The Indy 500

I saw something at the Indy 500 that I've never seen before.

Empty seats.

I wasn't there, mind you. I was just watching on TV.  Maybe entire sections had just gone for a beer and a piss at the very moment the ABC cameras panned their way.

But I saw it, and so did millions of other viewers.

When one of America's iconic sporting events, cultural events, and television events is playing to empty seats, you know America isn't what it was.

Empty seats are nothing new in American motor sports. NASCAR has been struggling with falling attendance and TV ratings for several years now.

The civil war in open-wheel racing between CART and Indycars didn't help either.

But Indianapolis used to be the Mecca of motorsport.

When they're leaving empty chairs at Mecca you know you have a problem.