It was as cool a moment as it was rare because Carpenter is the first USAC graduate to win an Indy car race since Tony Stewart in 1998.

And, the way things are going, he might be the last.

Despite the fact that oval racing is usually the most exciting in the IZOD IndyCar Series and is the foundation for this sport, Sunday was another example of why oval tracks are vanishing from the schedule.

Although they were on their feet and screaming the last three laps, there couldn’t have been 15,000 people at Kentucky Speedway. It’s not coming back next year unless a title sponsor can be obtained. Ditto for Loudon. And Milwaukee has no future either.

There will only be five ovals out of the expected 17-18 races in 2012 because promoters no longer can afford to take a chance.

“I just want to see it 50/50, ovals and road races,” said Carpenter, whose road racing skills have improved but still lag way behind most of his competition. “Our best racing is on ovals, always has been, and it’s going to be sad if we don’t come back here.”

The old IRL is long gone but it was standing in victory lane on Sunday. Ovals have become endangered species and it’s a reality that doesn’t escape even A.J. Foyt.

“I hate to say it but other than a couple places (Iowa, Texas, Indy), people don’t come to watch our races (on ovals) anymore and it’s always been good racing,” said Foyt, whose disdain for street circuits has never been masked.

“They had a helluva crowd at Baltimore and I guess people just seem to want to be around other people. I know Don Branson and Jud Larson would be shaking their heads.”

And that’s some Texas logic that’s hard to argue with. We all know what we saw Sunday was a lot more racy than Sonoma or Mid-Ohio.

But the bottom line is that three or four times as many people were in Baltimore, Mid-Ohio and Long Beach to eat, drink, socialize, be entertained all day and watch a few hundred feet of cars flashing by their vantage point.

It’s not a conspiracy, it’s not because Randy Bernard isn’t trying to keep ovals or because IZOD can’t throw as good a party at them. It’s because at some point during The Split, all those fans who used to pack Phoenix, Milwaukee and Michigan lost interest.

And it doesn’t look like they’re ever coming back.

Robin Miller brings 40 years of experience to his role as SPEED.com's senior open-wheel reporter, and serves as a frequent contributor to SPEED Center and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED