A NASCAR Nationwide Series race and two Grand-Am road course races will take place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the same weekend as the Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 next year as part of an effort to give that race a “much-needed boost,” according to Philip Wilson of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. The principals behind the move dubbed it the “Super Weekend at the Brickyard,” and it will mark the “first time the IMS oval and road courses will be used the same weekend.” The second Grand-Am race is “expected to end early Friday night,” which means an “overnight track conversion.” Wilson notes NASCAR President Mike Helton and IMS President & CEO Jeff Belskus “seized the opportunity to try to build their product.” Brickyard 400 attendance has “steadily diminished,” and last year’s crowd “dipped to near half of the inaugural 260,000 sellout” in ’94 (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 7/7). Belskus yesterday noted that ticket sales for the July 31 Brickyard 400 were “running even with last year’s.” He said of adding the races, “It’s a competitive world; we’re doing what we can to keep ourselves relevant. This will help. I wish we could have gotten this done in 2011 and not had to wait” (USA TODAY, 7/7).
RACES TAKEN AWAY: In Indianapolis, Ben Jones reports the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series "won't return" to Lucas Oil Raceway next year. The track's Nationwide series race is being moved to IMS, while the future of the truck series in Indianapolis was "not immediately clear beyond it not returning next year." The series has "raced at Lucas Oil Raceway every year since its debut season" in '95. But track GM Wes Collier said that he is "not in discussions ... about another weekend" next year (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 7/7). SCENEDAILY.com's Bob Pockrass noted Helton "held out some hope that NASCAR might return to the short track in some form, but the chances for Nationwide and the Camping World Truck Series returning to the track appear slim." In moving the Nationwide race to IMS, NASCAR "eliminates what was electric -- albeit on a smaller scale -- at the track formerly known as Indianapolis Raceway Park." Collier said, "We're very disappointed with the decision. ... We've made some pretty large investments out here as far as the facility. We had all intentions of retaining this event for the future" (SCENEDAILY.com, 7/6).
NOT THE BEST SOLUTION: ESPN.com's David Newton wrote "beyond the increase in ticket sales IMS officials hope to generate by having more on-track activity," the addition of the races is "anything but exciting." NASCAR "took away one of the most anticipated Nationwide races of the season at Lucas Oil Raceway," and the "tradeoff for ticket sales versus a race that will never be as exciting as the ones seen at LOR is a shame." Newton: "This is just another sign that the tough times facing NASCAR and its tracks aren't over" (ESPN.com, 7/6). In Charlotte, Jim Utter writes the Brickyard 400 "can't seem to stand on its own any more," but "instead of addressing WHY that is, NASCAR's answer is to add more races to the weekend." Utter notes he has "witnessed many Truck and Nationwide races" at LOR over the years and "nothing at IMS could ever come close to replicating the excitement, the atmosphere and the racing at the short track" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/7). In Milwaukee, Dave Kallmann wrote IMS "shouldn't host any more minor-league races than it absolutely needs" (JSONLINE.com, 7/6). YAHOO SPORTS' Geoffrey Miller wrote, "There NASCAR goes again: doing exactly the opposite of what most fans seem to want" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/6).
DONE IN CANADA? The Nationwide Series NAPA Auto Parts 200, Canada's only NASCAR race, "might be in jeopardy" after the Quebec government yesterday "rejected developer Francois Dumontier's request for $1 million in government assistance, half each from Quebec and Ottawa, to help offset an anticipated" $1.6M deficit. The "funding shortfall likely means August's Nationwide Series race will be the end of NASCAR racing at the Gilles Villeneuve track." Montreal's contract with ISC and its promoter "expired June 30" (AP, 7/6).
