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2011 IndyCar Series

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2011 {{{series}}} season
Season
RacesTBA
Start dateTBA
End dateTBA
Awards
Drivers' championTBA
Teams' championTBA
Rookie of the YearTBA
Indianapolis 500 winnerTBA
← 2010
2012 →

The 2011 IndyCar Series season will be the 16th season of the IndyCar Series. Its premier event will be the 95th Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 29.

Series News

A new IndyCar chassis and engines are expected for this season. Dallara will be the sole chassis supplier.

An engine manufacturer summit took place in Indianapolis on June 24, 2008. The goal of the meeting was to set standards for the 2011 IndyCar Series engine package and encourage more manufacturers to produce engines for the series. Auto manufacturers Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Ford, Ferrari, GM, Honda, Mazda, and Volkswagen were represented at the meeting, alongside engine suppliers AER, Cosworth, Cummins, Ilmor, John Judd, and Speedway Engines. [1][2].

A second manufacturer's meeting took place on September 17. Five auto manufacturers were present at the meeting including Honda, Audi, Alfa Romeo, and Porsche. [3] The new engines will be a turbocharged in-line 4 cylinder [3], or V6 yet to be released and will output about 750 hp (560 kW). [4].

A third meeting is expected to be held in late October.[5][6]

The 95th Indianapolis 500 will be the third race of the three-year long Centennial era, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 100th anniversary of the first Indy 500.

Schedule development

Existing contracts

Possible races

  • Since the 2008 unification, former Champ Car tracks including Mexico City, Road America,[12] Laguna Seca,[13] and Cleveland have been rumored.
  • SMI offered the IRL a five-facility deal for the 2009 season.[14] The deal included adding Las Vegas and Loudon back the schedule (they are both former IRL tracks) with Las Vegas suggested as the season finale, to be coupled with the awards banquet at the Palms Casino Resort.[15] Existing events at Texas, Kentucky, and Sonoma would all continue.[16] New Hampshire track management had already publicly expressed interest individually in an IndyCar Series race.[17] The deal did not come to fruition for 2009 or 2010.[13][16][18]
  • A revival of the Cleveland race was discussed for 2010.[19] It would have involved a unique twin race weekend, with one race Friday night on a new oval layout, and a second race on the traditional road course layout.[13][20] A date for 2011 is possible provided there is local business support.[21]
  • The league is exploring a race in Qingdao, China. A 2011 event would be a street race, and move to a proposed 500,000-seat oval for 2012.[22][23][24]
  • Baltimore Racing Development is exploring a 2011 street race for late summer/early fall. The proposed course would be 2.4 miles in length near Camden Yards.[25]
  • A proposed road course around Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts is under consideration, but not until 2012.[13]

References

  1. ^ [1] Speedtv.com, June 27, 2008
  2. ^ [2] Indystar.com, June 28, 2008
  3. ^ a b http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-porsche-audi-and-alfa-romeo-show-interest-in-returning-to-series/ Speedtv.com, October 12, 2008
  4. ^ [3] Indystar.com, August 23, 2008
  5. ^ [4] Indystar.com, Sempember 18, 2008
  6. ^ [5] indycar.com
  7. ^ "Event Extension". indycar.com. 2008-04-06. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  8. ^ "Grand Prix is a winner for St. Petersburg". indycar.com. 2009-04-06. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  9. ^ "Back for more in '10". IndyCar.com. 2009-06-21. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
  10. ^ Oreovicz, John (2008-04-16). "Champ Car finale signals new start for Long Beach Grand Prix". ESPN. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  11. ^ "Indy Car race coming to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama". al.com. 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  12. ^ "Road America hopes to stay in the loop". JSOnline.com. 2008-03-20. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  13. ^ a b c d "Schedule for 2010 still a work in progress". IndyStar.com. 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
  14. ^ "If attendance remains strong, Cup dates in Loudon should be safe". espn.com. 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  15. ^ "Indy Racing League '09 finale may be at LVMS". LasVegasSun.com. 2008-06-30. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  16. ^ a b "Pit Pass". indystar.com. 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
  17. ^ "Kevin Provencher's Motorsports Notebook: Track's new GM hopes to lure Indy cars back". UnionLeader.com. 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  18. ^ "Organizers eye IndyCar racing return to N.H." Boston Herald. 2008-06-12. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  19. ^ "Live Chat with Robin Miller". speedtv.com. 2009-03-13. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  20. ^ "INDYCAR: Miller Says Cleveland Considering Combo Oval/Road Course Event!". speedtv.com. 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  21. ^ "Grand Prix of Cleveland". cleveland.com. 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  22. ^ "IRL thinking big in China". ibj.com. 2009-04-28. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  23. ^ "China in IRL's future?". indystar.com. 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  24. ^ "http://sports.yahoo.com/irl/news?slug=ap-irl-schedule&prov=ap&type=lgns". Associated Press. 2009-06-23. Retrieved 2009-06-23. {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  25. ^ "Baltimore Grand Prix could start in 2011". baltimoresun.com. 2009-07-07. Retrieved 2009-07-07.