Ed Berliner: The Indy 500. Alas, we knew you well.

The verdict is in, and as expected, the wheels continue falling off what was once "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing". Once upon a brickyard time, the Indianapolis 500 was a seminal event every year. It signaled the beginning of summer. The sheer color, excitement and death defying laps had a hold on even those who wouldn't know the phrase "open wheel" from "open for business". Not anymore. The Indy 500 has become a televised sporting event that, according to the numbers, is losing its appeal faster than the Octo-Mom. Before the purists start tuning up and seek to have me used as a crash test dummy, let's examine the evidence. Overnight Neilsen ratings, which sometimes can be as accurate as balance sheets from General Motors, show a piddling 3.9% of TV households tuned in to see what became a fairly compelling story. That's down 13% from last year, and a nightmarish 40% from just four years ago. Placing these numbers in perspective, imagine a Super Bowl halftime show headlined by overseas American Idol singing sensation Susan Boyle. One counter-argument from Indy Car racing faithful will be those same TV ratings from the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600. Before being rained out and turning into an embarrassing finish orchestrated by NASCAR, (a story for another day), the often broadcast life-changing overnights showed 3.5% of TV households were swapping view with those swapping paint. Look deeper into those numbers. While NASCAR's ratings for the same event were off 20%, the numbers over the last five years for stock car racing have been consistently better than anything Indy Car has tossed onto the asphalt. Numbers don't lie, unless they're used by Major League Baseball to downplay the number of players using performance-enhancing drugs. And the numbers are both sobering and alarming. Outside of those in attendance and the hardcore faithful, the Indy 500 is no longer important in the American sporting landscape. Even the story lines emerging from this year's race point to a sport where the focus of attention is more about the racy than the racing. Danica Patrick becomes the highest finishing female at the Indy 500, crossing the line third and proving she's more than just a pretty face. And a great body. And perfect for swimsuit shoots. And shower scenes in a TV commercial. Helio Castroneves joins an elite group by winning his third Indy 500. Of course, Castroneves has become more of a household word to non-racing fans recently by appearing on "Dancing With The Stars" and being acquitted on tax-evasion charges. Not that he didn't show some fairly fancy and intricate moves in both cases, but you won't be seeing Tony Stewart or Carl Edwards tripping the light somnambulistic. Indy Car racing has been turned into a one shot spectacle by the palpable greed and avarice of almost everyone at the top of this withering food chain. As CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tony George's ego and his use of the race as a bludgeoning tool caused the series to split several years ago and turned the racing from "must see TV" into an excuse for background noise while the burgers are burning. He is certainly not the only to blame, but was certainly the man holding the dynamite plunger. NASCAR is far from perfect and at present seems to be in the early throes of self-immolation itself. But those fires will be quickly doused by a loyal fan base that doesn't have to worry, for the time being at least, about paying the freight for petulant millionaires playing with their passion as if it was Monopoly money. There will always be an Indy 500, and the loyalists will remain as passionate as ever. There just won't be as many to return the sport to its once legendary prominence. Perhaps the Borg-Warner Trophy can be changed from its current shape to that of a prized fiddle. This way Tony George could stand alongside the man who obviously inspired his current leadership style. The Roman Emperor Nero.