With Six Of 14 IRL Races On ISC Tracks, Synergy Between Two Old Racing Families Is Key To A Strong Motorsports Future
In the alphabet soup of auto racing acronyms, the Indy Racing League (IRL) is hoping to spell future success I-S-C.
The IRL is confident a blossoming relationship with the International Speedway Corporation (ISC) will help put it on the fast track to success.
Four of the 13 races on the 2001 Indy Racing Northern Light Series schedule were at ISC tracks, including Phoenix International Raceway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Richmond International Raceway and Kansas Speedway. ISC and Indianapolis Motor Speedway jointly own Chicagoland Speedway, which also hosted the IRL.
In 2002, however, nearly half of the 14-race IRL schedule will be run on ISC real estate.
Phoenix has been a charter track on the IRL schedule since the Indy car series began competition in 1996. Homestead-Miami previously hosted the rival CART FedEx Championship Series before CART decided it wouldn't be back after this season. Richmond is an existing ISC track that joined the IRL schedule in 2001 with Kansas and Chicagoland as new facilities.
By combining the IRL race with the Copper World Classic, Phoenix drew probably its best crowd since joining the IRL, with close to 30,000 estimated in attendance. Homestead drew surprisingly well with a crowd estimated at 30,000 to 35,000, while Richmond drew 45,000 fans to the first Indy car race in Virginia.
But the crowds at Kansas City and Chicago gave the IRL something to feel proud of. Kansas City drew a capacity crowd of 75,000 fans, despite temperatures over 100 degrees, to watch Eddie Cheever defeat Sam Hornish Jr. in a thrilling duel where the lead changed hands three times in the final 10 laps.
In September, 67,000 fans came to the 75,000-seat Chicagoland Speedway to see Hornish clinch the 2001 IRL championship and Jaques Lazier earn his first Indy car victory.
Both Kansas Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway sold season tickets for all of their races, which included the NASCAR Busch Series and Winston Cup weekends with the IRL weekend, so the two tracks were guaranteed sellout crowds. But the positive sign for the IRL is the fact Kansas was filled to capacity and Chicagoland was near capacity for the Indy car events, giving the IRL momentum.
Making Sense "For a new facility coming in with no races at all on its calendar when it breaks ground, a season ticket probably makes sense," says Tony George, president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and chief executive officer of the IRL. "It's the way of the future for a new track. You aren't going to see existing tracks do much in the way of season tickets, but who knows?"
What makes the IRL/ISC partnership so unique is the families involved in the two operations.
The IRL was founded by George, the grandson of Tony Hulman, a Terre Haute, Ind. businessman who purchased Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Eddie Rickenbacker in 1945. Hulman turned the dilapidated facility into an auto-racing shrine and restored the Indianapolis 500 to its position as the greatest race in the world.
ISC is a public company controlled by the France family of Daytona Beach, Fla. The late William H.G. France, the founder and president of NASCAR, founded it in order to pay for the construction of Daytona International Speedway. His son, Jim France, is president of ISC and has helped forge a working relationship with the IRL.
So, in a sense, the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500 are now in business together.
"I think it is major," Jim France says. "I feel the Daytona 500 is the icon event for stock-car racing, and the Indy 500 is the icon event for Indy-car racing. I think it is the major component of the series.
"I think if my father were alive today, he would be proud. He was a mechanic at the Indianapolis 500 for a couple of years. I went up with him when I was growing up. We flew out of there one time on a day that it rained. We didn't break out of the clouds until we were past Nashville.