2011 IndyCar Series
| 2011 {{{series}}} season | |
|---|---|
| Season | |
| Races | TBA |
| Start date | TBA |
| End date | TBA |
| Awards | |
| Drivers' champion | TBA |
| Teams' champion | TBA |
| Rookie of the Year | TBA |
| Indianapolis 500 winner | TBA |
The 2011 Izod IndyCar Series[1] 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
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
- The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will continue through 2013.[2] City officials look to extend the contract through 2014.[3]
- The Milwaukee Mile was extended through 2012,[4] however, mounting debt for the promoter has put the 2010 running in doubt.
- Iowa Speedway is finalizing a two-year extension through 2011.[5]
- Infineon Raceway signed an extension through the 2011 season.
- An agreement has been signed with the city of Long Beach to extend the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach to 2015 with an option through 2020.[6]
- Barber Motorsports Park signed a three-year deal through 2012.[7]
Possible races
- Since the 2008 unification, former Champ Car tracks including Mexico City, Road America,[8] Laguna Seca,[9] and Cleveland have been rumored.
- SMI offered the IRL a five-facility deal for the 2009 season.[10] 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.[11] Existing events at Texas, Kentucky, and Sonoma would all continue.[12] New Hampshire track management had already publicly expressed interest individually in an IndyCar Series race.[13] The deal did not come to fruition for 2009 or 2010.[9][12][14]
- A revival of the Cleveland race was discussed for 2010.[15] 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.[9][16] A date for 2011 is possible provided there is local business support.[17]
- The league is exploring a race in Qingdao, China. A 2011 event would be a street race, and move to a proposed 400,000 to 500,000-seat oval/road course facility for 2012.[18][19][20][21]
- 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.[22]
- A proposed road course around Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts is under consideration, but not until 2012.[9]
References
- ^ IndyCar lands Title Sponsor, indystar.com, November 3, 2009
- ^ "Event Extension". indycar.com. 2008-04-06. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ "Grand Prix is a winner for St. Petersburg". indycar.com. 2009-04-06. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
- ^ "MILLER: Making Strides at Milwaukee". SPEEDTV.com. 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ "Back for more in '10". IndyCar.com. 2009-06-21. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
- ^ Oreovicz, John (2008-04-16). "Champ Car finale signals new start for Long Beach Grand Prix". ESPN. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ^ "Indy Car race coming to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama". al.com. 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
- ^ "Road America hopes to stay in the loop". JSOnline.com. 2008-03-20. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ a b c d "Schedule for 2010 still a work in progress". IndyStar.com. 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- ^ "If attendance remains strong, Cup dates in Loudon should be safe". espn.com. 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
- ^ "Indy Racing League '09 finale may be at LVMS". LasVegasSun.com. 2008-06-30. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
- ^ a b "Pit Pass". indystar.com. 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
- ^ "Kevin Provencher's Motorsports Notebook: Track's new GM hopes to lure Indy cars back". UnionLeader.com. 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- ^ "Organizers eye IndyCar racing return to N.H." Boston Herald. 2008-06-12. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ "Live Chat with Robin Miller". speedtv.com. 2009-03-13. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
- ^ "INDYCAR: Miller Says Cleveland Considering Combo Oval/Road Course Event!". speedtv.com. 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
- ^ "Grand Prix of Cleveland". cleveland.com. 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ "IRL thinking big in China". ibj.com. 2009-04-28. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
- ^ "China in IRL's future?". indystar.com. 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
- ^ "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= - ^ Will the IRL go international? - Fox Sports, July 2 2009
- ^ "Baltimore Grand Prix could start in 2011". baltimoresun.com. 2009-07-07. Retrieved 2009-07-07.