IMS gauging interest in Indy road race
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| F1 cars at Indy in 2002 |
That's what some of the car owners want to do: open the month of May with a road race at IMS writes SPEEDTV’s Robin Miller in his latest mailbag. He does not like the idea and neither do we. We do think a 2nd IndyCar race on the road course later in the year on Labor Day weekend to replace Baltimore if it goes under would eventually grow to be a sizable event. It would be another holiday celebration weekend in Indianapolis to bookend the Memorial Day classic. If they only got 75,000 to 100,000 people it would still be the 2nd biggest race on the calendar. We would reconfigure the first couple of turns though – too Mickey Mouse.
11/16/11
Question: I was just clock watching at work reading some different racing articles and suddenly I had a dream. I am sure a dream is all it will ever be but why not end the IndyCar season in Indy! We are the racing capital of the world. The Midwest is a has a huge following of fans in close driving distance to the speedway. Run the final race on the road course. Have a lot of support races all weekend: V8 Supercars, Grand Am Series, Indy Lights, etc. What better place to have a championship weekend than the Mecca of motorsports? (Brian, Indianapolis)
Answer: I could see it as the end of the IndyCar and Indy Lights seasons, but that’s it. Grand Am will run on Brickyard weekend. But having such a finale robs another location of the honor; it’s an attractive piece of the puzzle. But, if Las Vegas can’t happen for 2012, maybe this is the way to go. It’s the only way I see it happening. Indy Star
11/15/11 Question: I received an email from IMS that they apparently sent to all Indy 500 ticket holders. The email directed you to a survey that is trying to gauge interest in an IndyCar road race at IMS for 2013. Not sure what they are thinking at 16th and Georgetown, but it appears that Indy Car oval racing anywhere is headed for extinction very soon. (Jonny, Foothill Ranch, Calif.)
Answer: Don’t get too far ahead of yourself. I’m told that IMS marketing included that in a “periodic" survey. “Those are routine questions that go out from time to time," IMS spokesman Doug Boles said. Boles said he spoke with company CEO Jeff Belskus and such an event is not something they’re considering. IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said there are no such discussions. I’d add that the subject has been tossed around for a few years with no clear direction. Some within the company would like to see it, others would not. I think the bottom line is, there are plenty of road course options for IndyCar. The only way I could see it being on the 2012 schedule is if IndyCar needs a last-minute addition to bring the total number of races up to a respectable amount. Right now they’ve got St. Pete, Long Beach, Barber, Brazil, Indy, Texas twice, Iowa, Toronto, Edmonton, Mid-Ohio, China, Sonoma, Baltimore and California. That’s 15, and it assumes that Baltimore stays together. I know there are some oval events being discussed, but you can see how the IMS road course might be needed if the Las Vegas street race can’t come together for 2012. Indy Star