The Bumping Debate 2019

I am really fucking tired writing about this and we will cut to the chase:

Roger Penske said he wants guaranteed spots in the Indianapolis 500 for full-time teams. Chip Ganassi seconded it and Michael Andretti agreed. IndyCar's axis powers in this debate.

A lot of people do not want this as they fear what could be the Indianapolis 500 fading into the background and blending in with all the other races around the world.

I get why Penske, Ganassi and Andretti want guaranteed spots. I really do get it. They want the money. They want the security. If anything, these three should be pleading that the Indianapolis 500 field should be reduced to 24 cars and the money that would have gone to the extra nine entries should be divvied up that way they get more money. That is the name of the game to them. They got to make money and the more they can make the happier those three will be.

The problem is this would be terrible. We have seen many forms of motorsports shrink in terms of participation. We see guaranteed spots in nearly every series. IndyCar, NASCAR, Formula One, sports car racing, etc. Every other race in the IndyCar season locks in the field. The Indianapolis 500 is the one race with no safety net. No one is locked in. No one knows where he or she will be on race day. No number of champions, race victories or Twitter followers can put you in the field. It is a last bastion of sorts in motorsports, one of the final races where participation comes down to whether you can put up one of the 33 fastest times or not.

The hard limit of 33 cars and bumping is part of why the Indianapolis 500 stands out. It makes it different. It adds to the entire event. Removing it brings the Indianapolis 500 back to the pack. It becomes closer to Iowa, Toronto and Belle Isle. It becomes another event of sorts.

The owners know what they are saying. They want security. They want to be able to guarantee sponsors the bang for the buck and they also know the Indianapolis 500 probably would not change that much without bumping. We haven't had bumping on a regular basis for the better part of two decades. People still showed up to the race. The 100th Indianapolis 500 didn't have any bumping and it still drew a "sold out" crowd. Locking in cars won't fucking matter over whether people show up or not. Some people will die on that hill but most won't give a fuck. They will still show up on race day and they will still watch on TV. The bottom will not fall out on the rating come race day.

However, the series has the team owners' by the balls.

What are the team owners going to do if IndyCar doesn't lock in cars? Leave? They have nowhere to go. As fucking hypocritical as they are in becoming proponents to locking in cars after what happened almost 25 years ago, they aren't going to start another series. They aren't that fucking stupid. They did the alternative in 1996 and it didn't work out. As fucking dumb as they may be now they cannot be that stupid to decide to organize a rival Memorial Day race against the Indianapolis 500 again!

Advantage IndyCar.

I don't know what will happen if Penske doesn't get his guaranteed positions in 2020 or 2021 but I don't think he is going anywhere.

I get why these big three team owners are scared about failing to make the race. They have invested a lot and losing a sponsor would be terrible but we know bumping isn't necessarily a fatal blow. James Hinchcliffe failed to make last year's race and Arrow DOUBLED-DOWN and INCREASED its sponsorship in Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Bobby Rahal failed to make the race in 1993 and Miller Genuine Draft was still on the car in 1994. Paul Tracy failed to make the race in 2010 and Geico stuck around with KV Racing for a few years and even came back two years ago with Dale Coyne Racing and James Davison.

There have been sponsors that left because a car did not make the Indianapolis 500. There have also been sponsors that left cars that just won the championship

***Cough*** Scott Dixon ***cough*** How do explain that Chip? ***cough*** Kind of a weak argument that you are worried about losing a sponsor over not being guaranteed spot in the Indianapolis 500 when you couldn't keep a sponsor after winning a championship that fucking season? ***cough*** Asshole. ***cough***

Excuse me. Apologies for the coughing fit.

Penske, Ganassi and Andretti want to be guaranteed a slice of the pie but the one thing IndyCar needs to value is competition. Bumping is another form of competition. It turns a procedural affair into an agonizing few hours where you watch a handful of people scramble to keep a dream alive. Some will make it and you get to see the relief. Others will not and you have to watch the emotional contemplation of the worst day of their lives. That is sport. That is beautiful. That is why people watch. People watch to see joy. They watch to see hearts break. It is life played out on the racetrack.

IndyCar needs bumping. It needs that day that makes everyone nervous and that includes the axis power of Penske, Ganassi and Andretti. Other sports have uncertainty, even for the big names. LeBron James is the most popular basketball player in the world. He didn't make the NBA playoffs. The NBA didn't give the Los Angeles Lakers the eighth-seed in the Western Conference over the Los Angeles Clippers just because it would get better ratings with LeBron James. Connor McDavid is arguably the best player in the NHL. He didn't make the Stanley Cup playoffs. The NHL didn't put the Edmonton Oilers in over the Colorado Avalanche just because it would be better to have McDavid on the ice. Mike Trout is arguably the best player in baseball and he has only made the playoffs once in his eight years in Major League Baseball.

IndyCar should not want IndyCar to be different at least when it comes to the Indianapolis 500. Last year's Indianapolis 500 will be remembered more because of who wasn't there. Last year, James Hinchcliffe missed the race but Graham Rahal was also in the battle to make the field. Conor Daly pulled it out. James Davison had the qualifying run of a lifetime. Every time there is bumping there is an unexpected name in the mix, one that most had penciled in and that is why people watch. We are waiting to be surprised and IndyCar needs that. IndyCar is doing the right thing if people tune in because they genuinely do not know what is going to happen. Guaranteeing spots in the Indianapolis 500 takes away one of the things playing into IndyCar's hand.

This debate isn't going anywhere. It is going to play out throughout this month of May and maybe if the cars in the bumping battle this year are inconsequential one-off entries then we will hear less from the axis car owners come 2020. If a full-time driver is in the mix on bump day then IndyCar's three-headed dragon will keep chirping.

My hope is IndyCar squeezes a little bit because they hold the power in this scenario. It can't fold. It needs to keep the standard of what the Indianapolis 500 is and the team owners know what they are getting into each May.

The team owners are looking out for their business interests but there comes a point when the team owners have to step back and look at the greater good and realize taking the risk out of the Indianapolis 500 could be bad for business, reducing the chance of the unexpected and turning it into just another race.