZbin. I watched it live and i watch it in its entirety every now and then. I like that they had Steve Matchett doing commentary too. I think this was good first taste of IndyCar racing live and his reactions felt genuine. If you have not seen it, it's required viewing if you call yourself a racing fan.

[@gchampi2]

I remember watching this race on tv. Well, watching roughly half the race. Around lap 120, I gave up - the tension was too high, the racing too close, I felt certain something extremely terminal was going to happen before the full distance was completed. I just wasn't willing to watch someone die (again). I'll admit, I was amazed to hear that the race had completed without any major injuries. Still, those cars should never have raced at that track...

[@sampizza463]

I saw the thumbnail and automatically knew what this was about. This is awesome indycar racing, takes you back to the unpredictable days of the IRL. Oval racing isn’t the perfect style for modern indycar but i do miss some of the speedway racing. Sad to see just three underwhelming ovals on the 2021 schedule but they still put on a great show on the road courses so i still enjoy it.

[@acog_quarks8753]

It's funny because I've been watching this race here and there because I saw one thread talking about it being one of the greatest races ever. Still haven't finished so I'm gonna come back when I do lol

[@acog_quarks8753]

I'm back holy fuck that was awesome.

[@14stockfan]

Maybe now with the aeroscreen they can consider returning to slightly larger ovals. Not pack-racing style, obviously, but something with some speed to it outside of Indy.

[@rebelcheese5301]

@@14stockfan Honestly they'd probably phase out ovals altogether if they thought they could get away with it - but as long as their identity is tied to Indianapolis Motor Speedway they have to have a couple of token ovals along with Indy itself.

[@sampizza463]

@@14stockfan Auto club is also a quickly degrading track which would slow the speeds, its getting torn down though, maybe indycars can do the short track when its built. I would like to see Atlanta as it would be really slow due to the surface and probably make a good race.

[@SOFTDRINKTV]

I love the way these cars sound

[@kollmalme9291]

Who doesn’t

[@shawnvilaisack]

WOAHH SOFTDRINKTV??? Anyways if you want to hear something even better, listen to a 90's CART car.

[@whome6415]

Well Europeans seem to promote a great creative and functional atmosphere.

[@HPayne62]

NEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOMMM

[@osurocks24]

I thought at first when I saw this video it had your logo next to the title and not black flags matter. I was so shocked at first. 😂😂😂😂

[@TommyLee1]

This was also the last race an announcer would get away with saying "pussy footing" 🤣🤣 I love it

[@Gl-my8fw]

So stupid that morons get offended at literally nothing.

[@milkshakemuncher]

It's a wonder they can say "God damn it" anymore without offending some noisy minority group. Can't even say fag in this day and age, or say to you're friend "that's gay" (as in, you're 32 and listen to Mariah Carey, that's gay), or "err ya poof" when you're mate does something girl like. Also if a male friend bats poorly in baseball, you can't even say "you bat like a girl" without offending femanazzi's or social justice warriors.

[@ilikeweezerwhataboutithuh]

@@milkshakemuncherthis is 5 monthslate but its more that idiots on TWITTER and reddit to an extent are easily offended. everyone else doesnt really give a shit to be honest.

[@johngancarcik5682]

Lmfao

[@pharrellsalford9211]

I was surprised it was on air.

[@DennyDeliversYT]

It’s all gangster until we get a *Ryan Briscoe flight lesson...* lol

[@dannicolmatthew]

You mean flight lol

[@pinkgumball2007]

I thought it was *CHASE* Briscoe

[@shrimpshrubbery7664]

@@pinkgumball2007 Chase Briscoe is an American nascar driver. Ryan Briscoe is an Australian and was an Indycar driver.

[@pinkgumball2007]

@@shrimpshrubbery7664 ahh thx

[@MotorsportsFan17]

This is proof that IndyCar should have a more balanced schedule with a few more ovals on it and it will be better for them.

[@zacharymohammadi]

This

[@j_obaymaac2886]

difficult to get more ovals when companies that own nearly all ovals in USA have blackballed IndyCar... we would have got a Richmond race this year if it wasn't for ISC pulling the plug on it.

[@ksolesky2]

Short ovals sure-Phoenix, Milwaukee, Richmond. Etc. Ovals big enough for pack racing like Fontana and Michigan-never again.

[@robertstone9988]

@@ksolesky2 why not? There "INDY"cars as in the 2.5 mile oval ims. if your afraid to go fast don't drive Indy cars.

[@Posirep]

@@ksolesky2 they tried. Phoenix changed the track so much it ruinef IndyCar racing there and rhe fans didn't show up. Noone showed up for Milwaukee either...though Road America just an hour away gets packed. clearly those fans dont want to see oval racing. Richmond was killed by Covid

[@samuelgriffin1511]

I felt like this was the best race I have seen.the fact that people were actually racing and not doing nascar trains on oval tracks.The intensity was there and so much happened and I thought this was really cool and it was a fun experience.100/10 race

[@DenzelIbrahim]

im a nascar fan but im totally agree with u

[@willlasdf123]

Indy dudes are just absurdly ballsy for what they get paid

[@PyroBun_2844]

Ryan: “I believe I can fly...”

[@RUSTEZERacing95]

“He Almost Went in The Sky.....”

[@TD-bw6qy]

I have a piece of carbon fiber on my mantle from that crash. It flew up into the stands. Landed at my feet. About 1.5 inches long, 0.75 inches wide. I was there. Wild day!

[@HECKproductions]

announcer dude: "racers start your engines" racers: sitting in a car that cant start its own engine which is being started by a starter machine

[@iampete8692]

Even today I'm shaken by Greg Moore's accident at this track

[@pixsilvb9638]

That day Montoya became CART champ. Couldn't celebrate the title because of Greg Moore's dead.

[@DiegoOspina86]

@@pixsilvb9638 was a bittersweet day

[@scottyrousay1608]

Did not remember it was this track .Paul Tracy was announcing this race also

[@pixsilvb9638]

@your momma youtube yeah the car went out the track rolled to the inside and mid air while flying side ways, vertical to the floor it slammed against the concrete barrier hitting flat with the cabin and pilot. Yeah, he probably didn't felt a thing. Was instantaneous. Very sad day.

[@milkshakemuncher]

Moore's crash was a big incident, he slapped the wall and ground hard, shaken like a bond Martini or a rag doll He had talent in spades he did!

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

After the race on Racer’s YT channel, Robin Miller said something that for my attention about today’s race and I still think about it to this day, what he said to Mark Miles was: “It was disgraceful to see 3,000 people watch one of the greatest IndyCar races of all-time!” The problem is that the race was held in the summer. It was hot as hell at that race. That’s why not a lot of fans showed up. It was 90 degrees. If the race was held in the finale or in the fall, we would’ve saw some more fans. For the racing, it was great. However, the Oval Aero Kit package is just dangerous. Again, I do not blame it on the oval tracks, it’s the package that made the cars go pack racing. We deserve more ovals in IndyCar! Too bad attendances drop and that’s why we lose oval tracks. The only way to get more oval tracks back is if they do what Gateway did with marketing and advertising. More fans attend Gateway each year. That’s why Gateway is still around in IndyCar! I really wish we see more ovals on tracks in IndyCar in the future! :)

[@patrickracer43]

A race in Southern California in the middle of the summer, it honestly doesn't matter how good the racing is, you aren't getting people to go spend time outdoors in the daytime in the summer in Southern California, too many entertainment options, too hot, and IndyCar isn't as big as it was in the 90s

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

@@patrickracer43 Tony George is the reason why American Open Wheel racing in general declined. However, IndyCar has recovered well. It will most likely never be as big as the Pre-Split era, but they’ve gained on TV ratings

[@DaveCompton5150]

The traditional Indy Car fan is not interested in this NASCAR style pack racing. Indy Cars traditionally have been hard to drive and cars that are setup the best can pull away from the pack. Races where almost all the cars are on the lead lap is just BS

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

@@DaveCompton5150 oh I’m not saying bring back pack racing. No way in hell. I’m assuming that’s how the IR-05 and the Aero-Kit cars were. We never saw crazy pack racing with the DW-12 and currently the IR-18 Universal Kit cars. I’d like to see traditional IndyCar oval racing too

[@patrickracer43]

@@DaveCompton5150 tbh, pack racing is not real racing in my eyes, it's just designed to create wrecks and attract casuals

[@Turn0vers]

One of the greatest races I’ve watched live in all forms. I’ll never forget this one. I was for sure thinking another harmful accident would’ve taken place. But this was one of the most exhilarating ones I watched.

[@danyelgunner]

Same thing here

[@sebastianochs7603]

"I watch motorsports to relax!" The motorsport:

[@dmitrykiselev8087]

Fontana, Michigan, Chicago, Kansas, Kentucky, Texas almost always brought exciting racing. I miss 2003-2011 IRL.

[@firelynx1108]

Leigh Diffey: The Most Underrated Motorsports Commentator Ever

[@zetazetaman]

Agreed. I’m hoping NBC brings him on to call some NASCAR road courses this year

[@ilexmortisligaming]

Nobody: Bob Jenkins: yeah screw you too

[@jamskatelake]

He yells too much

[@edwardburek1717]

@Craig Whitley Would that be David Croft, or Ben Edwards? BTW, I like Leigh Diffey as well.

[@scottl.1568]

+1

[@664chrisman]

This was the race that brought me back to IndyCar after decades away because of The Split. It remains the single greatest motor race I have ever watched, and the commentary was fantastic. Thanks for posting this!

[@coopermeszaros]

@4:19 the announcer has the best and most accurate call in motor sports casting history 😂😂😂

[@VictorFAmaya]

Steve Matchett's terrified voice through the entire race is the best part of this. He's not used to this kind of racing at all and is gasping every time something dodgy happens on track

[@BlueJimmie48Fan]

Pocono was just as deadly as Auto Club, hell pretty much any oval track is just as dangerous. It may have been great racing to the fans, but back then, we didn't have the windscreen or any of the new safety procedures we see today. This is why I have grown to truly appreciate the IndyCar we have today, because these types of races have served as the commencement of putting the drivers over everything else.

[@BeauFiftyTwo]

This clearly can't be the way IndyCar runs itself. I think the drivers were rightly upset by the pack race that developed, but I don't know that the series was particularly absent to their concerns. As Kanaan said at the end there, it was a new package, and they guessed on the wrong side. One positive to maybe focus on here is that... Unlike Formula 1, NASCAR Cup to an extent... IndyCar drivers have always seen themselves as competitors, but also comrades. And it's absolutely because everyone is holding not only their lives in their hands, but everyone's around them in that kind of race. The fractionally correct steering wheel inputs save lives. And so whenever a driver from another series comes over to IndyCar, one of the things they remark on is the friendly nature between drivers. Grosjean (Coyne) was impressed by non-team mates Bourdais (Foyt) and Sato (RLL) coming over to him in practice at Barber a few weeks ago. Chatting about how to handle the track, things like that. It's very much a fraternity, this series. And the old guys teach the young guys how to do it for generations. If you haven't seen Uppity, there's a section where Willy T. Ribbs talks about this kind of thing even back in the 80's. All the hatred and ill-will he experienced on his way to the top. But once he arrived at IndyCar, drivers treated him as an equal, and shared advice on how to handle the track. Racing drivers get heated, but no one wants to see the worst happen. And in IndyCar, that's a more real possibility than the other series. And it completely changes things. It makes the on-track action titanic and the off-track action muted, as opposed to the flip side of it in some other series.

[@ApexPredatorWithSungGlasses]

Amazing how back on 2015, the fans are already doing Social Distancing at the stands.

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

This was certainly exciting to watch but I'm always going to be partial to the 1998 US 500 that had 63 lead changes because I was there live. It's a bittersweet memory though because 3 fans at the race died with a wheel from Adrian Fernandez's car went over the fence and into the stands.

[@funtimecthulhu]

Awesome race! I wish Indycar had more ovals, like they used to... I had the fortune to see Indycars race at Atlanta in 2001. It was, to this date, the most exciting professional motorsports event that I have ever attended. Naturally, they didn't return for 2002. I guess it was because I was just "one of the 5 fans" at Atlanta that year. LOL

[@Alex_Mac_]

There was a reason for that attendance tho. It was in the middle of the summer in the middle of the day and was extremely hot. Thats why NASCAR on Labor Day had been at night and IndyCar in the past ran here at night in September or in late October. Putting in on a mid summers day was a stupid idea that ultimately killed IndyCar at the track

[@nascardude2]

I was at this race in 2015. I remember watching it from the grandstands at the start finish line in that shaded area right below the press box (if you've been to Auto Club before, you probably know exactly where that is). I initially wasn't gonna attend this race, but it was a nice summer day and I was bored but intrigued about open wheel cars racing there in the summer heat, so I convinced my mom to take me out to Fontana to watch the race. I was concerned for IndyCar that day because as a racing fan and SoCal local who had gone to races at the track for 8 years at that point, I knew how Auto Club raced at the time with stock cars (plus the racetrack was still coming off of the wild ending to the 2013 cup race when Hamlin got injured in that last lap crash), and I had just seen Hinchcliffe's scary crash a few weeks earlier. As a driver, the concerns were definitely valid. As a racing fan, probably one of, if not the best races that I've ever seen live at a racetrack. I was scared for Briscoe after the last crash because I had never seen a crash like that in person, but I'm glad he was okay. Didn't regret going to the racetrack that day whatsoever.

[@rkendsley7561]

We were probably near each other that day, since I too was at the race in nearly the same area. A group of 3 guys near us that where big time Tony Kanaan fans. The semi cloudy conditions really brought the temps down. The racing? INSANE watching cars race in packs like that through out the race. As you mentioned, Ryan Briscoe's crash was scary, I really thought he might be dead, but evidently just really dizzy. This was most likely the last Indycar race for Auto Club Speedway, because if NA$CAR has it's way, which they have already put in the application with san Bernardino County, it's going to be converted to a dirt track, yup...... a dirt track cut down to 1.5 miles (?).

[@negativenancy9482]

this was coincidentally the first race i watched live. i live in europe so i spent a good part of my evening munching on this. couldn't have picked a better race to start. after this i was hooked

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

It's nice to hear from some IndyCar fans from outside the US. People compare IndyCar to F1 but they're different series each with their own charms. Some people seem to think you have to pick one or the other for some reason, but I like them both. Here in the US my favorite Sundays start with an F1 race in the morning followed by an IndyCar race in the afternoon. One thing IndyCar does really well is keep the driver championship interesting for the whole season. Since 2008 the championship has been decided in the final race every year.

[@taylorfritz1535]

Watched it live, hands down, greatest Motorsport race I’ve ever watched

[@flrpitflrp1965]

I know it’s as dangerous as hell, but when they pack race it’s completely thrilling

[@DinsdalePiranha67]

As I recall, the race at Pocono later this season was the one where Justin Wilson had his fatal accident.

[@michaelflowers5712]

Thanks for Posting!! "Going thru' INDYCAR withdrawal this morning"--Perfect Timing Black Flags Matter!

[@papadragon695]

There should be shows like Formula 1’s Drive to Survive on IndyCar and NASCAR Hell, even series like World Rally and Rallycross, MotoGP, and the Australian Supercars would be cool to see too

[@juanmanuelbonzano]

Used to exist: IndyCar 36. Usually followed drivers around a race for an entire weekend around 2012 and 2013.

[@musyarofah1]

2015 was the lowest point of post-unite Indycar's mismanagement; from racing in a literal swamp (NOLA Motorsport Park), holding a standing start experiment that turned sour (Indianapolis GP - Saavedra's crash), changing the start time of Fontana race to afternoon IN JULY, to the death of Justin Wilson. The worse part was that Justin Wilson's crash & bad rating probably killing any chance for Indy to come back to Fontana, or any other mid-sized oval like Michigan.

[@DaveMcIroy]

5:20 - blue flags, blue flags. I mean, seriously, are we playing bumper cars, or what?

[@maxzagoruy9051]

Drivers were lucky to walk away unhurt from that race. I remember watching it on TV and my heart skipped a beat every time they touched wheels. It's a mystery to me why Americans don't love IndyCar in general as much as they love the Indy500 race. If I was there I would probably fight for opportunity to visit as many venues as possible. Instead I actually watch it every sunday night ))

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

I don't if you know about the "open-wheel split" back in the mid 90s but having 2 competing IndyCar series at the same time killed a lot of fan interest in the US. The Indy Racing League had the Indy 500 race but the CART series featured the best teams and drivers. It just confused everyone and made the sport look like a joke. It wasn't until 2008 that the series reunited and recovery since then has been slow but steady. IMO interest has started to pick up a little more in the last few years. It helps that the driver's championship has been decided at the final race every year since the merger.

[@justarandomyoutuber6892]

I can only imagine how difficult it must’ve been for the spotters

[@natelabphoto8918]

I wish Indycar would go back to Michigan and pocono, those along with Indianapolis, actually having a triple crown in the series would be really nice.

[@swworrelljr2]

I actually watched this live and it was by far the most intense race I have ever seen to this day. Edit: And I stand with the drivers on pack racing at those speeds.

[@keithharvey2112]

I was there! My first ever IndyCar race after about 15 NASCAR races. I flew down from Alaska to go with my dad. The speeds into turn 1 were insane (no less than 215 under green in that pack.)

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

Heh. The first major auto race I saw live was an IndyCar race at Michigan (a track almost identical to Fontana). The sheer acceleration when the green flag dropped took my breath away. A couple of years later I went to a NASCAR race at the same track. That time I wasn't even sure the drivers had actually started racing at green. That's not a knock on NASCAR; it's just the way the cars are. Personally I prefer IndyCar but NASCAR certainly has its charms. It's just that watching an IndyCar come screaming out of turn 4 at the start of the race and then for lap after lap is an exhilarating experience.

[@justinwilliams3927]

Nbcsn booth goes crazy Me praying that no one dies

[@ohiopower]

What a race. I have never been on the edge of my seat for entire race. I'll get amped up for the last 20 laps of Indy but this race was something else. I have never been so jacked up over a car race. Been watching all kinds of motorsport for along time and that was the best most thrilling race I have and will probably ever see.

[@xtlm]

I was there. It was truly amazing. I wish there was more instances of this type of racing.

[@NeonGhostin]

Watched it live, in the moment, for the entire race I was on the edge of my seat. It was the race Nascar always wanted and has constantly tried to create, and the race IndyCar accidentally ended up with, and never wanted again.

[@whatincarnation95]

Indycar needs more ovals

[@lukebreadstick56]

Other than the danger, ovals are awesome

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

YES!

[@zacharymohammadi]

Yes

[@warhawk3972]

If they add a halo or a closed cockpit, I agree

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

@@warhawk3972 we already have an aero screen. Plus it’s not that

[@hawkinskenneth]

Indy needs a better marketing team. Such an underrated series

[@lml_mth_lml]

I watched the last 20 or so laps with my grandpa. We couldn't believe what we were witnessing.

[@ajeade08]

Man this was the most enthralling sporting event I had ever spent an afternoon watching. I was both scared and entertained beyond limits. When the race finished it felt like I had run a marathon.

[@joshjarnagin3161]

I’m glad I’m not the only one getting the race itself recommended to me by KZbin

[@zzzxxzzz3248]

If I knew they race like this I would have been watching all indy cart racing long ago !

[@garyskippracing]

As a Brit, I consider modern IndyCar to be criminally underrated. Over the last 5-6 years I tho it’s one of the most consistently brilliant series in the world. The WEC was great at the start of that period but it sucks ass these days. And as for Bormula One, don’t get me started. I’d never seen this race before. It was a hoot. Great video 👍🏻

[@KillaSin515]

Lol @ Bormula One.

[@HalianTheProtogen]

Too bad CART didn’t win the pointless open wheel wars.

[@mustpotato41]

11:47 Juan says it like it is

[@nascarstopmotionandmore4266]

The speeds are unmatched by any other series, coming from a nascar fan, it’s incredible really

[@izzdin6228]

I can't imagine sitting there, watching live, seeing these cars run 220mph and battling for position. Must be breathtaking.

[@homeperson11244]

This was at the time when the aerodynamics were fully developed by Manufacturers. In most cases it creates dull races particularly on road courses, but in superspeedway like this one for it creates classic racing. I didn't get it where the sciences, but i guess the bigger the dirty air, the bigger it creates draft.

[@Anthony_Stuart]

I'm not sorry that pack racing is gone from IndyCar, especially having been in the stands that day at Vegas... but man, races like this remind me why I went to that race

[@scatterplot77]

I was at this race. It was incredibly tense to watch, yes it was a good race, but man you could feel the tension in the air.. Charlie Kimball's mom was sitting near us, she was a wreck entire race. As someone who lost their favorite driver at Vegas in 2011, I was just happy everyone survived.

[@michaellavery4899]

I mainly watch F1 but I have to admit, these drivers are extremely skilled and brave, bordering on the insane, to repeatedly race at these massive speeds.

[@jakedragsknee]

I remember watching this live, such a good race. I’ve done a few track days here and you are FLYING on the front stretch.

[@jinglebell61]

Future uploads: The Greatest Race That Everybody Saw and Gone Too Soon: Justin Wilson.

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

If you saw Briscoe's nose dig in the dirt @ start/finish you don't forget it. I was watching it at home & remember Power saying "What are we doing"? The few/ the proud - the member of nobody.

[@charlienolan4409]

I rewatch this so much it’s soo good

[@grantpalmer8818]

I still remember this race near perfectly, I find myself rewatching it once every few months

[@patrickracer43]

2:14 look at the stands, that's not a pandemic crowd

[@berryboiblast]

For most of this video I was breathing heavily wondering what kind of accidents would happen with these race cars out in the race track. Mad respect to those Indycar drivers, super dangerous stuff out there

[@dibslin985]

THIS is why they never should have changed to the CART style bodies

[@dibslin985]

@@psychlops924 No, this package does NOT have better racing. It's fucking impossible to pass. Besides, road and street courses are ALWAYS terrible in open wheel racing so they need to be removed from the schedule entirely.

[@dibslin985]

@@psychlops924 And these cars look a MILLION times worse. They look like bricks on wheels like the old Champ Cars did

[@dustinlindsey1859]

@@dibslin985 i see you are a oval purist. Go watch NASCAR.

[@dibslin985]

@@dustinlindsey1859 Hey, isn't my fault road course racing is WAY better with stock cars than it is with open wheelers. Go watch F1 if you want that boring shit

[@b0unceup729]

Indy car engines is pure asmr

[@shawnh9677]

4:19 the commentator LMAO!!

[@maxversthappening8166]

10:40 that one tire is just like *henlo*

[@benoden5838]

I remember watching this race, my anxiety was so high every lap, sometimes I just had to look away, these drivers were truly fearless that day.

[@katarn47]

IndyCar needs more ovals. They have to figure out an aero package that will reduce the pack racing and get more ovals on the schedule. Maybe cut back on some of the street courses. Road Courses are fine, but there are too many instances at street courses where if 1 or 2 cars wreck/spin in the wrong way the whole track is blocked. Nashville is a perfect example of this.

[@xSoccerxCorex]

the street courses make money and people show up for them, unlike most of the ovals. if more then 20 people showed up for fontana, it'd still be on the schedule

[@wendigockel]

I'm a German Indycar fan who despite the time difference usually doesn't miss a single race, though I remember exactly that I missed that one. So yeah. Even I haven't seen it.

I'm also German Champcar/ IndyCar fan since 2001. I love oval racing, but no pack racing like this or at Las Vegas in 2011. Gruß aus Deutschland

[@nathanstroud2223]

Every IndyCar superspeedway race is sketchy, but Fontana pack racing was not the same as Las Vegas pack racing.

[@LuizFelipeVilela]

Man. I was there on edge of my seat. Great line-up, packs, leaders that couldn't open, insane restarts, drivers taking different lines. Amazing! Top 5 best of all time for sure if not the best. Sorry about that Indy 500.

[@Coolbreeze0988]

I saw this race! 2015 was the first year I ever watched Indy because they had a race in New Orleans. That’d actually be a great video to make. “The cluster f that was the Louisiana Grand Prix”

[@chickenfkeryay]

Shame Louisiana only got 1 event that was a parade of yellow flags. After that clusterfuck they should have went back 1 more time at least and held a race

[@jrock9687]

Fontana was the Mecca of SuperSpeedway ovals. Roger built this place for blistering high speed CART machines. IMHO Texas or Daytona got nothing on Fontana. And now NASCAR wants it rebuilt into a short track. WTF! Yeah Indycar hasn't been back since 15' but man... Since this spectacular race it's obvious Indy has tamed down oval racing, an after Wickens crash at Pocono it has been pretty much neutered. Safe to say that Gil Deferran's 241 MPH Avg lap record at this place will never, ever be broken in any form of Motorsport for the rest of humanity's existence.

[@jc1424]

The race was a historical gem, because that can never happen again. No matter how great, it's a stupidly unsafe thing... even for racing. Then again NASCAR does this four times a year for no reason.

[@scorch527]

The decision to get rid of the aerokits killed IndyCar. It has never been good since.

[@juannarciso10]

I’m so happy I was able to view this instant classic at the track live.

[@TomLehockySVK]

THANK YOU for telling me about this race. Today decided to watch it, and finished, it was INCREDIBLE ! One of the best races i have seen, not just in IndyCar.

[@Jonathan83X]

I'll never understand how Auto Club Speedway cannot find an audience among the IndyCar fanbase and yet its street circuit counterpart Long Beach still does. Seriously, I just don't get it. What makes Long Beach anymore appealing of a race to go to than this one? I know some will argue it's because of the dark cloud Las Vegas from 2011 had a lot to do with this race eventually getting scrapped, but I just don't buy that as the main reason. People just didn't bother showing up, so why schedule a race at a venue if you can't even get 5,000 spectators to show up?

[@xSoccerxCorex]

long beach is a street course in the middle of town, fontana is in the (relative) middle of nowhere. why go spend an hour or two in traffic to travel 30-40 miles for a IC race when you can just go to long beach instead?

[@cameron5802]

Having never watched much of the IndyCar series myself and growing up with Nascar as a backdrop instead, it's very interesting to distinguish the types of racing that drivers display; and how the rules reflect that. Contact is so strict while racing is clean and deliberate when next to eachother with these guys whereas some of the stockcars will throw that sort of respect to the wind. I'm sure IC has their share of aggressive driving but the fact that they come down so hard on it is pretty cool to analyze. Fun fact: iRacing has these cars at Monza Oval this week and it's absolutely insane.

[@danyelgunner]

I was watching this race on yt a few weeks ago sage karam is a beast what a race btw many overtakes,I miss Indycar at ovals

[@ILSRWY4]

Paul Tracy said on TV that day "if you don't like this kind of racing there is something wrong with you...." Robin Miller said the next day "one of the top 5 races of the century..." those two statements says it all. And this video is miss leading... although the last 5 drivers killed might have been on ovals 3 of those were freak accidents two of which did not happen during oval competition. Justin Wilson was hit with debris which can happen on any track. Paul Dana was killed during practice and Tony Rena was killed during testing and was the only car on track. It must also be noted that in the 10 years the IRL did this kind of racing (1997-2007) not one driver was lost during on-track Competition during the race. There have been three Indycar fatalities on Road (Laguna Seca & Road America) and street (Toronto) races in Indycar and one was almost a fatality in Houston with Dario Franchitti who almost lost his life. So road and Street races are just as dangerous... its all perception.. ovals look more dangerous because they fly around faster... but all racing is dangerous and to single out ovals is simply wrong and misinformative.

[@Khazrak134]

miss Steve Matchett. Him, Varsha and Hobbs in the F1 booth brings back good memories

[@gagemcpherson4454]

I remember watching this race LIVE on TV this is one of the greatest races of all time no one can change my mind it's unfortunate there was that last lap crash with Briscoe and Hunter Reay but other than that 10/10 Indycar is majorly underated people need to get there asses in the stands

[@thunderaarcanis98]

can we just appriciate the fact that pippa mann went from 22nd to 13th through out that whole race. atta girl!

[@carlsaganlives5112]

Lotsa legendary drives throughout her illustrious career, as showcased here.