Pocono Raceway President & CEO Brandon Igdalsky yesterday issued a statement apologizing "for the dense, slow-moving traffic" after Sunday's Pocono IndyCar 400, according to Camilo Smith of the POCONO RECORD. Igdalsky said, "I am making a solemn promise, to every race fan, we will do everything in our power to make the traffic situations better in the future." Raceway officials took "notice of the problem right away" because of "social media, angry emails and phone calls." A team from the raceway, including Igdalsky, "met with officials from the state" DOT on Monday to begin "ironing out the situation." It is "not clear exactly how long fans were stuck in traffic Sunday" (POCONO RECORD, 7/10). SPEEDTV.com's Robin Miller wrote Igdalsky and his brother, Pocono Raceway Exec VP & COO Nick Igdalsky, gave IndyCar racing "a shot at Pocono over the weekend and may have laid the foundation to have a future." Miller: "Sure, the massive grandstand wasn’t half full and the infield didn’t resemble the masses at a NASCAR race but considering Indy cars had been away for 24 years it was encouraging." No official figures "were released but ... an estimate of 30,000 seemed to be in the ballpark." It is "believed Pocono needed 25,000 to have a shot at breaking even and that was before Sunoco came on board as presenting sponsor." But 30,000 for any IndyCar race other than at Indianapolis Motor Speedway "has to be regarded as a decent number nowadays." Additionally, the "fact it’s a three-year deal gives Pocono a fighting chance even though it’s sandwiched around two Sprint Cup races" (SPEEDTV.com, 7/9).
COMING THROUGH UNSCATHED: In Toronto, Mike Zeisberger reports the Honda Indy Toronto course made it through Monday's "monsoon virtually unscathed." Race President Charlie Johnstone said, "The blocks used for walls have cracks the water seeps through to drain and they worked perfectly. The grandstands and bleachers are fine. We came out of this 100% unscathed. Some of the team’s transporters started rolling in (Tuesday). The vendors will start setting up Wednesday. We are all good" (TORONTO SUN, 7/10).
