The announcement of IMS taking on a presenting sponsor for the 100th Indianapolis 500 seemed to be evenly divided among the interested. Half of my mail said it was a sign of the times while the die-hards were outraged about yet another slap in tradition's face. So let's clear up a couple things before we proceed. First off, when 25 of the 33 starting spots for the 1996 Indy 500 were "reserved" for IRL teams that was as unthinkable as it was insulting and made a mockery of one of racing's greatest traditions. Just like a year later when a couple of cars were secretly grandfathered into the field so Nissan wouldn't be shut out and the rulebook got kicked to the curb like Scott...
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