The 2006 Schedule

[macdaddy]

The 2006 Indy Racing League season will start later, end sooner and may be reduced from 17 to 16 races but one of Indy-car's cornerstones for the past five decades has been dropped from the schedule.

It's still a few weeks from becoming official but...

Phoenix International Raceway, a staple of Indy cars since 1964 and one of the raciest ovals in North America, is not on the schedule...

... the IRL is also thought to be looking at one more venue which would bring the total back to this year's number (17).

Full article here.

[Tim Northcutt]

The Indy Star also reported this today...from the context of the news item, the Series is still working on the Quebec City street race as the 17th event...

I can agree with the earlier conclusion of the season....competing with the NFL on Sundays is a difficult task...

But I do not agree with the later start....April is too late to begin the season...

I'd rather see a season-opener in March....the late start for OWRS has hurt their exposure as a Series, and other competing series have been in the news, on TV and on the track for weeks before they would open at Long Beach

I would run Homestead first...in just about the same spot as this year or maybe a week later than it was....then St. Pete the first weekend of April....then Fontana in mid-April before going to Motegi...it is a natural swing to the West Coast before departing to the Pacific Rim

Of course that would depend on when NASCAR is at Fontana in the spring....

Moving Kansas a month earlier is a good move...the weather isn't as hot in early June there...and Kansas has not been happy with the July date...it is a good venue that draws good attendance...I would try to keep them happy....

I shared my thoughts from my sister (who lives in Phoenix) about the poor attendance there in the Phoenix thread that ran in the spring...and that the NASCAR event draws out-of-towners from the southwest as opposed to the locals to their race....

It is a shame that such a great venue will not be on the schedule, but poor crowds and lost revenue are a simple reality that forced that decision...

[spinpsychle]

Great. I started watching the IRL right at the beginning... now the only original track left is Indy. Indy car racing ain't what it used to be.

[Tim Northcutt]

Then you haven't been to a race lately....

The actions is at least as good, if not better than it has been in MANY years, and you should tune in and attend...

BTW...

Kansas may not move from July 4 weekend, because Kansas likes the double-bill with the Trucks on Saturday and the IRL on Sunday...and the tracks seem to be locked intotheir schedule...

It also is the reason why Texas didn't want the weekend right after the Indy 500...the Trucks run on Friday night and they can sell at totla weekend package of racing...

One other note:

Milwaukee is on teh schedule...so there is a 2nd track from whatever era you are from....

Personally...I am SO looking forward to Kentucky Motor Speedway on August 14th!!!!

Great venue...

fast racing....

Lots of passing....

and last year had a great finish!!!!

[climb]

I agree that a later start is not good, particulalry considering that the central event is at the end of may!

[Xpunk75]

Great. I started watching the IRL right at the beginning... now the only original track left is Indy. Indy car racing ain't what it used to be.

I understand what spinpsychle is trying to say because it happens to all forms of racing at some point or another, where old tracks are replaced by new ones and the history that happened there is not lost but forgotten over the years that, that form of racing is gone from there. It happened in F1 with a few tracks like Spa was taken of the Scedule only to be put back on when we all freaked out about it and Berni was even thinking about getting rid of the British GP a while back before the fans and the people in charge of the race fought back against it.

The diffrence between F1 and Indy Car's is, F1 has a huge Fan Base all over the world and they can be herd a little bit more clearly by the people who run the sport, when their upset over talks of losing one of their fave tracks.

Indy Cars don't have that fan base, they dont have the fan base NASSCAR has, and from what I can Tell they don't even seem to have the same size of fan base as the Champ Cars have. There more Champ Car fans on this forum then there are IRL fans and most of the IRL people who post here are Champ Car fans as well.

Tracks are always eventually going to get replaced, but they seem to be getting replaced alot quicker in IRL because fans are not comming out to see the races live and Danica is the only thing drawing in new fans. The sport is in trouble, you don't have to believe me, and you can yell at me, or come up with all these reasons that their just fine, but I think the sport is in trouble, there having to find new places to race that they can attract some what bigger crowds then the old places, and there racing on STREET TRACKS now trying to copy off what the Champ Cars are doing which I don't agree with because IRL is suppose to be an OVAL series and I believe most of you will agree with me. I think Tony George sees the fans that Champ Car are attracting at these Street Track Races which are like 3 day drinking parties and he wants to cut himself a nice slice of the pie from that. I guess the money you have put up for a Street Track pays off in the end, if Tony is adding more and more Street Tracks to the Scedule. He added three this year and one more next year if the Quebec deal falls through. You guys are suppose to be trying to seperate yourselves from Champ Car not trying to make you selves more similar.

All in all I think with Chevy and Toyota leaving and Honda thinking about leaving after their gone and the fact Tony George keeps adding Street Tracks every season has me thinking that IRL has alot of problems and are using the Danica factor as a bandade or a Crutch at the moment. Last weeks race in Michigan was no well attended from what my eyes could see and it didn't look like there more the 50'000 people there at best. Something has to be done if IRL wants to around 5 years from now.

[Snrub]

I tend to think that the negative effect of later starts are overstated. Once the season starts, does it matter? I think we diehards tend to get anxious when we don't get to watch the racing that we like.

After Champ Car's success in Edmonton, I think it removals all doubts on Quebec City. In other words CC proved that mid-sized Canadian cities can host very successful races.

I think both US OW series have some challanges, but the IRL has been slowly building up the last few years and most events are a success from an attendance perspective. If MI had 50k, then there is nothing to complain about, that's good attendance.

[spinpsychle]

Back when I was interested in IndyCar racing, there were some drivers that had personality, and there were some tracks that were interesting in and of themselves. It all died... and the worst thing is that it had to the way they were going.

If they had a 5-lap duel between Al Unser, Jr. and Michael Andretti at, say, Road America, I would go there. A bunch of corporate nobodys wind through some streets and I won't even bother to check the TV schedule.

The last IRL race I watched in its entirety was Atlanta '01. That was a *****in' race, despite the wreck. The last CART race I watched was Fontana, they year Juan Montoya and Dario Franchitti tied for the championship. Haven't watched NASCAR since the All-Star Race, as the blatant and unpunished assault in the Open offended me and the runaway no-passing racing that followed offended me even more.

The last time I saw an F1 race was Sunday. Interesting people, short races, a point system that rewards racing, etc.

[luke]

What is interesting in F1, when you score points you recicve prize money do you get that in Champ Car or the IRL for just taking part, if so it is not really 'PRIZE' money then is it?

[Xpunk75]

I think once F1 figures out the passing Problems they are going to even more popular since most of the new tracks are at places where F1 has never raced before. They might even win some American fans back if they put on a good show at Indy, but this all in the future after the New Rules are put into effect.

F1 though has the best point system in my opinion, but if I could change 1 thing i would change the amount of points given from 1st to 2nd and reward winning a little more.

Ive never liked the points system Nasscar or IRL uses and the Champ Car points system seems really high to me. Is their a reason we give the winner 30 some points? Why not make point scale a little smaller lol, they only have 20 cars racing anyway.

Now back to what we were talking about.

After Champ Car's success in Edmonton, I think it removals all doubts on Quebec City. In other words CC proved that mid-sized Canadian cities can host very successful races.

Thats fine and dandy but IRL is suppose to be a OVAL racing series, not a Street Track or Road Course Series like champ car so why are the trying to do what Champ Car is doing. Have they not been trying to make them selves as diffrent as possible from one another from the start? Is Open Wheel Oval Racing that unpopular now that they have to start adding Street Races?

Don't get me wrong my favorite forumla of open wheel racing was in the 80 and early 90's when Champ Car and IRL were one series and they raced on both Ovals, Road Courses, and Street Tracks, but that is long gone. If open wheel racing series are to survive in the U.S on has to race entirely on OVALS and the other has To race entirely on Road Courses and Street Tracks. The Champ Car guys Understand that. Tony Doesn't.

I think both US OW series have some challanges, but the IRL has been slowly building up the last few years and most events are a success from an attendance perspective. If MI had 50k, then there is nothing to complain about, that's good attendance.

I said if they had that, To me it looked the bleachers that were filled were on the front straight away. Everything else was empty. So my question is how many people does the front Straight at Michigan Hold cause thats the amount of people that were thier.

[Tim Northcutt]

That's a shame, spinpsychle....

You've missed some great racing at Kentucky, Kansas, Texas, Chicagoland, Michigan and Fontana since 2001.....and this season, the IRL is even more competitive than it has been in recent years....

BTW....how did you like the USGP this year, and the "personalities" that made that such a "memorable" event in F-1 history????

Just kidding with you....

Take the time to watch the IRL at Kentucky Motor Speedway on August 14th...

If you don't like the race...fine...your choice...but if it is anything like last year's race, it will be non-stop wheel-to-wheel action (and there was only one crash).....

If it is anything close to last year's event, and it doesn't get you excited, then you don't have a pulse...

[luke]

spinpsychle I would have thought you would like the IRL more now, but hey it's up to you.
There is better driving talent, at some good venus, with some big names, and good races.

The first IRL race I watched must have been 2000.

Back to this years schedule, I didn't see it comming that the season would start alot later and the season length shorter. And that Champ Car's would be longer and more races...
I know TG wanted some time a go for the Kansas race date to be moved later in the year, or stay in it's slot but a night race witch would have a good spectacle?

[Tenoch]

I dont really mind when the season ends or begins. i really care more about the gap between races, i think they should standardize the gap with the exception of the 500 of course.

[Tim Northcutt]

Originally Posted by Tenoch

I dont really mind when the season ends or begins. i really care more about the gap between races, i think they should standardize the gap with the exception of the 500 of course.

But the teams do need a break here and there to square things away....rebuild some elements of the cars, etc...

[Snrub]

We're drifting way off topic, but I'll indulge it since it's my first day on the job and I don't have access to the official rule book yet. I don't think F1 will ever figure out its passing problems, it's simply has too many administrative and political problems. They managed to get it so that some passing could occur but quickly stomped on it. I'm pretty sure they didn't actually consider what effect this year's changes would have or consult engineers and aero people.

That's the difference with the US OW. They're actually trying to give the fans and potential fans something they'll enjoy. I don't like it when either series if overly aeroed on an oval and have no variation in speed, but they're so willing to try to appease fans that they will water down the product. That's the one area US OW has it right. Racing on temporary circuits is primarly about appeasing fans who aren't willing to drive half an hour away. Sometimes it's good, sometimes its bad. If a circuit is going to be poor, I'd rather that it was because a series was trying to do something for fans rather than because some guy name Tilke thought it would be fun to design the circuit in such a technical way that passing was impossible.

I'm not sure if doing road and street circuits will be good for the IRL long term. They have built up a number of successful oval events in terms of attendance, so why mess with what works and the series identity? Will they pull in the fans at the Glen or would they be better off building another oval race? Other than Homestead and Phoenix I can't think of an event that isn't now decent in size. I think the primary motivation behind going to the new formats is to try to take from Champ Car.

[Xpunk75]

I have a Habit of drifting off topic and starting topics with in topics lol Snrub.

I Agree I think they are trying to take fans from Champ Car, but I think there mixing new fans up who don't know the diffrence betweent he two series and making it harder for both series to progress.

As for F1, lol forget about it! lol

But hey its still my fave motor sport and always will be.

[Tenoch]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

But the teams do need a break here and there to square things away....rebuild some elements of the cars, etc...

it doesnt have to be week to week racing two weeks between races is more than fine. I dont know much about building and rebuilding indycars but two weeks sound slike enough time to me.

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by Snrub

I'm not sure if doing road and street circuits will be good for the IRL long term. They have built up a number of successful oval events in terms of attendance, so why mess with what works and the series identity?

As long as the ovals take up a majority of the schedule, I don't see a problem with the IRL adding a handful of non-oval events. Not only does it add a bit "weight" to the schedule, it also helps attract drivers that otherwise might not have been too interested.

Not to mention they have shown already that they are prepared to race at very interesting tracks, and aren't afraid to get work done where work is needed. I mean, Champ Car wouldn't even look at Watkins Glen, saying that "it's too dangerous", "it can't be made safer" etc, while the IRL did the exact opposite, saying "it needs work, but we'll get it done". And they did.

Yes, that last part was a stab at Champ Car, but IMHO a well-deserved one. They have forgotten their history and care only about the green these days.

Anyhow, as for the 2006 schedule I hope the IRL doesn't change a whole lot. Seeing Phoenix go, if it happens, will be a little sad, considering how much open-wheel history that place has, but at the same time the races there haven't exactly been stellar either. Personally I'd like to see them drop Pikes Peak as well, and if they indeed do add a Quebec street race I sure hope they come up with a solid race-worthy layout.

EDIT - Ah yeah, and when it comes to the late start I don't see it as a problem as long as the schedule is somewhat consistent once the season has gotten underway.

[Tim Northcutt]

I saw an item on-line this morning via Auto Racing Daily.com from the Arizona Republic that stated that the IRL has moved back its announcement of the 2006 schedule to September....

I'm assuming that it has to do with a glitch or two with some of the dates they wanted to move...

Apparently, Kansas wants to keep the IRL the same weekend as the Trucks and the trucks can't move to early June due to a schedule conflict....

That also is the reason why Texas wouldn't move a week earlier....both venues like that weekend package, and it has worked well for them....

I haven't read about any problems with moving Fontana....

Maybe they want to announce Quebec, and would prefer to announce the whole schedule...

Either way, this is the second announcement that has been moved back....

The 2007 specs & engine rules....

Now the 2006 schedule....

I wonder how complicated both issues are right now...

[N I Tram]

I'd prefer to see the IRL largely avoid street circuits. They are too far away from the championship's image, and rarely produce high-quality races. 3 or 4 classic road courses are fine by me, and a visit to Canada would make sense, but the IRL can't afford to purely judge the success of its races based on their attendacne - that logic has got ChampCars nowhere.