The Izod IndyCar Series yesterday held its first race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) in 13 years, and while "interest from the area failed in comparison to Loudon's NASCAR events," the estimated crowd of 30,000 was "considerably more than the 7,500 that saw the last IndyCar race here in 1998," according to Ryan O'Leary of the LACONIA CITIZEN. NHMS Exec VP & GM Jerry Gappens said, "I'm an optimist and I don't apologize for 30,000. Having said that, there's room for improvement. We need to do better than that." The race was held on a one-year contract, and IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said that he plans to sit with Gappens and NHMS Owner Bruton Smith "to discuss a long-term contract." He "assured that Sunday's attendance figures would not be a deal breaker in contract talks." O'Leary notes the drivers "were impressed with the fans who did come out" (LACONIA CITIZEN, 8/15). In Hartford, Shawn Courchesne reports the crowd was 5,000 less than what Gappens "said he was hoping for in the days leading up to the race." Gappens said, "We had some momentum going in, the weather really kicked us. ... In the forecast, rain and racing don't go along well. So the walkup (crowd) was not as strong as we would have liked today." Courchesne notes Gappens has been "fighting to get an IndyCar race at the track since Speedway Motorsports Inc. bought the facility from Bob Bahre in 2008." He now has two weeks "to decide if he will bring IndyCar back next year" (HARTFORD COURANT, 8/15). Bernard "anticipates next year's schedule to be released sometime in the middle of September, meaning Gappens, Smith and himself will have to sit down again soon to discuss whether IndyCar will return in 2012" (CONCORD MONITOR, 8/15).
CONTROVERSIAL FINISH: In Boston, Michael Vega reports the race was "overshadowed by the angry reaction up and down pit road after the race was called five laps from the finish" due to weather concerns. IndyCar President of Competition & Racing Operations Brian Barnhart "took full responsibility for making the widely criticized call" to resume the race under green with eight laps left. A multi-car wreck occurred as the cars accelerated when the green flag came out. Barnhart said, "You want to make the effort that you can for the fans on television and the ones that are in the grandstands here, but you can't do that at the expense of safety. ... As soon as you had the guys stand on the gas out there, you saw right away it was the wrong decision to make. At that point in time, you are just kind of sick to your stomach and realize it was error on race control standpoint, and clearly my fault." However, Vega notes Gappens "applauded" the effort to finish the race. Gappens: "I'm not going to sit here and crucify him" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/15). Driver Will Power, who was involved in the wreck, said of Barnhart, "They cannot have this guy running the show because that was (a) decision to put a lot of drivers in danger. You saw how many people crashed on the front straight. It was no condition to race in. Shame on him. … It was disgraceful” ("MoveThatBlock.com 225,” ABC, 8/14).
