Future of IndyCar at Chicagoland Up In The Air

Saturday night’s PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 race at Chicagoland Speedway delighted IZOD IndyCar fans. Many of them called it the most exciting and entertaining race of the season. Facebook and Twitter were buzzing with positive feedback about the race and indicated that fans were re-watching the race on DVR to catch the three-wide and deep racing that occurred for much of the night.

Fans clearly like the type of racing that is to be had at Chicagoland.

Unfortunately, Chicagoland Speedway may not be on the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule due to a conflict between International Speedway Corporation (“ISC”)--which owns the 1.5 mile, D-shaped, tri-oval track-- and IZOD IndyCar Series officials.

ISC also owns Homestead-Miami Speedway, another venue that is on the Series’ 2010 schedule, but that has also not yet been confirmed for 2011.

At the heart of the clash is the lack of promotional efforts undertaken by ISC when IndyCar races come to town. Case in point: Chicagoland Speedway is capable of hosting up to 80,000 fans on any given race day, yet it is estimated that only 20,000 attended Saturday’s race.

While Chicagoland has produced exciting races and close finishes since the IndyCar Series first began running there in 2001, IZOD IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard is aware that empty stands do not make good business sense even when fans love a race.

Bernard has not ruled out Chicagoland in 2011, but said that, “ISC has their primary objectives and IndyCar has their primary objectives, and I’m not sure if we’re all on the same page right now.”

Driver reaction to the future of the IndyCar Series at Chicagoland was mixed:

Dan Wheldon, driver of the No. 4 National Guard car and two-time winner at Chicagoland, said “[y]eah, I think it would be a shame. It always produces the racing that I think the fans like to see. I think for the most part, it was—this was a show, which is what’s important, but it’s also fun to drive.”

Marco Andretti, driver if the No. 26 Team Venom car and Saturday night’s third place finisher, weighed in: “Well, being selfish, we don’t back cars at places like this, so yeah, I would hate to see it go.”

Dario Franchitti, however, held an opposite view which was surprising given his success in Joliet. He won Saturday night’s race on a last-minute pit strategy. He also had a dramatic win at Chicagoland in 2007, when Scott Dixon ran out of fuel, paving the way for Franchitti to not only win the race, but the overall series championship.

Drawing a parallel to restrictor plate racing, Franchitti said he wasn’t a big fan of Chicagoland because the track is not designed with current IndyCars in mind. In his opinion, the current cars are too fast for the track, especially given the 18° banking, leaving too little control in the driver’s hands. Track conditions, combined with aggressive drivers and lap traffic, Franchitti opined, creates a dangerous racing venue.

“That’s the trouble with this style of racing sometimes. Sometimes it’s either how brave or stupid you want to be. And there were some very nice moves made out there, and there [were] some bloody stupid moves made out there,” said Franchitti.

Citing off-pace cars, he continued: “The back markers were not being very helpful at all, the usual suspects. I shouldn’t really be surprised with one of them for sure. When you’re three wide and you come across a car doing 20 miles an hour less than you, it certainly gets your attention. When you’re three wide and three rows deep, look out. Yeah, as I say, it was—I’m just glad everybody got out of here in one piece tonight.”

Presumably, Franchitti was referring to Milka Duno, driver of the CITGO-backed Dale Coyne Racing car.

Duno, who is frequently off-pace and a cause for concern among drivers, was placed on probation by series officials on July 24. Her future with the IZOD IndyCar Series will be evaluated and decided at the end of the 2010 season.

Robyn Lynne Schechter