Circuits for future schedules (Walker interview)

[FstrthnU]

What are the chances of IndyCar going to…

Road America – wanted by Ed Joras, Jim Christ, “Shipping,” Steve Levy, Anthony Kernich, Michael Kent

DW: Possible, and I hope it does. It's a great track for IndyCar to be at. (It's also worth visiting for the Irish pub down in Plymouth, the 52 Stafford. That's a “must visit” while you're in the area!)

Watkins Glen – wanted by Ed Joras, Rick Kappler, Anthony Kernich

DW: One of my all-time favorite tracks, but we have not been successful in drawing a crowd there. And until someone can tell me why that is, and how we can address that issue, it's unlikely we'll go there anytime soon.

Circuit of The Americas – wanted by Ed Joras, Tory, Vincent Halloran, Steve Lawson, Henry Moe

DW: I think it's possible. It's a fantastic circuit, and would be an excellent track for IndyCar. It's one of the venues on the list in front office under the heading, “Must do if we can!” However, I doubt it will happen next year.

New Hampshire – wanted by Jake Murray

DW: We've proven we can race there and the region is of high interest to IndyCar, but I don't see it on the immediate horizon.

Laguna Seca – wanted by Anthony Kernich, Marc Rivas

DW: Another great track which I'd like to see back. There is interest this end.

Michigan – wanted by Jim Christ

DW: It's part of our history and we had some pretty good races there, but a return is doubtful at the moment. If the promoter had a solid business plan that made sense, then we'd seriously discuss it of course.

Portland – wanted by Marc Rivas, Rick Kappler

DW: In the old days, it was a great event but the circuit may need a bit of renovation to bring it up to scratch. Crowd-wise, we struggled at Portland in the final years of Champ Car and it faded off the chart. Pity!

Nazareth – Niles Anders (and yes, he realizes it needs rebuilding…)

DW: No, I wouldn't think so. If Roger Penske had had more space to build a slightly bigger track, it would have been a really good facility for us and maybe we might never left. However, it's a bit too small for IndyCar, even if the track was in a healthy state.

Phoenix – wanted by Marc Rivas, Jim Christ, Paul Sagnella

DW: Yes, IndyCar shows well there, it's in a good region, and I definitely think we should be there. Phoenix's layout should be fast but it needs the right technical package to make it racy. We can do that.

Las Vegas (Champ Car street layout) – wanted by Marc Rivas

DW: Ha! It's hard to fence off the streets, but we would be there in a Vegas minute if it became available. A night street race in the right place would be great, but… I don't see that happening.

Mont-Tremblant – wanted by Anthony Kernich

DW: I don't think so. We tried it, and I see other Canadian locations that would be of more interest.

Surfers Paradise or anywhere in Australia – wanted by Josh Fitt

DW: Yes and yes, I think it's a fun location. It makes a lot of financial sense if we go there as part of an Asia swing, with China and/or Japan. Surfers Paradise was always one of the best events, and at a great time of year that appealed to fans. I hope we can get it back. It is a huge investment, though, so it's of course up to the promoter to decide if it's worth it.

Montreal, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve – wanted by Vincent Halloran

DW: It would be great to go there – a good track, we raced well there, and Canadian open-wheel fans are strong in number and passion.

Vancouver – wanted by Steve Jarvis

DW: I don't think the location we had there is available now, but Vancouver is a happening place. I'm confident we could make a successful street race there if we had promoter interest with good backing. Yeah, Vancouver would be a great place to race.

Road Atlanta – wanted by Rick Kappler, Michael Kent

DW: Not likely because of the nature of the track and the nature of our cars: We'd be amazingly quick there. And to be honest, I don't get the impression they have much interest in running IndyCar there.

Mexico City, Circuit Hermanos Rodriguez – wanted by Vincent Halloran

DW: Sounding like a broken record, but with strong promoter interest, then yes. It's a great track – actually, a real classic – and the fans are enthusiastic.

Rockingham, N.C. (or other “venues that NASCAR has neglected in its own backyard”) – wanted by Vincent Halloran

DW: We could but our schedule fills pretty rapidly with must-haves, and Rockingham is not high on the list of “potentials” to fill in the gaps.

Daytona, maybe even during Speedweeks – wanted by Vincent Halloran

DW: Ha! That might see old Gil de Ferran's closed-course speed record get beaten! Can you imagine? But in short, no: I think Daytona has enough racing going on and wouldn't be interested in us.

Charlotte – wanted by Steve Lawson

DW: No, not high on the list of possibles.…

V.I.R. – wanted by Rick Kappler
DW: Probably not.

Cleveland – wanted by Anthony Kernich

DW: Cleveland was great for fans being able to see the whole track, and the racing was fantastic. There are no current discussions that I've heard of but don't rule it out because it has a lot of potential if run by a promoter who knows what he's doing.

Road course at IMS – wanted by Bob Eckle

DW: Running IndyCars at IMS for anything other than the Indy 500 would not be my first choice. I'd prefer installing lights at IMS and holding a sprint night race on the oval under the lights before utilizing the road course, to be honest. But from a company and series point of view, it might make sense; my opinion on this is not the one that counts!

Ft. Lauderdale – wanted by Steve Lawson
DW: There's definitely some interest in the area, it's attractive to us, but it's a too early to say if it's going to be on the schedule in 2014.

http://www.racer.com/derrick-walker-...icle/301114/2/

Seems like Phoenix and COTA have the best chances of getting on the 2014 or 2015 calendar. Interesting to see how some of the "better regarded" circuits have attendance issues with Indycar.

[Beetle]

As far as street circuits go, I think that Vancouver, Fort Lauderdale, and Surfer's Paradise would all be fantastic ideas. Mexico City and Road America sound good as well. I wonder why DW ruled out VIR so bluntly... it's a great track, and would be perfect for IndyCars, IMO.

[Purist]

There almost certainly isn't enough catch fencing around the circuit at VIR to be considered acceptable for big open-wheelers. The barriers and spectator access overall are likely considered too crude and limited as well.

I was at Watkins Glen in 2009, and it sure seemed like a pretty good showing to me at the track.

I'm not sure how Nazareth (0.946-mile) is "too small" when they run at Iowa (0.875-mile) and ran at Richmond (0.750-mile).

I'm not sure what other Canadian venues he has in mind. I don't see Mosport happening, and wouldn't necessarily want it to, given the changes IndyCar would ask for. It's Toronto, Montreal, and Mont Tremblant at the moment, because nothing else actually exists in operating condition at present.

I'm not sure what he thinks is wrong with "the nature of the track" at Road Atlanta. Also, they've been running in front of decent crowds at Barber, so I'm not convinced that there isn't a want to see them run in Braselton.

There was also this just before he addressed specific tracks.

Will IndyCar have more than just three races on the west coast? - Rick Kappler

DW: It's possible, yeah, but put too many races in one area it my tend to overlap a bit. For example, if we were to go to Laguna Seca and Sonoma the promoters may feel they are competing for some of the same fan base…although they could join forces and do a special promotion for those buying tickets to each. Phoenix would be a possibility and we're also looking at another couple of new event possibilities.

A similar argument has been made regarding issues with having both Cleveland and Mid Ohio, or both Milwaukee and Road America.

As for Sears Point, if they can't MAKE a way to run the original, 2.52-mile layout, then I don't know why they don't just switch to Laguna Seca and leave Sonoma. Even with the course adjustments and the new car last year, the racing at Sears Point left a fair bit to be desired. (Frankly, banded tire barriers, like the ones around Eau Rouge at Spa, would seem to do the trick at Turns 10 and 11 at Sonoma. Also, using the drag strip entry to Turn 7 pinches off the useful racing line too much; use the original layout with the road that swings off the drag strip to driver's left.)

[Yannick]

I'm surprised he was not asked about Kentucky Speedway and Chicagoland. And how about a Saturday afternoon race on the Formula 1 weekend at Weehawken/New Jersey? That might be a great chance for IndyCar, too.

[Purist]

Yannick, this was the first question and answer in the published piece.

With Formula 1 now on NBC with IndyCar, do you see a potential for IndyCar to run as a support race for F1 races in Montreal, New Jersey, or both? They would get just as much media attention as the “500”. - Abraham Elliott

DW: Well I'd love to see that happen as added value to the F1 event – not a support race as such. But Formula 1 does not typically share events with other open-wheel series except their own feeder formulas. IndyCar would love to race where people want to see us and I know there is plenty of crossover in terms of fan base but it's more of a question to pose to Formula 1 than IndyCar.

So, that's half your query covered at least.

[Beetle]

Originally Posted by Yannick

I'm surprised he was not asked about Kentucky Speedway and Chicagoland. And how about a Saturday afternoon race on the Formula 1 weekend at Weehawken/New Jersey? That might be a great chance for IndyCar, too.

As far as IndyCar going as a support series, I don't see that happening. But IndyCar weekends often run support races like Pirelli WC so if Formula E takes off the ground then maybe Los Angeles or Miami?

I can see it being good for IndyCar to mix with an FIA-based series, especially if that series constitutes the support race.

[FordCosworthPanoz]

Except for tracks deemed unsafe or unsuitable Derrick has nothing to do with the track selection itself for the schedule. That is up to Miles, Belskus or whoever the heck is the financial leader of Indycar and IRL LLC. It's all up to the sanctioning fees and T.V. money, feel sorry for him to have to go through this mailbag about something he can't do anything about.My favourite is his comment about Michigan Speedway "If the promoter had a solid business plan that made sense", aka the promoter doesn't want to pay fees that are above that of Nationwide but have a quarter of the TV money and the same ticket sales. As for ovals in general it's pretty hard when you've somehow managed to tick off the two most powerful (and rival) Racetrack Companies in the country.

[Purist]

SMI and ISC will do it if the money seems to make some sense.

If SMI was that ticked, Texas and Sears Point wouldn't be on the calendar. If ISC was that angry, Fontana wouldn't be on the schedule either.

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by Yannick

I'm surprised he was not asked about Kentucky Speedway and Chicagoland.

It can mean that those discussions are getting closer, or colder.

Originally Posted by FordCosworthPanoz

Except for tracks deemed unsafe or unsuitable Derrick has nothing to do with the track selection itself for the schedule. That is up to Miles, Belskus or whoever the heck is the financial leader of Indycar and IRL LLC.

You are missing the point: Walker was appointed to take the heat from the press and fans - that's why he's doing this series of interviews. Meanwhile, strategy is decided by Miles, Belskus and company.

[MagVanisher]

Question: I wonder if Mr. Walker would consider returning IndyCar to Japan? Fuji, Suzuka, or maybe a return to Motegi.

[TheMightyM]

Originally Posted by MagVanisher

Question: I wonder if Mr. Walker would consider returning IndyCar to Japan? Fuji, Suzuka, or maybe a return to Motegi.

Sure, if the money were right. The question is just how likely it is that someone in Japan would be willing to write a big enough check to make it happen.