Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles said that the Verizon IndyCar Series "continues to look for opportunities to start the season in February at destinations outside North America," according to Marshall Pruett of RACER.com. At least one venue in South America is "rumored to be on IndyCar's radar, and numerous tracks in Europe, Asia and Australia have been mentioned as possibilities." Miles "views the trips abroad as a way to help the cash-strapped teams." He said, "We're talking about February, we're talking about a limited number -- I think maybe two, someday -- and we believe that that market will allow us to pay the teams more." But Pruett wrote depending on the level of travel support, and "whether teams would be able to secure sponsors for international events," the concept of new foreign events could "hold limited appeal for some within the IndyCar paddock." Meanwhile, IndyCar President of Competition & Operations Jay Frye said an increase in the number of U.S. races is "being considered." IndyCar has 17 races in U.S. this year -- an up from 16 last season. Frye: "It appears that 20 (races) was always the bogey, but this is all very debatable. You wouldn't want to just have 20 races to have 20 races. We've got (16 events with 17 races) now, promoters that are great partners and that we're really excited about, so if you added one or two (races), they would have to fit in the windows that are open and there would have to be some sort of excitement to the opportunity" (RACER.com, 2/27).
