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INDIANAPOLIS — The question has popped up throughout the week: Does NASCAR need to be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

Critics contend that while the track helped NASCAR grow in the 1990s, it does little for the sport now. They state that NASCAR is bigger than this world-renowned speedway.

Critics note that this race is not exciting. The door-to-door action NASCAR fans expect is not common here. The track's low banking makes it hard for cars to run side-by-side in the corners. Often, the field gets spread out and it's tough to pass. There's little drama in seeing that.

Critics also point to last year's race and how tire problems ruined it. No green-flag stretch of racing lasted more than 13 laps. That, and a struggling economy, has led to slow ticket sales. There were reports a few weeks back that attendance could be well off last year's estimated crowd of 240,000. Even if there were 200,000 for today's race, that would still leave more than 50,000 empty seats around the 2.5-mile speedway — not a good image for TV.

So, with all those woes, does NASCAR belong at Indianapolis?

"There's no question," Jeff Burton says.

Understand that even if only 185,000 were at today's race, the crowd would still be the largest in Cup this season. The Daytona 500 drew 180,000 fans in February.

To say that the series needs to leave this track because of waning fan support, then what does one propose about other tracks that have seen declines? The estimated attendance at last month's Dover race was down 33,000 from the previous year's crowd. Michigan fell 25,000. Phoenix dropped 20,000. Others have lost attendance this season.

Indy's allure remains strong but one must realize that NASCAR never intended for this event to be its biggest race. The series is at Daytona for two weekends to start the season. Indianapolis gets three days. If NASCAR wanted to make this the biggest event, it would be here longer. Instead, Indianapolis receives the same treatment as just about any other track. It just pays more with posted awards exceeding $9 million.

While this is only the 16th time the Cup series has competed here, many drivers talk in awe of the track, knowing they're racing at a facility built 100 years ago. Darlington is considered historic but Indianapolis Motor Speedway was more than 40 years old when Darlington ran its first Southern 500.

"The history and the prestige of this speedway is what everybody really enjoys," said Indiana native Ryan Newman of the home state track.

The biggest complaint about Indy is the racing. The event averages 16 lead changes, yet nine races this season have not had more lead changes than that. It's hard to pass because the groove is so narrow. These cars are too bulky for this speedway and drivers admit if anyone tried to build a track like this now, too many would object and the design would be changed.

"It is a very technical (and) challenging race track," Jeff Gordon said. "I feel like it is not the perfect track for us because it doesn't have banking."

So, the track isn't perfect. It's different. When did that become bad? Many fans have criticized the schedule for having so many cookie-cutter 1.5-mile speedways. Here's something different and some fans don't like it. Shouldn't winning at this track be challenging?

Last year's race presented more of a challenge than ever and was a bad experience for many. It's why the question of if NASCAR needs Indy has been asked.

Yet, it's a question that doesn't need answering. The answer is obvious.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com