Fontana is my second most anticipated race of the year behind of course Indy. As Fontana and Michigan are sister superspeedways to a degree, I was thinking that if Fontana is a successful event in terms of racing and attendance that it could mean the chances of a return to Michigan could be possible?
And so we came to Road America where we burned up at the lake, but at the speedway of Nazareth I made no mistake
I sure hope so. Our big camping race weekend tradition went down the crapper when they dropped MIS. Our group was growing every year.
"The track will choose who's going to win."
Tony Kanaan
Hopefully they can run more than 550 hp and/or remove additional downforce and drag so they aren't flatout the entire time
Flatten the wings, run road course HP....cars will be faster and lift for corners...voila, seperation!
"I think there's only so many people that can take care of themselves, and can take care of other people. And the rest of the people … they're useful in terms of compost for the whole planet, you know." - Bill Murray
I don't know.
Gregg Sebald
All i do know is that if MIS hits the schedule again....I AM SO THERE!
Mostly unrelated. Two different markets
Last edited by Since83; 04-25-2012 at 09:11 AM.
Indy, Cleveland, Mid-Ohio, Pocono, Michigan, Long Beach, Watkins Glen, Kentucky, IRP - 49
I doubt it will be a success, but we will see
"when you no longer go for the gap, you are no longer a racing driver" Ayrton Senna
MIS needs sponsorship most of all.
Wanker!
I don't see any connection. California presumably has Auto Club involved as a sponsor and there's no sane reason to think it's going to be a big draw. So you wonder if the track will be able to make a profit. Despite the recent other Southern California race that drew 170,000, how many of those INDYCAR fans will be willing to go to a real racetrack?
Michigan is more connected to what happens at Detroit. Of course no matter how many people show up for 1 or 3 days Penske will announce what a great turnout they had and how everyone was happy. While he has Chevrolet as a title sponsor the event continuing may have more to do with how many other associate sponsors sign on and how many bring their hospitality crowd. That is more reliant on the local economy which isn't even as good as it was the last time we raced there and that's where Penske is going to make the profit on the race. And if he isn't making a profit on it, he won't be so eager for it to continue.
This engine thing is a new issue. If INDYCAR comes to Chevy and makes the case that they need to supply 15 engines for the 500 and the additional two for the entire season they could say they can do it but it will come at the expense of the Detroit race sponsorship in the future because they just aren't allowed to increase their budget.
If Detroit doesn't end up working from a business perspective for Penske then you could see a way to return to MIS. One of the interesting things that has come out about Baltimore is Randy saying that INDYCAR has sponsors they are talking to about the event to keep it going. Well that's what Randy needs to be doing with oval tracks to get them on the schedule and a prime candidate for steering a sponsor to would be MIS.
"You can't arrest those guys, they're folk heroes"
"They're criminals"
"Well most folk heroes started out as criminals"
I would caution against building your argument on a number that was pure fantasy.Originally Posted by Z28
"The IRL's future should be good, but it can't be the grass-roots series Tony George envisioned. That was a wet dream." - Bobby Unser
Too bad The Captain doesn't own these two anymore then we wouldn't have to worry about one being successful to have the other. We would just get both.
15 Graham Rahal
27 James Hinchcliffe
12 Will Power
Having never had the opportunity to see IndyCar in person on an oval (I would have gone to New Hampshire this year if they had returned, but it wasn't meant to be), I would be the first to buy a ticket for Michigan. Unfortunately, I'm not optimistic the series will return there any time soon.
I'm going to do my part to make Fontana a success. It's a Saturday night race, which will be nice. It's only a little over 4 hours from my home in Phoenix, so I'm driving over Saturday, go to the race, spend the night in Rancho Cucamonga, and drive back Sunday. Might even stop to shop some at the outlet stores in Cabazon.
The Captain didn't get to where he is in life by being charitable.
I don't think that they're closely related. Michigan has a similar set of hurdles, but the solution may be different.
Someone's gotta figure out a way to.
1) Race on ovals safely while still giving a good product (on these high banks its not as simple as less DF, more Power. Although that is part of the equation)
2) Make it proftiable. Eg, worth it for sponsors, the track, the series. And they may have to figure out a way to do that with small crowds. We tried something new at Vegas. We're 0/1.
"Unfortunately, the business types who now permeate the sport don't share this same gut centered devotion. I can only hope that the truly addicted will prevail, and that the original spirit of open wheel competition will somehow manage to survive and prosper into the future."
-Dr. Stephen Olvey
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