IndyFest at Milwaukee Mile to move from August to July (Update)
Racing's past and present will come together at Milwaukee IndyFest this July as the stars and cars of the Verizon IndyCar Series share the world's oldest operating motor speedway with one-of-a-kind classic machines from the Harry Miller Club. In addition to the participation of some of vintage racing's most historic cars, Milwaukee IndyFest will feature entertainment for families and event-goers alike, including the Coors Light Music & Beer Garden, Family Fun Zone, IndyCar Fan Village, driver autograph sessions, and more.
"We're delighted to bring the Verizon IndyCar Series back to the Milwaukee Mile," said Kevin Healy-General Manager, Milwaukee IndyFest. "With the addition of the Harry Miller Club and continued support from our partners at ABC Supply and the Metro Milwaukee Honda Dealers, this year's race will be better than ever, and we can't wait to deliver another full weekend of fun and excitement to our fans."
"Sharing the Millers at Milwaukee event with the Verizon IndyCar Series is a great opportunity for our members and fans of Milwaukee IndyFest," declared Dana Mecum-President of the Harry Miller Club. "Seeing cars from IndyCar's past and present at such a storied venue will be a real treat for race fans and allow a younger generation to see how far racing has come in the last century."
Along with all the IndyFest infield activities, cars from the Harry Miller Club will be on display and on-track Friday and Saturday before IndyCar practice in the evening. IndyCar, Indy Lights, and Pro Mazda will qualify and race on Sunday, July 12.
10/30/14 Milwaukee IndyFest will move to its third different date in three years when the 2015 IndyCar schedule is announced Thursday.
The race is expected to be held July 12, a source with knowledge of the track indicated, raising the intriguing possibility that it could run in conjunction with the Harry A. Miller Club historic Indy-car event held at the Milwaukee Mile every summer.
For more than half a century, Indy-car races at the State Fair Park track typically were held in early June, following the Indianapolis 500, before a split in the governance of the sport and other factors led to the end of that tradition. Detroit will again hold that position on the 2015 calendar as it has since 2012.
After a 2010 season without a race at the Milwaukee Mile, AB Promotions brought IndyCar back on Father's Day weekend in 2011, and Andretti Sports Marketing, which took over in 2012, kept that for two years before moving to the weekend after State Fair in August last season.
Will Power's victory in the third-to-last race of the year helped propel him to his first Verizon IndyCar Series championship. Preliminary plans had called for the event to be held in August again next season, although the way the calendar falls, State Fair will start and end nearly a week later than it did this year.
Racing in July will erase any benefit IndyFest got from its proximity to the final race of the season and from Andretti's ability to promote during State Fair. But it will take the 2015 event out of a fiercely competitive period for sports in southeastern Wisconsin, with the PGA Championship, Aug. 10-16, at Whistling Straits in Haven and the NASCAR Xfinity Series (now Nationwide Series) at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Aug. 28-29