IRL Officials Hope Season Finale Can Boost Homestead Attendance
IRL and Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS) officials hope the move to have the '09 IndyCar Series conclude at the track will "dramatically increase attendance at a track that has consistently struggled to attract open-wheel fans," according to John Oreovicz of ESPN.com. The track hosted the IRL season-opener for seven years, but IRL Commercial Division President Terry Angstadt said, "We are both confident that we can attract a much bigger crowd to our season-ender versus our opener." HMS President Curtis Gray said, "South Florida is used to hosting championship events and that gets people very excited down here. Almost anything less than that makes it a tough sell sometimes. That's why we've had such success with our NASCAR event" (ESPN.com, 7/30). In Ft. Lauderdale, Sarah Talalay notes HMS is "counting on its experience hosting NASCAR's championship and the opportunity to use the dozen or so IRL drivers, who make their homes in South Florida, including Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan, to promote the event" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 7/31). In Miami, Sarah Rothschild notes the IndyCar opener at HMS "had attracted about 30,000 to 35,000 fans the past few years, only half of Homestead's capacity." Meanwhile, IRL officials said that the series will "hold its [end-of-season] banquet in South Florida" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/31).
WHITHER NEW HAMPSHIRE? In New Hampshire, Michael Pezone noted the IndyCar Series in '09 will not travel to New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS), and NHMS Exec VP & GM Jerry Gappens said, "It's a slap in the face to [SMI Chair & CEO] Bruton Smith and to our company, who have been very supportive of the [IRL] since its inception." Pezone notes NHMS and IndyCar officials "will continue to discuss the possibilities of bringing open-wheel racing back" to the track (CONCORD MONITOR, 7/30). Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage, whose track will host a race on June 6, said, "I'm real disappointed that the IRL didn't see the benefit of racing in a top-10 market like New Hampshire" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 7/31). Angstadt said that the sides "couldn't agree on a date" for NHMS (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 7/31).
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