Following the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, IndyCar is more than happy with the high drama of the day that saw Dario Franchitti win his third Indy 500 championship. With a record number of lead changes, beautiful weather and a long dash for the championship at the end, it's safe to say IndyCar hit a homerun with the event and the guys who run the show are certainly happy with the result.
Courtesy of the Seattle Times:
"What a tremendous race. We couldn't have asked for anything better for our marquee event," IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said Monday. "It had the right the mix of competition and entertainment as we showcased our sport on an international stage. Hopefully, people liked what they saw, learned what we already know and will come back for more this season."
Continued viewership is exactly what every one involved with IndyCar is hoping to produce. Despite an average television rating of 4.1 for this year's race, the organization is hopeful that there is enough buzz around the sport to build into increased growth in the future.
"I hope people watch the other races and see what we do week in and week out," said Dario Franchitti, who picked up his third Indianapolis 500 victory on Sunday. "The crowds have been good, and obviously we need to keep working on the TV thing, keep pushing on that. But we've had some cracking races this year. I think they've all been pretty good."
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