It was a graduation year in our household, so we watched the 2009 Indy 500 a la ABC. As I reflect on it, this year's race was about ABCs:

• Ascension
• Boobs
• Crashes
  

Ascension

The Month of May is special to race fans. It signifies the preparation for and running of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Within the general public, I'll bet that most people you mention the race to will know it exists, but know little of the cars or drivers.

IndyCar racing lives in the shadow of NASCAR. As with many things in culture, we've segmented racing so that it can be consumed, like pop or fast food. The public has been indoctrinated in NASCAR Racing (note the big "R", as in the brand) nearly to the exclusion of other forms of racing (not the little "r" denoting the general term).

That started to change with Danica Patrick's rising star (plenty more about her in a bit). And, Helio Castroneves' dancing gig gave IndyCar another boost.

This was the year the dominoes started to fall for IndyCar, signifying more popular recognition and support for the sport. The annual New York City photo op trip the week before the race lit up with several other events, such as the milk chugging contest on Jimmy Fallon's late night show. Recent years have seen post-race appearances by the winner on the talk show circuit.

New sponsors stepped up, too, signifying a broad market. This was very evident in Sarah Fisher's list of sponsors, including Dollar General, Angie's List, Colgate, Kraft, and more.

Boobs, or GoDaddy? No, Daddy!

If IndyCar is trying to improve its image. the use of GoDaddy to sponsor the ABC telecast couldn't have been more misplaced.

First of all, come on already! The early GoDaddy ads with scantily-covered jiggly bits may have been a great way to generate attention for a new brand (marketers may debate that for years). But, to continue pandering, even escalating it to showing the CEO encouraging a young woman to disrobe, is disgusting. And to think that founder/CEO Bob Parsons used to run a successful software company featuring Christian titles. Grow up, Bob.

Real or not, it also appeared the GoDaddy sponsorship steered a great deal of the air time toward "GoDaddy Girl" Danica Patrick. The five-minute bio-reel before the race painting her as Daddy's Little Girl was a feeble attempt to re-imagine her image. The post-race interview proved that she's still looking out for herself, and only her (most drivers talk about their teams and the collaborative effort; Danica talked about her). Worse yet, it seemed that every in-car shot during the race (aside for the real racing happening at the front) was from Danica's car, with a GoDaddy logo featured on the sidepod. It lead blogger Jeff "My Name Is IRL" Iannucci to tweet, "Today's drinking term is 'checking in with Danica Patrick'. You may require hospitalization, though."

Many more stories deserved to be told. There are even better role modules in the ranks of drivers than Danica. It's too bad that we had to be Danica'd into GoDaddy submission.

C

C is NOT for crashes. Racing should never be about the accidents, despite the sensational coverage they get, and the way they are exploited to promotion.

No, this year, C was for Castroneves. How can it not be about this fairytale ending to Helio's personal hell? Acquitted of tax evasion. Back in a car after a 6 month hiatus. Just two races to reacclimate. Then, he nails The Month of May. He takes the pole. His team wins the pitstop competition. He takes the checkers for the third time. And he climbs the fence with his crew.

Indy is about being your best, doing your best. This year, the winner showed why he is the best. I wish the same could be said of the broadcast sponsor.

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