There was a time when the

Indianapolis 500 was the auto race to watch. The drivers, like Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr., Al Unser Jr., Johnny Rutherford and Bobby Rahal, were names everyone recognized.

However, open-wheel racing took a big hit after 1995, when the Indy Racing League was formed. There were two open-wheel leagues (Champ Car was the other), splitting the loyalties of drivers, car owners and fans. Slowly but surely, interest in open-wheel racing faded, while NASCAR took off.

Now, there is a resurgence in open-wheel racing. The war between the two leagues ended earlier this year when Champ Car agreed to merge with the IRL. Danica Patrick proved the hype about her is merited when she won her first career race this season, and even Helio Castroneves winning ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” last fall had to help bring attention to the sport.

So, things are looking good for the IRL.

ABC will televise Sunday’s

Indy 500, beginning at noon. It will be seen in the Capital Region on WTEN (Ch. 10) and WTEN HD.

It is the 44th straight year ABC has televised the Indy 500. Only CBS’ association with the Masters is longer.

There was a genuine excitement during Tuesday’s conference call, something I hadn’t heard in years. And it made me realize that it has been a while since I wrote anything about the Indy 500. Uniting the two open-wheel leagues will do that.

“The significance of the first time since 1996, when open-wheel racing will finally race at Indianapolis with the 33 fastest drivers from North America converged under one banner . . . truly is the next step in the building process,” said Marty Reid, who will call the race for ABC. “We saw all the things that tore this sport apart, and now, all of a sudden, since February, we’re seeing domino after domino fall into place.”

And having someone like Patrick show that a woman can compete with the men in a sport where speeds reach over 200 mph has been a big plus. Patrick has proven she has enormous talent to go along with the good looks that have made her a marketing sensation. She is definitely worthy of the coverage she receives.

“If she was not worthy of it, I think one would need to be careful,” ABC analyst and former driver Scott Goodyear said. “She goes into turn one at 230 mph, and does not take her foot off. There’s a very small amount of the population that would be able to do that with all the training. She’s out there not only competing against, but beating, the guys, so I think she deserves all the stuff she gets on the air.

“I’m sure that, knowing drivers as they are, there are some that realize that this is a great thing for the sport. There are probably some that are a little jealous of the attention that she gets. I think they all realize that Danica is good for their sport, which is their business. Anytime that we can increase the awareness of our business, I think it’s terrific.”

All in all, ABC may find there will be plenty of viewers tuning in to Sunday’s race.

“It is an event that we look at on our calendar every year, we admire it and we plan for it,” said Jed Drake, senior vice president and executive producer of ESPN, which is producing the broadcast. “We have a wonderful confluence of reunification, a next generation of drivers and the inevitable and omnipresent story of Danica Patrick. When you take all of those factors, throw them into the history and heritage of this race, and the heritage of the coverage on ABC, I do believe that in a world of

hyperbole, this one is not hyperbolic — it’s going to be a great spectacle, and we are very much looking forward to televising it.”

Cup finals begin

The NHL Stanley Cup finals get under way tonight at 8, when the Western Conference champion

Detroit Red Wings host the Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Versus will carry the first two games — Game 2 is Monday — before NBC takes over coverage Wednesday.

This season’s playoff ratings have improved over last year for both networks. And with two teams boasting some of the league’s best players — Pittsburgh has Sydney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marian Hossa and Marc-Andre Fleury;

Detroit counters with Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom — this could be a final that gets the nation’s attention.

“The hockey gods are smiling so wide, we can count their missing teeth,” said Mike Emrick, who will call the finals on Versus and NBC, during a Wednesday conference call.

parting shots

Fox Sports (WXXA Ch. 23 and WXXA HD) will have the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600 at 5 p.m. Sunday. The race can also be heard on the radio on Cobleskill’s WSDE-AM (1190). . . .

The French Open gets under way Sunday. The Tennis Channel has coverage at 5 a.m., and ESPN2 will start its broadcast at noon. . . .

ESPN2 has the NCAA men’s

lacrosse tournament semifinals today starting at noon. ESPN will televise the championship game at 1 p.m. Monday. . . .

CBS College Sports (formerly known as CSTV), has the NCAA women’s lacrosse tournament

final at 7 p.m. Sunday. Also on Sunday, it will show the NCAA men’s Division III lacrosse tournament championship game at 1:30 p.m., and the Division II title contest at 4:30.