35 replies to this topic

[DanicaFan]

This is the expected schedule for next year in the Indycar series that is being reported..

EXPECTED 2011 IZOD INDYCAR SCHEDULE

MARCH 27 – St. Pete (street circuit)
APRIL 10 – Birmingham, Ala. (road course)
APRIL 17 – Long Beach (street)
MAY 1 – Brazil (street)
MAY 29 – Indianapolis 500
JUNE 12 – Texas doubleheader (oval)
JUNE 19 – Milwaukee (oval)
JUNE 26 – Iowa (oval)
JULY 10 – Toronto (street)
JULY 24 – Edmonton (road course)
AUG. 7 – Mid-Ohio (road course)
AUG. 14 – Loudon (oval)
AUG. 28 – Sonoma (road course)
SEPT. 4 – Baltimore (street)
SEPT. 18 – Motegi, Japan (oval)
OCT. 2 – Kentucky (oval)
OCT. 16 – Las Vegas (oval)

[GSiebert]

Too bad they keep grouping ovals and road courses together instead of mixing them. Is there any reason for that ? Its also strange that Indy would be the first oval of the season.
Anyway, it'd be good to see the Milwaukee mile and Loudon back, Indycar needs short flat ovals. And I guess races at Las Vegas should pretty much look like what we use to see at Chicagoland.

Edited by GSiebert, 09 September 2010 - 07:50.

[DanicaFan]

Too bad they keep grouping ovals and road courses together instead of mixing them. Is there any reason for that ? Its also strange that Indy would be the first oval of the season.
Anyway, it'd be good to see the Milwaukee mile and Loudon back, Indycar needs short flat ovals. And I guess races at Las Vegas should pretty much look like what we use to see at Chicagoland.

I agree, I dont like how they bunch up the same types of tracks either. Im not happy about there only being 17 races again. (I dont count Texas as 2, its still 1 venue). I think there again too many road/street courses. There should be more ovals.

The only thing I like is Milwaukee being back and Loudon on the schedule. Now if the Las Vegas deal doesnt go thru, the season finale will be ran at Fontana.

[GSiebert]

Nah 50% ovals and 50% RC is cool, its Indycar now, not IRL anymore

[DanicaFan]

Nah 50% ovals and 50% RC is cool, its Indycar now, not IRL anymore

You need to remember, the IRL was founded on ovals so I believe it should stick with the ovals at least have the majority of races on the ovals. They tried an all road/street course series and it failed, it was called ChampCar..

[Roonaldo]

Is Indy car broadcast in the UK, if so which channel?

Thanks,

[pacificquay]

Sky Sports

[sblick]

Going to all ovals or 75% ovals would be a massive mistake. IRL already got buried by NASCAR trying to go mostly ovals and would get buried again. Open wheel fans like road courses, if you want a better race series you will have to live with that. I have a feeling DanicaFan you are from Indiana, everyone here seems to have that thought that only ovals are cool. If you TRULY understand racing, road courses are every bit as good as ovals.

Like the schedule. Vegas ending the season will be much better than Homestead.

Ovals and Street courses are bunched up so it costs less getting cars put together. If you switch them back and forth the road course and oval packages have to be switched alot adding costs.

Edited by sblick, 09 September 2010 - 12:04.

[domhnall]

Going to all ovals or 75% ovals would be a massive mistake. IRL already got buried by NASCAR trying to go mostly ovals and would get buried again. Open wheel fans like road courses, if you want a better race series you will have to live with that. I have a feeling DanicaFan you are from Indiana, everyone here seems to have that thought that only ovals are cool. If you TRULY understand racing, road courses are every bit as good as ovals.

Like the schedule. Vegas ending the season will be much better than Homestead.

Ovals and Street courses are bunched up so it costs less getting cars put together. If you switch them back and forth the road course and oval packages have to be switched alot adding costs.

Yup, agree with this. Also I'd add the miserable crowds at the last two oval races are very telling.

I think Mid Ohio, Sonoma and Edmonton could be replaced with better options. Road America is an obvious choice, as for the other two, I'm not sure, any ideas?? Also I'm sad to see Watkins Glen go, it's one of my favourite tracks in the world.

[Marbles]

Portland tended to put on good races and the turnouts were always excellent, even in the waning days of Champ Car.

I certainly agree with the suggestion that road and oval events should be evenly represented.

[Dispenser89]

Yup, agree with this. Also I'd add the miserable crowds at the last two oval races are very telling.

I think Mid Ohio, Sonoma and Edmonton could be replaced with better options. Road America is an obvious choice, as for the other two, I'm not sure, any ideas?? Also I'm sad to see Watkins Glen go, it's one of my favourite tracks in the world.

Mont Tremblant? Keeps two Canadian races on the calendar and it's quite a good circuit imo. Cleveland? And Portland, as Marbles suggested?

Calendar has a good balance to it imo.

[domhnall]

Mont Tremblant and Portland are good choices. What's Cleveland like?? It's an airport track isn't it? Better than Edmonton?

[Dispenser89]

Mont Tremblant and Portland are good choices. What's Cleveland like?? It's an airport track isn't it? Better than Edmonton?

Yep, another airport track. Onboard lap with Power.

Always provided an eventual race. 2007 Champ Car highlights
Legendary 1995 race

Edited by Dispenser89, 09 September 2010 - 13:05.

[domhnall]

Thanks for the vids, fast track.

The Panoz was a nice car

[Slyder]

You need to remember, the IRL was founded on ovals so I believe it should stick with the ovals at least have the majority of races on the ovals. They tried an all road/street course series and it failed, it was called ChampCar..;)

Please... Haven't we beaten this horse to death already?

And the reason why they lump road courses together instead of mixing it up is purely for economic reasons.

It makes no financial sense to pack up your road course aero for one race and then dump it and use your oval aero for the next race.

It's better to use your aero kits for a good chunk of races on road courses and then revert to the oval aero when the ovals come. It's that simple.

As for the schedule. It's rather crappy, the usual MIA. No Road America, no Cleveland, no Mont-Tremblant, no Portland. Watkins Glen is now gone... pfft

Edited by Slyder, 09 September 2010 - 13:16.

[Slyder]

Going to all ovals or 75% ovals would be a massive mistake. IRL already got buried by NASCAR trying to go mostly ovals and would get buried again. Open wheel fans like road courses, if you want a better race series you will have to live with that. I have a feeling DanicaFan you are from Indiana, everyone here seems to have that thought that only ovals are cool. If you TRULY understand racing, road courses are every bit as good as ovals.

Like the schedule. Vegas ending the season will be much better than Homestead.

Ovals and Street courses are bunched up so it costs less getting cars put together. If you switch them back and forth the road course and oval packages have to be switched alot adding costs.

The real reason DanicaFan wants more ovals is simply because he wants to spare the girl of his nickname from further embarrassment in road courses compared to the rest of her competition.

[GSiebert]

Yup, agree with this. Also I'd add the miserable crowds at the last two oval races are very telling.

I think Mid Ohio, Sonoma and Edmonton could be replaced with better options. Road America is an obvious choice, as for the other two, I'm not sure, any ideas?? Also I'm sad to see Watkins Glen go, it's one of my favourite tracks in the world.

Crowds look miserable because the ovals grandstands are enormous. I dont think road courses drain more people.
Mid Ohio is some kind of an "historic" track in Indycar/CART/IRL, I dont think they'd consider droping it, its a fantastic little track even if not really suitable for modern open wheelers. Sonoma provided some good racing this year so I'd like to it to stay.

Edited by GSiebert, 09 September 2010 - 13:15.

[GSiebert]

And the reason why they lump road courses together instead of mixing it up is purely for economic reasons.

It makes no financial sense to pack up your road course aero for one race and then dump it and use your oval aero for the next race.

It's better to use your aero kits for a good chunk of races on road courses and then revert to the oval aero when the ovals come. It's that simple.

That makes sense indeed.

[Dispenser89]

Thanks for the vids, fast track.

The Panoz was a nice car

Yeah it was.

[Marbles]

Great suggestions for Mont Tremblant and Cleveland, Dispenser89.

Tremlant is such a pretty track and has a wonderful arrangement of natural corners. Prettier than Mosport and every bit as interesting as a track.

Cleveland is about as ugly a venue as you can possibly find, but it's a wonderful track and always puts on one heck of a race. Great idea!

[Sardukar]

Going to all ovals or 75% ovals would be a massive mistake. IRL already got buried by NASCAR trying to go mostly ovals and would get buried again. Open wheel fans like road courses, if you want a better race series you will have to live with that. I have a feeling DanicaFan you are from Indiana, everyone here seems to have that thought that only ovals are cool. If you TRULY understand racing, road courses are every bit as good as ovals.

What defines indycar? why would someone tune in to watch indycar on a road course over F1, GP2, Renault WS etc? the road course racing in indycar is very average and worse than the series i mentioned but the oval racing is actually pretty damn good. Ive watched every race this year and judging from the amount of people in the stands i would say road courses dont pull bigger crowds than ovals. Im an open wheel fan and i already have many series i can watch that are better than indy on the road.

[ezequiel]

Yeah it was.

Well, you can still watch it in a reformed version in Superleague Formula.

[Dispenser89]

Well, you can still watch it in a reformed version in Superleague Formula.

Thought that was a totally different car? I just know it's by Panoz too and has lovely v12 engines in the back.

And thanks, Marbles. Definitely right about the different looks of the circuits (). However, yeah, both provide some great races, especially Cleveland.

[OfficeLinebacker]

Yep, another airport track. Onboard lap with Power.

Always provided an eventual race. 2007 Champ Car highlights
Legendary 1995 race

Awesome. Those stands were FULL for 1995, too. That was one of the heydays or AOW. I think it's done for a long time yet. The current product just pales in comparison.

[Rob G]

And the reason why they lump road courses together instead of mixing it up is purely for economic reasons.

It makes no financial sense to pack up your road course aero for one race and then dump it and use your oval aero for the next race.

It's better to use your aero kits for a good chunk of races on road courses and then revert to the oval aero when the ovals come. It's that simple.

I bumped into a bunch of FAZZT mechanics at a McDonald's after Saturday's proceedings at Barber, and I asked them about the way the races were grouped. They said they like it this way and that it's a lot easier for them, even taking into account the cross-country trip to and from Long Beach to achieve this.

[PayasYouRace]

I like that it's keeping a fair balance between ovals and conventional circuits. I'm happy to see the short ovals back, and Milwaukee and Loudon have stong Indycar history. Las Vegas sounds like a cool place to end the season but I've never seen an OW race on that speedway. Plus I think it has changed since the Champcar visits earlier in the 2000s. The Texas double interests me too.

[GSiebert]

The best oval race I ever saw was at Loudon



Mansell vs Penskes oh boy that was something !

[billm99uk]

You need to remember, the IRL was founded on ovals so I believe it should stick with the ovals at least have the majority of races on the ovals. They tried an all road/street course series and it failed, it was called ChampCar..;)

The problem is the racing is lousy on the road/street courses and the crowds are lousy on the ovals.

What to do, what to do

[Xpat]

The problem is the racing is lousy on the road/street courses and the crowds are lousy on the ovals.

What to do, what to do

What is it that puts people in the seats at an F1 event? The racing there is generally lousy after the first lap.

[DanicaFan]

Yep, the same schedule..

MARCH 27 – St. Pete (street circuit)
APRIL 10 – Birmingham, Ala. (road course)
APRIL 17 – Long Beach (street)
MAY 1 – Brazil (street)
MAY 29 – Indianapolis 500
JUNE 11 – Texas doubleheader (oval)
JUNE 19 – Milwaukee (oval)
JUNE 25 – Iowa (oval)
JULY 10 – Toronto (street)
JULY 24 – Edmonton (road course)
AUG. 7 – Mid-Ohio (road course)
AUG. 14 – Loudon (oval)
AUG. 28 – Sonoma (road course)
SEPT. 4 – Baltimore (street)
SEPT. 18 – Motegi, Japan (oval)
OCT. 2 – Kentucky (oval)
OCT. 16 – Las Vegas (oval)

Again, if Vegas doesnt work out, Fontana is your season finale.

[Flat Black 84]

What defines indycar? why would someone tune in to watch indycar on a road course over F1, GP2, Renault WS etc? the road course racing in indycar is very average and worse than the series i mentioned but the oval racing is actually pretty damn good. Ive watched every race this year and judging from the amount of people in the stands i would say road courses dont pull bigger crowds than ovals. Im an open wheel fan and i already have many series i can watch that are better than indy on the road.

Agreed, completely. High-speed ovals are what American OW racing have historically been all about and I'd much prefer IRL to tilt back in that direction. And I think they will as the TV viewing public gradually catches on to how good IRL racing on ovals really is. For my money it absolutely puts NASCAR in the shade. Having said this, I wouldn't want to abandon the road and street courses entirely. The combination of ovals and road/street circuits is one of IRL's unique characteristics and it is a good one.

[GSiebert]

Ah crap I didnt notice the Glen was going to dissappear from the schedule, a real shame.

[SennaHolic]

That 2011 schedule really doesn't do it for me. I hope for 2012 they get their **** together to raise this series. I think that these tracks should be in the 2012 schedule

Indy500(automatic)
Mont Tremblant
Road America
Road Atlanta
Austin GP
Laguna Seca
Watkins Glenn

It should be like a 20 race schedule with half oval and road courses.

[Slyder]

Can anyone explain what the hell does it mean when they'll race a "Double header" at Texas?

Does that mean that they'll race 2 races in the same night? or in the same weekend?

[sblick]

It is two races on the same night. Double points I think

Watkins Glen is off because that is an ISC(?) Track which is owned by the France family. For some reason they are cutting all the IRL races on their tracks.

Edited by sblick, 10 September 2010 - 20:34.

[IFRLIceman]

Can anyone explain what the hell does it mean when they'll race a "Double header" at Texas?

Does that mean that they'll race 2 races in the same night? or in the same weekend?

2 races, same night, half points for each race. The normal race distance is 228 laps and each of the double header races will be 114 laps. (Think Gatorade Duels at Daytona).

It is two races on the same night. Double points I think

Watkins Glen is off because that is an ISC(?) Track which is owned by the France family. For some reason they are cutting all the IRL races on their tracks.

International Speedway Corp. is owned by the France family and owns many tracks in North America. The ICS is leaving all ISC due to lack of promotion and attendance. There's a possibility they may run at Fontana as the season closer, which is an ISC track, depending upon whether the Las Vegas race gets a title sponsor or not. The flip side is, they want to run a street race and a oval race on the same weekend as the season closer at Las Vegas... Sounds like one awesome weekend to me.