Open wheel racing v. stock car racing

As I watch this year's Indy 500, I'm noticing some of the reasons why NASCAR has become the most popular form of racing in the United States and open wheel racing has suffered.

1. Open wheel racing is not as TV-friendly as stock car racing. As I watch this race as a casual viewer, I'm reminded of how difficult it is to identify these cars. The announcers even have some difficulty. The stock cars have larger surfaces which allow for large numbers and distinctive paint schemes, making the cars easily identifiable for the casual fan. The larger surface of stock cars also allow for high visibility of corporate sponsorships, which also helps the casual viewer get into a race. It also means more money for the stock car teams.
2. No bumping and grinding. Americans are a bit of a rough and tumble lot. Part of the excitement of stock car racing is that the cars are much more forgiving of bump and grind racing. In open wheel racing, bumping and grinding is fatal. This leads to passes in open wheel racing that are completed very quickly. Stock car passes take a little longer and have a little more drama to them.
3. Engine sound. During the muscle car era, Americans fell in love with the throaty roar of an engine. Stock cars provide that throaty rumble in spades. The engines in the open wheel vehicles have much more of whine, a sound that many Americans scoff at. Don't believe me? Take a look at America's relationship with motorcycles. The throaty Harley is a much loved sound. The whine of crotch rockets is routinely scoffed.
4. IRL's current lack of household names. If you are an ardent fan of either stock car racing or open wheel racing, you are going to know the names of the drivers, so this doesn't matter. Casual fans are where the ratings are at, though, and with casual fans IRL comes up noticeably lacking in personalities. Again, this partially goes back to corporate sponsorship. People know NASCAR drivers because their corporate sponsors help make them stars. Take Tony Stewart as an example. Race fans knew who Tony Stewart was when he was an open wheel racer, but the larger population did not. Slap Stewart together with Home Depot, and the name Tony Stewart ends up on many more people's radars. Now this is a catch 22 for IRL. The mainstream corporations got involved with NASCAR not necessarily because the vehicles were more visible (although that helps), but because that is where the eyes are. IRL may be lure more mainstream corporations if a buzz starts to form around IRL, ratings start to come back, and the sponsorships prove to be less expensive than NASCAR, but that will be a very long term change.