The Verizon IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Louisiana "will not be returning" to NOLA Motorsports Park in '16, likely making the event a "one-and-done affair," according to Guerry Smith of the Baton Rouge ADVOCATE. Track President Kristen Engeron on Thursday said that IndyCar officially "had confirmed within the past week the race would be left off the 2016 calendar." The '15 event "was plagued by rain, and two different companies filed federal lawsuits against the Avondale racetrack alleging they had not been paid the full amount they had been promised." Lawyer Joe Bruno, who is representing the track, said, "We are continuing to talk with them about getting us on the schedule for 2017 and the years after that.” Track Owner Laney Chouest, who opened the venue in '12, admitted that the race "did not work out as planned." Rain "canceled the qualifying session and shortened the main event." Although the race "started on time after a heavy downpour earlier in the day, visibility was low, with a series of spin-outs and accidents on the slippery track forcing 26 of the last 32 laps to be run under a caution flag." Only 47 laps were completed, and the green flag "was out for barely half-an-hour." Attendance "was estimated at less than 10,000, far below projections when promoters announced a three-year plan to run the race" at the track (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 9/25).
MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP: Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles said of Milwaukee and Pocono possibly returning for the '16 schedule, "I'm not real optimistic about Milwaukee, but it's not entirely a dead issue. I think we'll know more about Pocono at the beginning of next week." He added of possibly signing Mexico City and Phoenix for '16 events, "The agreements are pretty much done, or very nearly done, so it's always our goal not just to have a verbal agreement but to have the promoter agreement signed before we announce it, and television scheduling is tracking with the (process). We're getting close. I'd be flabbergasted if (Phoenix) doesn't happen. It is 99 percent there." Miles said of having an August race if Pocono does not return, "There's some interest from the people at Gateway (Motorsports Park) outside St. Louis. I haven't been there yet, but folks have and have said it continues to develop and get better as a track, and the promoter's terrific" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 9/25).
