Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles and "many others in IndyCar, including a number of drivers, expressed hope" that this past weekend's inaugural Grand Prix of Louisiana "will become a staple on the annual calendar," according to Brett Martel of the AP. Driver Helio Castroneves said, "Every first event you have some (challenges), and they went through a very great test, meaning the worst conditions. To pass this test, to move on, it was a great credit for the entire people in New Orleans. Yes, for sure, we want to go back, and hopefully it will be a drier day." Miles: "Everybody's really, really positive." He added of rain washing out qualifying and ultimately producing a caution-heavy event, "Unfortunately, ... it's not being fully tested for how it would work if you have a full house, but I think it looks great" (AP, 4/13). In Baton Rouge, Ted Lewis reports "about 5,000 people showed up for the first major motorsports event" in the New Orleans area in two decades. Due to six cautions, they "might not have seen the most exciting of events," but most attendees "seemed to feel they got their money’s worth." IndyCar team owner Sam Schmidt said, "They did an unbelievable job of pulling this off, especially considering the weather. You can tell this is a crew that really loves this sport." Schmidt: "We need more good venues for racing. New Orleans is a unique place, and we had a unique race to get things going here today" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 4/13). ESPN.com's John Oreovicz wrote the rain turned the "still unfinished facility into a muddy quagmire." Under the circumstances, the race day crowd "was about as good as could be expected." While the Advocate's Lewis reported a crowd of approximately 5,000, Oreovicz reported a crowd of "around 10,000" (ESPN.com, 4/12).
RAINY DAY: In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin notes race winner James Hinchcliffe expressed "compassion for those who watched it." Those in attendance -- and there were a "surprisingly high number given the ugly day -- soaked in morning rain long enough to endure a caution-filled race." After 15 clean opening laps, "little more than two laps were completed in succession without someone in turmoil." Social media produced "infuriating reaction," but the drivers "deserved some slack." Water "not only stood in portions of the 13-turn, 2.74-mile circuit, it flowed in others." IndyCar "tried to make a good first impression with the locals" while going up against The Masters on TV (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 4/13).
