2012 IndyCar schedule

[mitchbr]

Originally Posted by Jacques Rabbit

Race fans are race fans, but I have to say, I don't expect the Fort Worth IZOD IndyCar Series crowd to be too drawn to the Grand Prix that may or may not happen. Eddie Gossage stops for no one. He'll stand firm and keep his date, and I doubt it will cause any drama other than any shots he may take at F1 in his ESPN column.

I do wonder if the Texas race will retain the Twin 275s format, or go back to one big race. I know they do what they have to to keep the 50-50 split, but with a new car, having spare cars/parts/engines for the second race might not be logistically possible as it is this year.

Any further word on the talks with ISC? I know they were looking at a Phoenix race in early February and a Chicagoland race if the IZOD IndyCar Series could be the promoters, rather than ISC, but I haven't heard much lately. I don't want to see 50-50 become an impossibility due to the politics of big-time oval racing in the U.S.

Yea, plus I feel like the shortened races made it somewhat boring (as boring as Texas can get). Halftime, I think, negated a few more yellows that in a 550k race would have altered strategy and made it a very interesting finish. It's a great idea, but would probably be better at another track. Why not twin 125s or 150s at Milwaukee? Or if Phoenix comes back, twin 125s there. Two short races, in the case of this past weekend, may have been worse than the usual one, long one.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by mitchbr

Yea, plus I feel like the shortened races made it somewhat boring (as boring as Texas can get). Halftime, I think, negated a few more yellows that in a 550k race would have altered strategy and made it a very interesting finish. It's a great idea, but would probably be better at another track. Why not twin 125s or 150s at Milwaukee? Or if Phoenix comes back, twin 125s there. Two short races, in the case of this past weekend, may have been worse than the usual one, long one.

I thought the Twin 275 was a good idea, the problem was the qualifying format, other than that I think it was a success but this isn't really the thread to discuss it.

[NaBUru38]

Silly season has officially begun. Randy Bernard is doubting whether Milwaukee, Road America or Chicagoland is the best option. I think that only one of those can make it, no matter I would love to have all of them. But it's too much for a single spot of the country.

Now a true breaking news: there's talk about a second street race in Florida. it's not Miami, Tampa or West Palm Beach, but Fort Lauderdale. This project comes from Dale Dillon, who previously ran St. Pete and Toronto, plus RHR himself.

Now the circus music: Angstadt still claims China is an option.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Silly season has officially begun. Randy Bernard is doubting whether Milwaukee, Road America or Chicagoland is the best option. I think that only one of those can make it, no matter I would love to have all of them. But it's too much for a single spot of the country.

Now a true breaking news: there's talk about a second street race in Florida. it's not Miami, Tampa or West Palm Beach, but Fort Lauderdale. This project comes from Dale Dillon, who previously ran St. Pete and Toronto, plus RHR himself.

Now the circus music: Angstadt still claims China is an option.

If the race is held at Shanghai, Bernie will be none too pleased.

[mitchbr]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

If the race is held at Shanghai, Bernie will be none too pleased.

They're looking at a street race in Qingdao, with a possible road course or oval either in the future or even in 2012 (no one knows). Qingdao is closer to Beijing, and held the rowing events in the 2008 Olympics, but it's pretty close to halfway between Beijing and Shanghai.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by mitchbr

They're looking at a street race in Qingdao, with a possible road course or oval either in the future or even in 2012 (no one knows). Qingdao is closer to Beijing, and held the rowing events in the 2008 Olympics, but it's pretty close to halfway between Beijing and Shanghai.

Ok, thanks.

[Yannick]

Anybody remember the hairpin on the temporary street track which A1GP ran on? It was way too tight for the cars to go round without using reverse gear. Or the DTM race in a remote industrial area where mainly foreign tourist spectators showed up?

If attendance figures at home are really such a big thing for IndyCar, why do they want to go to China? Yes, there are many many people in China but most of them do not care about motorsports. However, if IndyCar wants to go abroad, they could have a full house at Surfers Paradise.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Yannick

Anybody remember the hairpin on the temporary street track which A1GP ran on? It was way too tight for the cars to go round without using reverse gear. Or the DTM race in a remote industrial area where mainly foreign tourist spectators showed up?

If attendance figures at home are really such a big thing for IndyCar, why do they want to go to China? Yes, there are many many people in China but most of them do not care about motorsports. However, if IndyCar wants to go abroad, they could have a full house at Surfers Paradise.

They've changed the track layout at Surfer's. The Chinese are probably waiving a big cheque book, in order to entice IndyCar over there.

[ujoint]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

They've changed the track layout at Surfer's. The Chinese are probably waiving a big cheque book, in order to entice IndyCar over there.

They certainly have all the money these days. Someone's favorite will not be around next year for sure.

[HJJ]

Looks like Fontana is back for next year.

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...eedway-likely/

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by HJJ

Looks like Fontana is back for next year.

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...eedway-likely/

Looks like Ropin' Randy has been busy cultivating other race venues; potentially 18 races next season.

[nickyf1]

Yawn.

[mitchbr]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

They've changed the track layout at Surfer's.

It's not impossible to go back to the old layout. V8 Supercars had it changed for who knows what reason (too long would be my guess). The only thing they did was after the first chicane set on the front straight, instead of going straight on at the second chicane, it's now a left-hander hairpin onto the original back straight, just after the left-right chicane on the original track (where Power crashed in 2008 while leading). If IICS can get back there, I don't think it would be any problem to return to the old layout.

[NaBUru38]

This source says that the DTM is considering a Las Vegas race. Perhaps it will run together with the IndyCar World Championship oval/street doubleheader, don't you think?

[mitchbr]

NZR Consulting, aka Tony Cotman's company which designs and builds tracks tweeted today about Quebec City ("Quebec City, what a beautiful place"), connecting the dots leads me to assume a street race is still on the table? Should be interesting...

[NaBUru38]

The table is full of stuff. Now we have too see what will Randy pick.

[FordCosworthPanoz]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

The table is full of stuff. Now we have too see what will Randy pick.

Hopefully Road America!

I also hope we see Milwaukee return, but I doubt that after the success (or lack of) this years race provided. A lot of people are suggesting that NHMS attendance isnt going to be very good, but still I hope it returns, love the short ovals.

[Purist]

Road America would be very nice to have back. I'd also like to swap Sears Point out for Laguna Seca, but with SMI, yeah, I know...

Too bad the street circuits in PGR4 have kind of spoiled my impressions of Quebec City. That is to say, any real life street circuit there won't be as exhilarating as the layouts in that game.

For the Northeast, ti's too bad that Langhorne and Nazareth are gone. Pocono is one oval I would really like to see back on the Indy Car schedule though.

As for Milwaukee and New Hampshire, they NEED proper promotion, which I don't think they have gotten for this year.

And, of course, like many, I would love to see the return of Cleveland, but that's not on the cards here in the near future at least.

[NaBUru38]

Breaking news: the Autódromo Hermanos RodrÃ*guez in Mexico is on the table for 2013. Not the most secure place and without a Mexican driver, I hardly doulbt this would work.

[nickyf1]

The Champcar races there beg to differ! Those races had massive crowds.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by nickyf1

The Champcar races there beg to differ! Those races had massive crowds.

Unfortunately this isn't Champcar.

[nickyf1]

Champcar wasn't exactly big in 2006/2007, no bigger than Indycar today.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by nickyf1

Champcar wasn't exactly big in 2006/2007, no bigger than Indycar today.

It had more of an international presence, especially with Bourdais winning 4 times and the race at Surfers.

[wlaxer]

To me it still feels like they're thrashing around trying to find an identity. CART, when it was successful, had a very defined regional identity: the Great Lakes and West Coast (the ENTIRE coast and not just California) accounted for about 3/4 of the races. Now they only have about 1/3. I think in their search for new markets they've alienated the traditional base, and they've done the same with a lot of their technical gimmicks too.

The other thing is that they just flat went to better tracks in the mid-90s. Road America, Laguna Seca, etc. And ovals that weren't designed for NASCAR.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by wlaxer

To me it still feels like they're thrashing around trying to find an identity. CART, when it was successful, had a very defined regional identity: the Great Lakes and West Coast (the ENTIRE coast and not just California) accounted for about 3/4 of the races. Now they only have about 1/3. I think in their search for new markets they've alienated the traditional base, and they've done the same with a lot of their technical gimmicks too.

The other thing is that they just flat went to better tracks in the mid-90s. Road America, Laguna Seca, etc. And ovals that weren't designed for NASCAR.

It also had a lock on Canada and had quite a following in Canada.

I don't think the irl has any clue as to it's identity.

When the irl was founded the idea was american chassis, no lease engines built by old timey engine builders in indy and american oval drivers from usac who couldn't get a break at indy thanks to all them damn furrinners(As Jabba the Foyt would say and would later go on to provide seats to damn furrienners who were just pay drivers).

It ended up chasing some something of a nightmare version of what they thought CART was and really wasn't. The ended up with cars designed in italy, japanese engines on leases and a bunch of totally unknown foreign pay drivers.

Of all the reasons tony george put forth for the irl, certainly none of that ever really came off and the whole thing was a travesty.

As an example of how bad it's fallen, CART attracted former F1 world driving champions, F1 drivers, DTM drivers and other drivers with race wins and success overseas.

Now foreign drivers in the irl are totally unknown people who couldn't find their way out of a paper bag in european formula racing, usually finishing at the back of the field or at best mid pack(pippa mann for instance).

So whatever the identity is, they better figure it out and quick.

My hope is this series will collapse, so a brighter bunch of well funded people can craft a new series that will be appealing to the public.