2019 IndyCar Series schedule

[TheMightyM]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

Sad the only options are high banks and a parking lot in Texas...oh and COTA, I guess!

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Well before the deal was not renewed with PIR, there had to be something else already in mind. Never know, could completely change things up here for the opening rounds

Given Phoenix's poor attendance the previous two years plus the lingering uncertainty about Belle Isle going forward, you'd certainly think IndyCar would have been exploring other options for 2019.

Maybe the answer to why we haven't heard strong rumors yet is that there just isn't anyone really beating down the door wanting to get (back) on the IndyCar schedule. Though the series has been doing better in general, it still doesn't necessarily draw well on ovals, especially ovals outside the Midwest.

So, yeah, maybe Homestead is the answer for now for lack of a better option. It's about a four hour drive from St. Pete to Homestead so maybe that's just far enough for it to work. Or come close enough to working to stick around for a couple of years.

[TheMightyM]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

Homestead would be good but where does it go on the calendar? Realistically, it can't come straight after St. Pete, so are Long Beach and Barber moved forward? Though not confirmed, I don't think Mexico has been ruled out.

The issue with street races is that the dates need to be set well in advance. Wikipedia lists St. Pete on March 10 and Long Beach on April 14 next year; I'll presume that those dates are correct and neither can probably be moved at this point.

[Purist]

So long as TMS is on the schedule, Austin won't be.

I just tried to go through the venues that are even in the right part of the country to be possible at that time of year. The only one from the list that I'd actually like to see back is Fontana. The track at NOLA could certainly be worse, but it's also not the most brilliant place, and there were other issues there in 2015, obviously.

Road Atlanta would require added debris fencing, and is probably better being held a month later. If they were willing to entertain NOLA, then VIR seems decidedly closer to being a possibility.

All we really know is that Mark Miles said there would be the same number of races in 2019 as this year, and with Phoenix out, something has to be added somewhere to make that happen.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by TheMightyM

The issue with street races is that the dates need to be set well in advance. Wikipedia lists St. Pete on March 10 and Long Beach on April 14 next year; I'll presume that those dates are correct and neither can probably be moved at this point.

I haven't looked at Wikipedia but fair point about street races and dates.

[TheMightyM]

The latest on Belle Isle, per the the Detroit News: Now Texas Motor Speedway wants the date after Indy, citing the uncertainty surrounding the Detroit race’s future. Key quotes:

[Detroit Grand Prix race chairman Bud] Denker said he is in the final stages of competing a contract proposal, which he will submit to the DNR.

“It’s always a negotiation. It’s always a compromise situation,” Denker said. “We’ve listened to people that don’t want our event there and we made a lot of compromises this year, less time on the island, and we’ll continue to evaluate that so once we submit our proposal to the DNR we’ll see where that goes. My intention is that we’ll continue on, but I can’t tell you that’s going to happen 100 percent yet because we haven’t got the deal done.”

And Denker explaining the importance of the first weekend in June:

“That date, the first week of June, is critical for us because our sponsors would not have the chalets filled if it wasn’t for that date. If we went one week later or sometime in the summer it wouldn’t work for us. We tried that Labor Day weekend (2007, 2008) and we saw what happened. Our sponsors couldn’t get the chalets filled because people were up north, one last weekend before the kids are back in school.”

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Purist

So long as TMS is on the schedule, Austin won't be.

I just tried to go through the venues that are even in the right part of the country to be possible at that time of year. The only one from the list that I'd actually like to see back is Fontana. The track at NOLA could certainly be worse, but it's also not the most brilliant place, and there were other issues there in 2015, obviously.

Road Atlanta would require added debris fencing, and is probably better being held a month later. If they were willing to entertain NOLA, then VIR seems decidedly closer to being a possibility.

All we really know is that Mark Miles said there would be the same number of races in 2019 as this year, and with Phoenix out, something has to be added somewhere to make that happen.

As one of the 12 people who attended the debacle at Nola in person, I can say unequivocally that no professional series should ever race there. All of the lawsuits regarding promotion, equipment rental, state subsidies and more are still being decided, so nobody would even offer to get involved with this anyways.

[BudLightJaguar]

Utah Motorsports Campus (former Miller Motorsports Park) anyone? Though it needs to be a Saturday race there, Sunday races never worked with Grand Am and ALMS considering the local demographics.

[TheMightyM]

Originally Posted by BudLightJaguar

Utah Motorsports Campus (former Miller Motorsports Park) anyone? Though it needs to be a Saturday race there, Sunday races never worked with Grand Am and ALMS considering the local demographics.

Almost certainly not an option for 2019. The track is up for sale again. Road Racing World had an article on the situation back in April.

[Yannick]

Originally Posted by Purist

I'm guessing either Homestead or Houston. I don't see a return to Las Vegas or NOLA coming, and that slot is definitely too close to Long Beach for them to do Fontana then.

Those are two good guesses. Laguna Seca would also be too close in time to Long Beach in that slot. Homestead seems too close to St. Pete for that time slot. So it's back to the stadium parking lot at Houston, if only until Mexico is ready.

VIR would be interesting to watch but it would be better at another date. IndyCar would look at Richmond first, though, and deservedly so.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by Purist

So long as TMS is on the schedule, Austin won't be.

I just tried to go through the venues that are even in the right part of the country to be possible at that time of year. The only one from the list that I'd actually like to see back is Fontana. The track at NOLA could certainly be worse, but it's also not the most brilliant place, and there were other issues there in 2015, obviously.

Road Atlanta would require added debris fencing, and is probably better being held a month later. If they were willing to entertain NOLA, then VIR seems decidedly closer to being a possibility.

All we really know is that Mark Miles said there would be the same number of races in 2019 as this year, and with Phoenix out, something has to be added somewhere to make that happen.

Please dear God NOOOOOO. As much as Indy cars in anger around Road Atlanta would be insane, the requirements to run them and changing the track would be too much. I'd love to see stock cars around the track in more than testing (sadly closed to the public but I understand) and fat men driving their playtoys (well and Bill Elliot a time or two), the same thing would happen and screw up the track more than the entertainment value.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

Please dear God NOOOOOO. As much as Indy cars in anger around Road Atlanta would be insane, the requirements to run them and changing the track would be too much. I'd love to see stock cars around the track in more than testing (sadly closed to the public but I understand) and fat men driving their playtoys (well and Bill Elliot a time or two), the same thing would happen and screw up the track more than the entertainment value.

That's Elliott, with 2 Ts. Please.

And funny RoadATL comes up every year...

[JHamilton]

Plus Barber is less than 2 hours from my front door.

How about VIR?

[TheMightyM]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

Plus Barber is less than 2 hours from my front door.

How about VIR?

PWC is there at the end of April… so that would be a possibility.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by TheMightyM

PWC is there at the end of April… so that would be a possibility.

They went to VIR a week after Indycars were at Barber, and they had been with Indy at Barber for a while but decided to split to headline their own event. Unless they move Barber forward a week again that's often the weekend Indy runs at Barber so they're busy.

Personally hoping everything in the spring moves forward a week, Barber weekend is also usually Historics weekend at Road Atlanta and the last weekend in April is only a week before the wedding, would make for a short visit to the track

[TheMightyM]

Marshall Pruett has an absolutely must-read piece asking “Can two Bay Area Indy Car events thrive?” The short answer is “no.” Bookmark this story because you might want to pull out the quotes and use them later. Some samples:

Marshall Pruett on the local market:

Having listened to the local radio ads, watched TV commercials, and seen all manner of online advertising for the aforementioned IndyCar and sports car events [at Sonoma and Laguna Seca respectively], it’s possible those series are actually capturing a high percentage of fans who are interested in what they’re offering. As much as I’d like to believe there’s a great untapped audience to grab, or a large contingent of lapsed fans waiting to fall in love with road racing again, I just haven’t seen evidence of it locally.

From Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) CEO Tim McGrane, who runs WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca:

“There are only so many people who are rabid fans of a particular race series that have the time and money to spend on attending events. I don’t think this market would support two major [IndyCar] events. Any numbers that are taken away because fans have two choices in the same arena is certainly one path I wouldn’t choose to go down.”

And from Sonoma Raceway president Steve Page:

“[Holding dual events] would absolutely not thrive. Neither event, at least by the second year, would be as large as our event is currently, either from fan support or corporate support. You’d end up with two smaller events. I can’t see how that would be in IndyCar’s interest.”

Pruett also reports that Homestead is “said to be out of the running” for a spot on the 2019 IndyCar schedule.

[TheMightyM]

Belle Isle proposal for 2019 and beyond comes out today.

Story from the Detroit News is here.

Story from the Detroit Free Press is here.

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by Bud Denker, Penske XVP

By having the techno festival (Movement Electronic Music Festival) on Memorial Day weekend, our event kicking off the summer on Belle Isle and having the auto show, having the PGA event coming for the month of June, the riverfront festival (Detroit Riverdays) for that period of time and the fireworks, it could possibly be a Lollapalooza or South by Southwest event for our city.

With so many events, I wouldn't be surprised if Detroit cut support for the Grand Prix.

[Purist]

Some of the discussion during Practice 2 at Toronto indicates that Laguna Seca is going to be announced as on the calendar for 2019; the official announcement at Laguna Seca is said to take place on Tuesday.

Just to note, the fixture permanent road courses in CART for 1984-03 were Portland, Laguna Seca, Mid Ohio, and Road America. Things are starting to look rather more familiar.

[TheMightyM]

Virtually confirmed — the Monterey County Board of Supervisors just needs to sign off on the deal — IndyCar coming to Laguna Seca in 2019 through 2021. This replaces Sonoma.

Marshall Pruett provides the details, including track improvements that IndyCar is requiring as part of the deal.

Sonoma Raceway, meanwhile, says that they aren't interested in hosting a race if IndyCar is at Laguna Seca:

“Sonoma Raceway has invested heavily to build IndyCar’s brand and following in Northern California over the last 14 years, and we would be happy to continue that effort, but only under a sustainable business model,” he said in a statement released Friday morning.

“If the series determines their long-term interests are better served by moving the Sonoma race to another venue, that is a business decision they are obviously entitled to make, and we will turn our attention to other opportunities.”

[S griffin]

I would so love to see Indycars at Laguna, a great circuit for these cars. It would be exciting to see

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by TheMightyM

Virtually confirmed — the Monterey County Board of Supervisors just needs to sign off on the deal — IndyCar coming to Laguna Seca in 2019 through 2021. This replaces Sonoma.

Marshall Pruett provides the details, including track improvements that IndyCar is requiring as part of the deal.

Sonoma Raceway, meanwhile, says that they aren't interested in hosting a race if IndyCar is at Laguna Seca:

This needs to happen for both entities, imho.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by TheMightyM

Marshall Pruett has an absolutely must-read piece asking “Can two Bay Area Indy Car events thrive?” The short answer is “no.” Bookmark this story because you might want to pull out the quotes and use them later. Some samples:

Marshall Pruett on the local market:



From Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) CEO Tim McGrane, who runs WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca:



And from Sonoma Raceway president Steve Page:



Pruett also reports that Homestead is “said to be out of the running” for a spot on the 2019 IndyCar schedule.

I've got very strong family connections with the Bay Area and the Monterey Peninsula. My uncle lived in Hillsborough, just south of San Francisco and my grandparents had a house in Carmel. I don't quite get why Marshall Pruett, says there are two races in the Bay Area, when the Monterey Peninsula by any stretch of the imagination has little to do with the Bay Area. For a start, Monterey is Steinbeck country.

If he means the race going demographic for Northern California, not being able to sustain both races, he could be right. However, if both venues were at either end of the calendar, that might have been feasible but we'll never know as Sonoma is to be replaced by Laguna Seca.

Personally, I think this is a good decision. Historically, Laguna Seca often featured as either the penultimate or final race on the CART calendar and with it's racing history, I think a much better venue to bring VIPs to show gratitude and, in some cases, finalize business deals for the following year. Pebble Beach and it's World famous golf course are just down the road.

[NaBUru38]

I'm afraid of the swap. I'm not sure that Laguna Seca can attract more fans than Sonoma.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

I'm afraid of the swap. I'm not sure that Laguna Seca can attract more fans than Sonoma.

I'm guessing in the range of the same, definitely up for years 1-3 but leveling to around the current attendance. But the racing will be better, Sonoma is just boring for Indy cars. And double points just makes it a joke, rarely agree completely with Robin Miller but everything about Sonoma makes me sad.

[BudLightJaguar]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

Sonoma is just boring for Indy cars.

I've never understood why they use the stupid IndyCar layout. Full course wasn't broken, there was no reason to fix it.