200 MPH on A1A? IndyCar Series Lobbying for Fort Lauderdale Grand Prix
Now the IZOD IndyCar Series wants to hold the Fort Lauderdale Grand Prix on the same stretch of road, pushing 200 mph — and probably won't involve killing people.
The Sun-Sentinel reports race promoters are trying to bring the IndyCar Series to Fort Lauderdale by 2013, after South Florida's tentatively brief hiatus from the race circuit.
Last year was the last for the IndyCar Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but now Fort Lauderdale could be the American equivalent to Formula One's Monaco Grand Prix.
Florida-tied construction executive Dale Dillon and IndyCar driver Ryan Hunter-Reay are promoting the event, the Sentinel reports, and have gotten the go-ahead from the IndyCar Series to explore the race possibilities and engineer a route for the race.
The IndyCar Series, as well as promoters seeking the return of the Air & Sea Show, are meeting with city commissioners next week for tentative approval.
Neither group has asked the city for financial support, according to the paper.
The IndyCar Series currently has 17 races per season across four different countries, with its renowned race obviously being the Indy 500.
As of now, the race promoters are planning a three-day event featuring around 120 drivers on a 2-mile course, with the hopes of national television broadcasting.
"When you look at the backdrop of the beach and the Intracoastal Waterway and the marina, it would be one of the more exciting events that I've seen in my 25 years in IndyCar," Dillon told the Sentinel. "We truly believe that it could rival some of the top races in the world." Broward Palm Beach Times