INDIANAPOLIS (July 31, 2009) -
First-time events in Brazil and
Birmingham, Ala., highlight the 2010
IndyCar® Series schedule announced
today.
In its continuing effort to offer
competitors the most diverse and
challenging championship in motorsports,
the 2010 IndyCar Series schedule
features eight oval races, four
permanent road courses and five
temporary circuits.
Highlights of the 2010 schedule
include:
• The season opener will be contested
March 14 on a series-designed circuit in
Brazil. The league will announce the
venue in the host city at a later date.
• The temporary street course in St.
Petersburg, Fla., on March 28 will be
the U.S. opener for the second year in a
row.
• The first IndyCar Series race at
Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama will
be held April 11. The IndyCar Series
conducted an Open Test at the 2.38-mile,
17-turn facility in March 2009.
• The Indianapolis 500, in the middle of
Indianapolis Motor Speedway's three-year
Centennial Era, will be run May 30,
preceded by three weeks of practice and
qualifications. Pole Day is May 15.
• Texas Motor Speedway will be the
first race following the Indianapolis
500, racing under the lights on June 12.
• The temporary circuit races in Toronto
and Edmonton, Alberta, will be held on
consecutive weekends July 18 and July
25, respectively. In 2009, the events
were separated by two weeks.
• The 11th IndyCar Series race at
Kentucky Speedway shifts from its early
August date to Labor Day weekend.
• For the second year in a row, the
season finale will be held on the
1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway on
Oct. 2.
"We feel the 2010 schedule strikes a
fair balance between our three major
disciplines - ovals, road course and
temporary circuits - while taking us
into key markets in the U.S. as well as
abroad for our major partners," said
Terry Angstadt, president of the
commercial division for the Indy Racing
League, the sanctioning body of the
IndyCar Series. "We continue to build on
the solid foundation of a schedule we
created last year in the wake of
unification with the goal of maintaining
consistent and long-term dates for our
track and fans."
Race dates at Long Beach, Calif.,
Kansas Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway,
Iowa Speedway, Watkins Glen
International, Mid-Ohio Sports Car
Course, Infineon Raceway, Chicagoland
Speedway, Twin Ring Motegi and the
season-ender at Homestead-Miami Speedway
remain at the approximate same time as
their 2009 dates.
The racing calendar, which will be
broadcast by VERSUS and ESPN on ABC,
includes two prime-time events. More
breaks also are built into the schedule,
with three consecutive weekends of
competition the longest stint.
"We couldn't be more pleased with the
diversity of the schedule as it will
help us maintain a championship
tradition that has been exciting for
both competitors and fans," said Brian
Barnhart, president of competition and
operations for the Indy Racing
League. "The 2010 schedule keeps
in-line with our goal to create a
championship that requires drivers and
teams to master a variety of tracks over
the course of the season, and hopefully
once again see our title battle come
down to the final race of the year."
The event in Brazil, which hosted
Indy car racing as recently as 2000,
will be the first for the IndyCar Series
in South America. The series currently
features Brazilian drivers Helio
Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Raphael Matos,
Vitor Meira and Mario Moraes.
"While our primary focus continues to
be building the sport of IndyCar Series
domestically, the race in Brazil affords
us a unique opportunity to visit a
country that has a huge passion for
open-wheel racing. With strong support
from our major partner APEX-Brasil, a
significant television package from TV
Bandeirantes, a large number of drivers
from the country and the opportunity for
a unique course, it makes sense from
both a business and competition
standpoint," Angstadt said.
Barber Motorsports Park, which opened
in 2003 and includes the 144,000
square-foot Barber Vintage Motorsports
Museum, was the realization of a goal of
George Barber. It is the largest
philanthropic project in the history of
the state of Alabama with more than $70
million private funds contributed.
"This will be the only IndyCar Series
race in the Deep South, meaning it is a
great tourist draw for the region. Plus,
having the automotive world focus on our
state enables us to highlight our
growing automotive industry," said Gene
Hallman, President of Zoom Motorsports,
the track's promoter.
The 2010 IndyCar Series television
schedule will be announced at a later
date. The Indy Racing League will be
announced the 2010 Firestone Indy
Lights, which is celebrating its 100th
race this weekend, schedule in the
immediate future.
The complete 2010 IndyCar Series
schedule:
Date Location Venue
Sunday, March
14 Brazil TBA
Sunday, March 28 Streets of St.
Petersburg, Fla. 1.8-mile street
course
Sunday, April 11 Barber
Motorsports Park 2.38-mile
road course
Sunday, April 18 Streets of
Long Beach, Calif. 1.968-mile street
course
Saturday, May 1 Kansas
Speedway 1.5-mile
oval
Sunday, May 30 Indianapolis
Motor Speedway 2.5-mile oval
Saturday, June 12* Texas Motor
Speedway 1.5-mile oval
Sunday, June 20 Iowa
Speedway .875-mile
oval
Sunday, July 4 Watkins
Glen International 3.37-mile road
course
Sunday, July 18 Streets of
Toronto 1.721-mile
street course
Sunday, July 25 Edmonton
City Centre Airport 1.973-mile airport
course
Sunday, August 8 Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course 2.258-mile road
course
Sunday, August 22 Infineon
Raceway 2.245-mile
road course
Saturday, August 28* Chicagoland
Speedway 1.5-mile oval
Labor Day Weekend Kentucky
Speedway 1.5-mile oval
Saturday, September 18 Twin
Ring Motegi 1.5-mile oval
Saturday, October
2 Homestead-Miami Speedway 1.5-mile
oval
* Denotes night
race Schedule
Subject to Change
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