IndyCar should look overseas

Penske likes attending IndyCar and NASCAR races on the same weekend. He can't do that if IndyCar goes overseas

IndyCar has always been a predominantly North American-based series, with only a small selection of races being held overseas.

However, with IndyCar’s popularity gathering significant momentum both in America and internationally, the burning question is should the sport adapt and re-introduce several overseas races?

Esteemed team owner Roger Penske recently hit out against such an idea, as well as adding more races to the IndyCar calendar.

"I would like to have 15 or 16 good races," explained Roger Penske to reporters.

"I don't want to have 18, 19 or 20. I'm not interested in going overseas.

"I think if we run our series over here we'll be a lot better off.

"Our sponsors – 95 per cent of them – are US domestic companies (which is why IndyCar remains small – think small stay small. No huge international sponsors both to look at IndyCar).

"If we are going to give them the benefit, notoriety and the business-to-business relationships we have to have to maintain these sponsors as we do, it's hard to do it in Abu Dhabi and places like that."

Since 2010 the number of races on the IndyCar calendar has varied considerably, with as many as 19 in 2013 and as few as 15 in 2012, with practically all of those races being held in the United States or Canada.

As the sport prepares to return to the iconic Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona this weekend for the first time since 2005, Grand Prix Times’ Andy Young debates whether IndyCar should expand overseas and consider re-introducing more oval venues and international races.

Firstly IndyCar’s name derives from the Indianapolis 500, by far the most popular race on an oval course in all of motorsport.

However, since 2005, road and street courses have been added to the calendar each year, resulting in only five oval races in 2016 in comparison to 11 road or street course races.

Admittedly oval racing is by far a more dangerous form of IndyCar racing, with drivers competing with speeds in excess of 200 mph. However there is no denying that the spectacle of oval racing over that of road and street course racing is infinitely more entertaining and competitive.

The irony of the situation is evident when you look at the breakaway between CART and the Indy Racing League (IRL) in 1996, with the latter’s first full season in 1996-97 taking place only on ovals.

Meanwhile the CART calendar consisted of 17 races overall, with ten of those taking place on road or street courses.

Eventually CART would begin to struggle in comparison to IRL, as more teams and oval venues defected to the new series. This ultimately led to CART being rebranded as ChampCar and only consisting of two ovals (Milwaukee and Las Vegas) in 2005.

Sound familiar?

I’m certainly not suggesting that IndyCar will suffer a breakaway or fade away, but it should never forget its roots and therefore oval racing should always remain a major part of the series.

The recent return of Pocono and Phoenix is certainly a positive step for IndyCar, however whilst they have returned to the calendar, venues such as Fontana and Milwaukee have disappeared.

Now before I go any further in this topic, I might add that road and street course venues have an equal importance in shaping the IndyCar calendar.

Races such as Long Beach, Road America and Mid-Ohio are as important to IndyCar as Silverstone and Monza to Formula 1 in Europe.

So my next question is should the IndyCar calendar be extended to incorporate any further races?

As stated above veteran team owner Penske has voiced sincere opposition to the idea of expanding the calendar any further than 15 or 16 races, which it has essentially been for the last few seasons.

Although 15 or 16 races is viewed as an ideal amount for any major series, a quick glance at previous CART seasons shows that as many as 21 races were held in 2001, with 20 races being scheduled in 2000 and 1999.

This clearly indicates that IndyCar/CART is no stranger to longer calendars, and if the current season was lengthened to 20 races then four more races could be added.

Imagine the possibilities this could present to the IndyCar Series!

Iconic ovals such as Homestead-Miami, Chicagoland, Michigan and Fontana could all return, or two of the aforementioned ovals could re-introduced alongside two overseas races.

Maybe 20 races is a bit steep, especially when cost and logistics are considered and certainly if overseas races were introduced once again.

Therefore an 18-race calendar would seem like a happy medium, potentially dropping several current road courses in favour of a few more ovals and returning to the likes of Japan, Germany and Australia.

If done correctly then two birds could be killed with one stone, so to speak, with the sport returning to the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany and Twin Ring Motegi in Japan.

That would mean two overseas races, both on superspeedway ovals.

Meanwhile the Australian race, important particularly due to Will Power and Scott Dixon’s successes throughout recent years, could either return to Surfers Paradise in Queensland or visit a new venue altogether for IndyCar at either Adelaide or Melbourne.

Overall the IndyCar calendar certainly has no major faults in its current guise, with the series doing a stupendous job in maintaining historic venues such as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Long Beach and Pocono alongside new venues such as Barber and Boston.

However, there’s also room for improvement – particularly when it comes to the amount of road and street courses on the current calendar in comparison to oval courses.

Whilst the debate could rage on, IndyCar must never lose touch with its roots and therefore oval racing must be preserved and maintained beyond just the Indianapolis 500.

Meanwhile overseas races are also a key ingredient, particularly with the likes of Power and Dixon securing victories and fighting for championship titles on a yearly basis.

Dario Franchitti won four championships and 21 races in IndyCar, and throughout that period he never managed to compete in front of his fans on home soil.

Admittedly he did win the final CART race at Rockingham in 2002 before his switch to the Indy Racing League, with the former category featuring several overseas races during its final years before merging with IRL to form the IndyCar Series we know today.

IndyCar’s international fame is continuing to grow, and therefore in my opinion overseas races are a necessity to assist the sport in garnering its international support, whilst oval races are equally necessary to build upon the fan base as a whole with close and enthrallingly fast races. grandprixtimes