A couple of decades ago Indy cars were at the forefront of American motorsports, but today in auto racing it's NASCAR's world. It is interesting to me to see how the fans interaction with the stars of the these sports has changed, and why the consistency of Monster Jam drivers love for their fans remains steady, and a huge reason why Monster Jam is so popular today.

In the day when Indy car racing was the pinnacle many felt that the open wheel superstar drivers came off as very aloof toward the fans, that the drivers would show up at the track, stay secluded, race, and fly out ASAP. This was at a time when the likes of Richard Petty were showing up early at NASCAR tracks, enjoying time with the fans, putting on a great show on the track, and then signing autographs after the race for everyone that they could. There are many other reasons that NASCAR's popularity has exploded and Indy's has faded, but I truly believe that is part of it.

Over these last 20 years that's changed, but during the same time frame Monster Jam has not. The drivers in Monster Jam spend more time with their fans that any other sports or entertainment stars I've ever been around. It's been that way for decades and remains that way today.

I'm not saying that the folks with the IndyCar Series have decided to copy Monster Jam, but as they fight to move back up the ladder of popularity in American motorsports they have taken an approach Monster Jam has always used by increasing the interaction of drivers and fans. To see thousands of Iowa Speedway fans with big smiles on their faces at a post-qualifying open autograph session for the IndyCar drivers this past Saturday night tells me that they now get it, and again, that's something Monster Jam has never forgotten.

It seems that the bigger some of these drivers and/or series get the easier it is for them to forget who pays the freight here - the fans. I understand that NASCAR is so popular today it is difficult to make the drivers available to all of their fans, but from a personal perspective, I continue to see young drivers come into that sport with huge contracts who seem to feel like spending any time with fans is a burden. That's the attitude I used to detect from Indy racing's best, but not any more. Saturday night all of the big guns, including Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti, wildly popular Marco Andretti, reigning champ Sam Hornish Jr., and yes, even the sport's most recognized star, Danica Patrick, spent the time after a long day of practice and qualifying at more than 180 miles per hour on the lightning fast 7/8 mile oval by signing autographs and taking pictures with their fans. The next day Iowa Speedway set a new attendance record as more than 35,000 fans packed the expanded grandstands for the IndyCar race won by Franchitti, with his lovely wife Ashley Judd enjoying the huge celebration in Victory Lane for the Andretti-Green race team. Today's IndyCar Series has it's share of problems, still, much related to the split years ago with CART, but in many ways they are really doing things right, and the drivers relationship with the fans is a big part of it.

Monster Jam's popularity also has so many facets to it, with some of the most talented and daring drivers in motorsports doing amazing things every time out and constantly raising the bar like Tom Meents did when he back flipped Maximum Destruction during his freestyle in Gothenburg, Sweden a few weeks ago. Complementing the amazing on-track action, though, it is the love affair between the drivers and fans that keeps Monster Jam special. As new drivers continue to enter the sport they see the amount of time the Dennis Anderson's and Tom Meents' put it to please their fans, off the track as well as on it, and they do the same. It's that attitude by all of Monster Jam's drivers toward the fans, the people who ultimately pay all of the salaries, that keeps me believing that selling out huge domes and stadiums all over the world for Monster Jam is not a phenomenon, but a way of life, one that everyone involved in the sport is committed to not just keeping where it is, but growing and expanding the sport year after year.