Every year on Memorial Day, auto racing fans around the world wake up eager to see the world's most famous race. The Indianapolis 500 is an annual IndyCar race that has been held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1916. It is a race of great tradition that should represent the fastest riders in the sport on the fastest track in the sport. However, Tony George, president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IRL, is changing everything about racing and the sport. This year at Indy, Tony George and his Indy Car Racing League (IRL) broke a longstanding tradition at Indy and forced another race to take place on the same day. In Michigan the US 500 was raced on the same day by members of the CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) in protest against the IRL. It was the first time another race had taken place opposite the Indy 500. There were a record 17 rookies starting in Indy because many of the more experienced drivers were racing in Michigan. There was only one driver in the race who had already won at Indy. The IRL has fundamentally changed the Indy 500. The IRL and CART are two racing leagues with opposing visions of where the sport of auto racing is going. CART supports the way the sport is progressing in recent years. This includes trying to increase the speed of cars by any means possible. The IRL was formed a few years ago under the direction of Tony George. He is trying to make the sport cheaper and safer by using different engines/chassis and slowing down the speed. Racing has always been about going faster than the next driver. It was about trying to beat course records and lap speeds. But if Tony George has his way, all speeds on the course will be reduced due to the switch from turbocharged Indy V6 engines to normally aspirated V8s. The result is less power, therefore slower speeds. Records would never be broken and the sport would lose some of its appeal. Racing has always been an attempt to go faster; there's no real reason to change it now. One of Tony George's justifications is that sport would become safer. This is not true. The difference wouldn't be much. The fatality rate for a 230 mph crash and a 210 mph crash is not much different.