Indiana: An open-wheel state or a NASCAR state?

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- When I was a sixth grader at IPS School No. 82, my class took a yellow bus to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum for a field trip. I faked sick so I could stay on the bus and work on my friendship bracelets; I had no interest in the cars inside.

As a freshman at North Central High School, I landed my first paying job during the month of May selling hot dogs from a cart on Georgetown Road.

I chose to take my earnings to the Mug n' Bun for onion rings instead of going inside to watch the Indy 500. I gave my tickets to the lady manning the hot dog cart next to mine.

By 2004, I was all grown up and had become a news reporter for the Indianapolis Star; this Indianapolis native had made it well into her 20s without stepping foot inside IMS.

That was until the day my editor told me I had to cover the Brickyard 400!

Huh? What? More importantly, why?

I covered news, not NASCAR! My editor and I went rounds. I explained to him the only reason why I knew the sport even existed was because I had recently seen Casey Mears on Days of Our Lives.

But like a dutiful journalist, I accepted the assignment, Map Quested the track and pondered different story angles.

At the end of the day, I was mesmerized by the sights and sounds of the colorful Cup garage and became hooked on the sport's energy. I loved the views from the Pagoda, the lush greens from the golf course and even the maddening "yellow shirts" misguiding everyone around the sprawling facility; it cracked me right up! I've since had to call my aforementioned editor and thank him for sending me to the place I had managed to avoid my entire life.

A few years later, I left behind my aspirations of crime reporting to be a full-time NASCAR journalist. I TiVo NASCAR shows, have a NASCAR mat in the floorboard of my car and some nights when I'm alone ... I wear a Tony Stewart T-shirt to bed.

Um yeah, bad scene, I know!

The point of my story is that in all my years in Indiana, it was the magic of NASCAR that caught and kept my attention, not the Indy 500 -- the race Indianapolis natives are expected to fawn over and embrace from birth.

Nope, it was the Brickyard 400, and then the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, that made me a race fan. But more than that, it was because our very own Hoosiers were competing in the race: Jeff Gordon, Stewart, Ryan Newman, etc. When NASCAR came to IMS in 1994, Hoosiers converged on the hallowed racing ground to see their beloved Hoosiers, and the Indiana fan base exploded.

Granted, the Indy 500 is still the greatest spectacle in racing and I acknowledge its significance and impact on my home state of Indiana.

So my question now is this:

After decades of open-wheel racing throughout the state -- Sprints, Midgets, USAC and the long history of IndyCar racing compared to the 14 years of NASCAR racing, along with other forms of stock-car racing throughout the state ...

Do Hoosiers today think Indiana is an open-wheel state or a NASCAR state?

Fenders or no?

The 500 has the history but the 400 seems to have the popularity. So what do you think: Is Indiana an open-wheel state or a NASCAR state?

• Share your opinion with others
• H2H: Is the 400 prestigious?

I traveled to the town of Speedway and frequented some of my favorite spots around the North side of Indianapolis in search of the answer.

But first, I asked the experts.

"In my opinion it's an open-wheel, and when I say open-wheel, I don't necessarily mean IndyCar Racing," said Stewart, a Columbus, Ind., native. "Sprint car racing, Midget racing, USAC races and Indiana, and they just finished up Indiana Sprint week and to me there's a lot of dirt late model racing and pavement racing, but it's still to me the thing I think most about is all of the Midgets and USAC days in Indiana."

OK then I asked a high school friend, Jeff Dickerson, who happens to be Kyle Busch's spotter and agent and North Central's one and only racecar driver who has experience working with both sides of the racing fence.

"Indiana is an open-wheel state, but not specifically because of the IRL," Dickerson said. "Add up USAC and all the local dirt tracks that run Midgets and Sprint cars and that is why it's an open-wheel state -- together with the Indy 500 that is. I think the state's love for NASCAR stems from watching our hometown heroes race in it. Jeff Gordon winning the 1994 Brickyard captured the collective imagination of Indiana, because he was our hometown boy. Then add in Stewart and Kenny Irwin and Newman and we love NASCAR."

And last, I asked South Bend, Ind., native David Stremme to sound off.

"The center is open-wheel. North and South part of the state is stock car," he said of Indiana's make-up.

With this statement I agreed wholeheartedly because I lived in Evansville, Ind., for more than a year and the river town loves NASCAR and they believe they are akin to the South.

Once I got their side of the story, I was ready to hear from the Hoosier fans. Here's what I learned:

"I would say historically an open-wheel state. Indianapolis is where it all began but this week it's a NASCAR state because of the Brickyard 400. Until 1994, NASCAR was minor but I still don't see it having the popularity that open-wheel racing has here in Indiana."
-- Brad Bien, 31, native of Speedway, Ind.

"If you're talking about the entire state of Indiana, it's truly a NASCAR state. But if you're talking about Indianapolis, then it is open-wheel, given the impact of the Indy 500. Indiana was home of the Indy 500 before the Brickyard 400. But in light of the past turmoil and split between IndyCar and CART, the state began to gravitate toward the consistency of NASCAR and its drivers. Also, NASCAR does a better job of marketing its superstars to the fan base."
-- John Perry, 29, Lafayette, Ind., native now living in Westfield, Ind.

"It's a NASCAR state because hardly any [IndyCar Series] drivers are from Indiana; NASCAR has tons of Indiana natives. And it's a NASCAR state because I'm a Jeff Gordon fan, and when he was a teenager, he and his girlfriend babysat my son."
-- Gary Leverenz, 50, native of Indianapolis

"It's pretty much an open-wheel state because of the rich tradition. Besides, IMS is not the right track for NASCAR, it's not banked enough and you can't see much. But the beer is good at both races, I will say that."
-- Mike Pardee, 50, native of Danville, Ind.

"I grew up 20 minutes from the track and could hear the Indy 500 from my house. Indiana will always be an open-wheel state to me and I prefer to watch open-wheel racing over stock-car because I'm more familiar with the drivers."
-- Alison Lee, 32, native of Indianapolis

"I'm going to say open-wheel simply because of the Indy 500 tradition, but I know there are a lot of NASCAR and NHRA fans in Brownsburg, Ind. It just depends on who you ask."
-- Ashley Williams, 21, native of Avon, Ind.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.