Road America hopes to stay in the loop for IRL race
But the track president also understands reality.
"It's a fire drill, I'm sure," Bruggenthies said Thursday.
"I'm sure they're concerned about their first event and the final Champ Car event at Long Beach. I'm sure they're scrambling to get teams to participate in that. I think that is the focus of both organizations. I don't know anything (beyond speculation), but I would run the business that way."
When unification of the two open-wheel series was announced last month, officials said they hoped to reach out within a couple of weeks to talk about future IndyCar races with promoters whose 2008 Champ Car events were scrapped.
Logistics have kept discussions minimal, said John Griffin, a spokesman for the sanctioning body, the Indy Racing League. The past month has been chaotic, at best, and even the '08 schedule can't be finalized until Champ Car's bankruptcy progresses further.
The IndyCar opener is set for March 29 in Homestead, Fla., and an IndyCar-points-paying Champ Car finale is set for three weeks later in Long Beach, Calif.
Although Bruggenthies would like to know as soon as possible whether the blended series will race at the 4-mile road course in Elkhart Lake, he doesn't envision real negotiations for a month or two. That will still give him time to plan.
"We're already building the '09 schedule," Bruggenthies said. "Usually by June I have a pretty good idea. By July, we've got a real good idea. And by August, we think we have a firm idea.
"Drop-dead stuff really happens in September. But then it can all change again." Milwaukee Sentinel Journal