Miles Impressed with NOLA Efforts

A decent crowd turned out despite the horrid weather all weekend

Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Company, the parent of INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, gave the NOLA staff "very high marks" for getting the facility race ready and continually addressing the changing conditions this weekend.

"The track itself has done a great job," Miles said. "It's a big deal to move from a club course to an Indy car track. I think they've done just about everything we could expect of them."

NOLA Motorsports Park opened in 2012 as a local auto enthusiast facility with big dreams. The Verizon IndyCar Series event for 2015 was announced in August 2014. Extensive upgrades have occurred since, including the addition of grandstands and numerous track safety upgrades. Miles said it has shown worthy of hosting a series event, even if the weather this weekend didn't fully cooperate.

"The facility itself has never really been used like this and, unfortunately because of the rain, is probably not being tested for how it would work when you have a full house," he said. "I think it looks great; I think everybody is pleased."

Miles said discussion is already under way about the 2016 race date. This weekend's race conflicted with the popular French Quarter Festival in downtown New Orleans and, while inroads have been made in community awareness, a more fortuitous weekend could be a win-win situation. Miles firmly believes the NOLA race can become a "destination" event for the Verizon IndyCar Series, comparable with the Long Beach and Sonoma races in California and St. Petersburg, Fla.

"The perfect scenario locally and therefore for us would be if we can find a weekend when the weather's good and we don't have another major local event to compete with," Miles added.