As oval racetracks lose traction in the IndyCar Series, one of the sport’s powerful voices is speaking out against the preponderance of road and street circuits on the 2010 schedule.
Bruton Smith, whose company, Speedway Motorsports Inc., owns eight U. S. oval tracks, took his concern to the Indy Racing League’s schedule-maker this week.
“I think they’re flirting with putting themselves out of business with that,” Smith said, confirming a telephone call he made to Terry Angstadt, the president of the IRL’s commercial division. “It’s never been proven to me that you can go into a parking lot somewhere and establish something worthwhile.”
“I was trying to say, ‘Look at history.’ CART tried to do the same thing, and (it) went broke.”
Since 2004, the last year Indy cars raced exclusively on ovals, there has been a steady decline in the number of such venues used. Next season, there will be fewer ovals (eight) than road or street circuits (nine).
Of the dozen or more other major U. S. ovals, only the Milwaukee Mile and New Hampshire Motor Speedway are actively seeking a spot on the IRL’s schedule.
Jerry Gappens, the executive vice president and general manager of the New Hampshire track, said the IRL fears having a race in a large stadium that’s half full at best. But he said his market wants Indy-car racing, and the IRL should trust him to make it work.
Oval tracks have been Indy-car racing’s backbone for most of the century, with Indianapolis Motor Speedway the key. Whereas CART became a mix of circuits, which most of the drivers say they prefer but elicits mixed reactions from fans, ovals had exclusivity in the IRL when Tony George founded it in 1996.
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