de la BASTIDE: IndyCar schedule is lacking ovals

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January 3, 2012

de la BASTIDE: IndyCar schedule is lacking ovals

Stewart sweeps Fort Wayne Rumble

By Ken de la Bastide Tribune auto racing columnist The Kokomo Tribune Tue Jan 03, 2012, 11:37 PM EST

— When Tony George started the Indy Racing League in the 1990s, the intent was to conduct all the racing on oval tracks.

Since the merger with CART, there has been a combination of oval tracks and street and road courses on the schedule, but the 2012 schedule shows a lack of ovals. There are 15 races for 2012 at this point.

The first oval race for 2012 will be the Indianapolis 500 in May followed by June races at Texas Motor Speedway and Iowa Speedway. So far the only other oval race is set for Sept. 23 at Auto Club Speedway in California.

Izod IndyCar officials have indicated that two more races could be added to the 2012 schedule, hopefully on oval tracks.

This year IndyCar is unveiling a new car and providing teams with several engine options for the 2012 season.

It’s disappointing that the series will not be competing on more ovals this year.

You would think there would be options for IndyCar at oval tracks. Races at Chicagoland Speedway were some of the best oval racing regardless of car type.

Why isn’t the series returning to the Milwaukee Mile, long a regular stop for the series? Why didn’t New Hampshire International and Kentucky Speedway seek returns of the series? Michigan International Speedway is another possible location.

The IRL started on the oval at Disney World Speedway, a track that is still used for the Richard Petty Driving Experience.

Is the real problem that most of the oval tracks are owned and operated today by NASCAR? Does it benefit NASCAR to keep IndyCar off the oval tracks it manages as a way to lessen the competition for the fan’s dollars for tickets and viewership on television?

There is no competition between NASCAR and IndyCar. Open-wheel fans are not generally huge fans of stock car racing and the same can be said of stock car racing fans.

So if IndyCar is going to be mostly relegated to street and road courses, why aren’t races being scheduled at Watkins Glen, Road Atlanta and Elkhart Lake?

There are three true road courses on the IndyCar schedule — Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, Mid-Ohio and Infineon Raceway. The remainder of the series is on temporary street courses and an airport circuit.

I’m not opposed to street and road courses for IndyCar races, there just needs to be more oval tracks on the schedule.

In other racing news

• Because of high winds and freezing temperatures, the New Year’s Day race scheduled for Anderson Speedway was postponed and will take place this Saturday at 1 p.m. There will be racing in five divisions and the long range forecast is for sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-40s.

• NASCAR champion Tony Stewart continued his winning ways by capturing both the Friday and Saturday 50-lap midget features at the Fort Wayne Rumble, which was run indoors.

Stewart also announced that he will be racing in the Chili Bowl on the indoor dirt track in Tulsa later this month.

• Ken de la Bastide may be reached at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com or 765-454-8580.

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