IndyCar Series sets Spring Training dates:
The first Spring Training dates are scheduled for Feb. 27-28 on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval at Homestead-Miami Speedway. IndyCar Series teams will test under the lights from 4-10 p.m. each day for the second consecutive year in preparation for the primetime season opener at the facility on March 29.
The following week, IndyCar Series teams will conduct their first ever Open Test at Sebring International Raceway. Half the field will test on March 3-4, and the other half of the field will test on March 5-6 on the 1.7-mile, 11-turn circuit. The test groups will be released at a later date.
Although the facility has been approved for team testing since 2005, this will mark the first Open Test at the venue.
"We're very much looking forward to getting back to the racetrack and preparing for the 2008 season," said Brian Barnhart, president of the competition and operations division of the Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body of the IndyCar Series and the Indy Pro Series. "Homestead-Miami Speedway and Sebring International Raceway both offer first-class facilities in warm-weather venues to allow our teams and drivers the opportunity to get ready for another season of outstanding racing.
"Our race cars look spectacular under the lights at Homestead-Miami Speedway. I can't think of a better place to feel the energy of IndyCar Series racing in anticipation of a new season.
"We're also thrilled to be going to Sebring for the first time. Indy cars have used that facility as a training ground for years, and it should be a great track for our competitors to get ready for the road and street courses on our schedule."
"Spring Training at Homestead-Miami Speedway is really the ultimate in a live race preview," said HMS president Curtis Gray. "To have all the top IndyCar Series drivers here in advance of the March 29 season-opening 'SpeedJam' is going to provide some stellar on-track action-and all under the South Florida stars."
"We are honored to be hosting an IndyCar Series Open Test," Sebring President and General Manager Tres Stephenson said. "Sebring has been a favorite winter testing location for many Indy Racing League teams in recent years, and we look forward to having the prestigious IndyCar Series prepare for the 2008 season at our facility."
Indy Pro Series teams will also test at both tracks to prepare for the 2008 season. The series will host an Open Test at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Feb. 28 from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Indy Pro Series teams will test at Sebring March 31-April 1.