Hunter-Reay Says Ft. Lauderdale IndyCar Race Can Happen By Fall Of '13

IndyCar driver Ryan Hunter-Reay “believes an IndyCar race on a street course near the beach” in Ft. Lauderdale “could happen as soon as next fall, even though it's not on the series schedule for 2013 released last month,” according to Craig Davis of the South Florida SUN-SENTINEL. Hunter-Reay said, “There are slots of dates that could work that we could add to it. We're working to get it done, whether it be next year or the year after.” The IndyCar series has been “pushing for a Fort Lauderdale race on a street course near the beach ala the Monaco Grand Prix.” A proposed two-mile route “would loop around A1A and Seabreeze Boulevard south from Las Olas.” The main “stumbling block for a season-ending race in October is [a] possible conflict with the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.” Hunter-Reay: "If it's done the right way it could be the crown jewel of the series behind the Indy 500” (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 10/23).

TIME TO ACT: The AP’s Jenna Fryer wrote IndyCar “should not be sold to founder Tony George,” but “if there is a buyer out there willing to step in and put an end to the drama and put the focus instead on growth, stability and IndyCar's strong on-track product, then by all means, open the bidding.” Fryer: “Something has got to give in IndyCar. Now. Before it's too late for the series to ever get any solid footing in this country again.” If IndyCar “doesn't get its act together quickly, the series could be in serious danger of becoming irrelevant when it comes to advertising and sponsorship dollars, the money that fuels the sport” (AP, 10/22).