Talking to some of my IndyCar friends over the last few weeks that I’ve been in America has gotten me thinking, and this is the end result: my dream IndyCar Series calendar.
In a perfect world – no sponsorship issues, political considerations, scheduling commitments or anything else to preclude a race from being held – this is the diverse 23-round schedule – short ovals, intermediate ovals, super speedways, road circuits, street circuits and airport circuits – that the IndyCar Series would race:
1. Streets of St Petersburg (1.8-mile temporary street circuit; St Petersburg, Florida)
Now the traditional season starter, and a good circuit with a few nice passing zones built in.
Always one of the more entertaining street races of the year, and solidly attended.
Shots of the marina and waterfront look attractive on TV.
2. Phoenix International Raceway (1.0-mile short oval; Avondale, Arizona)
A bastion of open-wheel racing, drawing giant crowds before The Split, when it drew mediocre numbers for the old IRL, this is a track almost tailor-made for IndyCar racing, with the awesome back-stretch dogleg.
It’s a shame that no Indy-style racing’s been there since 2005. The IndyCar Series should race, at minimum, a 200-mile event.
3. Grand Prix Of Long Beach (1.968-mile temporary street circuit; Long Beach, California)
The Indianapolis 500 of American road racing. Traditional, fan-friendly, a wonderful race track and a staple of open-wheel racing.
A no-brainer. Should be run as a double-header weekend with the ALMS. Long Beach deserves the best of sports cars and open-wheel.
4. Iowa Speedway (0.875-mile short oval; Newton, Iowa)
Best new addition to the IndyCar Series in years, purpose-built with progressive banking that promotes brilliantly competitive racing without the danger of larger tracks.
Massive crowds, too. Indycars belong on tracks like this, a 200-lap event.
5. Streets of Sao Paulo (2.535-mile temporary street circuit; Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Another easy choice, thanks in part to the number of talented Brazilian drivers in the series, and certainly not the worst street circuit that’s ever been invented.
6. Fundidora Park (2.104-mile Permanent Road Course; Monterrey, Mexico)
An old favourite of mine, popular when there were Mexicans in the series, but could still be successful.
Mexico is an un-tapped market that should be reconsidered by the powers that be.
7. Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile speedway; Fort Worth, Texas)
The only intermediate on the schedule, simply because it’s the only one that draws a crowd.
Aero changes prove that there can be exciting racing on the high banks without the death match that races there seemed to have become.
A 400-mile race here would hopefully appease Eddie Gossage.
8. Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile super speedway; Speedway, Indiana)
The Indianapolis 500 is greatest race of them all, the greatest prize in North American racing, no matter what they might say in Daytona Beach, Florida.
It all began here. Race One of a Triple Crown of super speedways.
9. The Milwaukee Mile (1.0-mile short oval; West Allis, Wisconsin)
Another no-brainer. The classic bullring should always be run the weekend after the Indianapolis 500.
A real driver’s circuit that is tough to get around and tougher to master and win.
It should be 225-mile twilight race on the track where so many of IndyCar’s greatest drivers have celebrated in Victory Lane.
10. Belle Isle Park, Detroit (2.346-mile temporary street circuit; Detroit, Michigan)
An important race for the automotive industry, especially with Chevrolet in the series, and another chance to capitalise on the Midwest’s fascination with IndyCar racing.
11. Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (2.4-mile permanent road course; Lexington, Ohio)
Another traditional venue, admittedly tough to pass on, but the ebb and flow of this circuit makes it a challenge for drivers.
12. Road America (4.048-mile permanent road course; Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin)
Another no brainer, as popular with drivers as it is with fans. Easily the greatest road course in North America – and one of the best anywhere in the world – there’s nothing not to like about this four-mile blast through the Wisconsin woods draws a large and knowledgeable fan-base who deserve to see the zippy IndyCars rather than the lumbering NASCAR taxicabs.
13. Streets of Toronto (1.755-mile temporary street circuit; Toronto, Ontario)
The Exhibition Place streets always seem to be a place where temporary insanity – and exciting racing – break out.
Canadian fans come out in droves, to an event with the wonderful backdrop of the Toronto skyline. That first turn is always exciting, especially with the double-file restarts now in vogue.
It should be the beginning of a three-week swing through Canada.
14. Edmonton City Centre Airport (2.224-mile temporary airport circuit; Edmonton, Alberta)
I love a good airport circuit, and this one has so much going for it, and should be run a week after Toronto.
As far as new events go, the Edmonton race has been among the very best.
It’s a temporary circuit that has a lot of permanent road-course attributes and draws a good crowd. Better here than Montreal, for mine.
15. Streets of Vancouver (1.78-mile temporary street circuit; Vancouver, British Colombia)
Time to bring back a successful event. It was cancelled ahead of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, and IndyCar lost a fun, challenging track.
The perfect final event in a mid-summer Canadian swing.
16. Michigan International Speedway (2.0-mile super speedway; Brooklyn, Michigan)
The middle event in the Triple Crown, another traditional venue that’s sadly fallen by the wayside recently.
Far more suited to Indycars than NASCAR, it deserves to come back as a 500-mile race, just like in the sport’s glory days.
17. Burke Lakefront Airport (2.106-mile temporary airport circuit; Cleveland, Ohio)
The greatest casualty of the much-needed open-wheel reconciliation has been this beauty of a race track on the runways and taxiways of the city’s airport.
So many passing zones made for wildly entertaining races.
Run it at night, green flag just around sunset, on the Fourth of July weekend and watch the crowds pack in.
18. Portland International Raceway (1.967-mile permanent road course; Portland, Oregon)
This Pacific Northwest racetrack always produced good racing back in the day, and the issue of continual first-turn accidents seemed to have been solved by rolling starts in the last days of ChampCar at the venue.
IndyCar needs to visit all parts of the country, including the Northwest.
19. Watkins Glen International (3.4-mile permanent road course; Watkins Glen, New York)
The full circuit, not the butchered short course, is one of the best permanent circuits in America, especially through the Esses and down through The Boot, it’s always been a real driver’s circuit, demanding and satisfying.
Sadly taken off the schedule recently, a double-header with the sports car Six Hours of The Glen race would draw even more fans.
20. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (2.238-mile permanent road course; Monterrey, California)
Famous for the gut-wrenching Corkscrew turn at the circuit’s highest point and Alex Zanardi’s legendary pass in it’s shadows, the northern California facility’s always been more interesting – to me, anyway – than Sonoma Raceway, so it should return, despite a narrow, tough-to-overtake layout.
21. Streets of Surfers Paradise (2.79-mile temporary street circuit; Surfers Paradise, Queensland)
Almost as good a street circuit as Long Beach, and a favourite for drivers, not just because it involves a trip to Australia.
Brilliant mixture of fast straights and rollicking chicanes, the worst thing the IndyCar Series did was not sort out a date for this once-annual trip.
Then the V8 Supercars came in, butchered the layout and wrecked it.
Bring back the IndyCars and the old layout, especially while you’ve got Dixon, Power and Briscoe going so well.
22. Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (2.774-mile permanent road course; Mexico City, Mexico)
One of the great racetracks in the world, the Mexico City fans turned out in droves for the ChampCar races there when the circuit was reborn in the early 2000s.
Those Mexican Waves the length of the front-straight grandstand were amazing! The layout through the baseball stadium would be preferable, that little section one of the most ingenious on any racetrack anywhere in the world.
If you find a half-decent Mexican, they’ll pack the place.
23. California Speedway (2.0-mile super speedway; Fontana, California)
Final race of the season, the sister of Michigan International was the scene of some great IndyCar moments – as well as, sadly, some of the sport’s darkest days – and deserves its place as the final event of the season.
The IndyCar Series champion gets crowned here, as does the Triple Crown winner in a 500-mile event that should be run under lights.
That’s it, the 23 racetracks – short ovals, intermediate ovals, super speedways, temporary street circuits, permanent road courses, airport circuits, events in four countries – that would make up the 2014 IndyCar series calendar if I had my way.
Hey, a guy can dream!
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