http://speedtv.com/articles/auto/indycar/12321/

2005 IRL IndyCar Series schedule:

March 6: Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla., 1 1/2-mile oval
March 19: Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, 1-mile oval
April 30: Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi, Japan, 1 1/2-mile oval
May 29: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, 2 1/2-mile oval
June 11: Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas, 1 1/2-mile oval
June 25: Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Va., 3/4-mile oval
July 3: Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kan., 1 1/2-mile tri-oval
July 16: Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., 1 1/3-mile oval
July 24: The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis., 1-mile oval
July 31: Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Mich., 2-mile oval
Aug. 14: Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Ky., 1 1/2-mile oval
Aug. 21: Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain, Colo., 1-mile oval
Aug. 28: Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, Calif., 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course
Sept. 11: Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Ill., 1 1/2-mile D-shaped tri-oval
Sept. 25: Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y., 11-turn, 3.4-mile road course
Oct. 16: California Speedway, Fontana, Calif., 2-mile D-shaped oval


And they end the season out here in Cali!

 

Sweet.

 

and thus marks the beginning of the elimination of either the IRL or CART, or their reunion.

 

"What's a four letter word for a farm wagon?"

I LOVE that commercial!

I guess I'll be watching two IRL races next year.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tnord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and thus marks the beginning of the elimination of either the IRL or CART, or their reunion.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Cart is soon to be gone. How much more boring can it get, they are a spec series now. Even if IRL only has 3 engine manufacturers, it's still better than just one.

And don't get me started on that "push to pass" crap.

 

Push to pass... now bringing CART closer to a video arcade experience than ever before. I predict team bosses will be dumping their current drivers for standouts in the Mario Kart circuit... I hear several teams are trying to grab Princess Toadstool.

 

IRL team bosses will be pissed, now they have to spend money testing on road circuits, and hire more engineers to figure out how to make their aero work.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Spade &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sept. 25: Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y., 11-turn, 3.4-mile road course</TD></TR></TABLE>

I guess they don't count the chicane in the total number of turns on the full course. Either way, I can't wait to see the times those guys put down. I'll put my money on Helio...

 

Don't forget gearboxes which will now be shifting many many more times per lap than they are now, reorganization of sidepod structures since the cars will no longer be on asymmetric courses.

 

I win my bet! I win my bet! There are some VWVortex posters who are going to be eating crow while I drink their beer...

K

 

Yup, CART will be a thing of the past. I guess when Rahal, Hernandez, Andretti and Chip Ganasi all must have know that IRL was going to be turning "right" when they all left CART.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by speedracer33 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... . I'll put my money on Helio...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hah - not. Don't forget the crop of drivers who have ended up in IRL by default, having head junior formula road racing success in Europe or elsewhere. I have a sneaky feeling that we are going to see some new faces at the front of those results sheets.

K

 

This does not spell the end of Champ Car, trust me. I'm not saying Champ Car is in good shape, but this is fairly irrelvent to the state of that series.

Also, if you think that the IRL adding these races will do anything to increase the fanbase, you are delusional. Its just another step toward the IRL becoming a watered down version of what CART once was, minus the fans and sponsors, of course.

 

Oh yeah, if you want a good laugh, check out the Infineon track map:

http://209.43.92.201/IRL/media...n.pdf

Its even more watered down than the NASCAR configuration!

 

actually no, with that configuration its going to be much more of an interesting track. the turn 9 chute is new, i didnt think that was supposed to be a race path when they first built it. the shortened turn 11 is obviously much tighter, but i wonder how theyre going to mark the outerwall, its currently a flat lot in between there. seems like they want to slow down the end of turn 9 to 11. may introduce some interesting passing situations. the race should be good. would love to see them go down the carousel tho.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by WRXRacer111 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Don't forget gearboxes which will now be shifting many many more times per lap than they are now, reorganization of sidepod structures since the cars will no longer be on asymmetric courses. </TD></TR></TABLE>

this article doesnt make it seem like its going to be too dramatic of changes to get to road race setup. then again, theyve yet to do testing.
http://www.crash.net/uk/en/new...96945

 

I've never seen this configuration run, but then again, I've only driven the 11 turn course as that used in World Challenge.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tyson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">actually no, with that configuration its going to be much more of an interesting track. the turn 9 chute is new, i didnt think that was supposed to be a race path when they first built it. the shortened turn 11 is obviously much tighter, but i wonder how theyre going to mark the outerwall, its currently a flat lot in between there. seems like they want to slow down the end of turn 9 to 11. may introduce some interesting passing situations. the race should be good. would love to see them go down the carousel tho.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Personally, I wonder what they are going to do about the pit lane? If they have to go through the regular entrance, it'll be like the longest pit lane in motorsports!

 

hmm good point. we'll have to see what they do, if they make em go all the way around the outside of 11. or maybe its because they need the extra space of turn 11 for more pitspace. but i dont imagine if nascar can fit, IRL couldnt.

 

Whoever drew that little crap assed blue line on the maps sucks.

Colorblindness owns me, I had to get my nose less than an inch from the monitor to see the IRL course.

 

i loooooooooooove the Glenn

 

Well I guess IRL wants to kick CART while they are down which is probably smart. In the long run it should be consolidated. It was divisive on the fan base and sponsor money. May the best series win as long as it has road courses. On the push to pass what series is that in Europe that has that? Formula Palmer or Audi or something. May the best series win. Now who is going to win the war between ALMS and Grand Am. That is another one I would like to see where somebody loses and somebody wins. Don Panoz or the France family?
Barry H.

 

An article that I just read stated that the Sears Point track configuration has yet to be determined, as they were going to be testing one configuration and making changes to it as needed, it may end up as the normal configuration, or the NASCAR configuration. That turn 9A is really tight, ask Andy Hope.

Austin

 

HAHA...

Nice...

Will be great to see them at the Glen..

 

Fantastic. Can't wait. All those cars doing the "boot". Sweet. Nascar is afraid of the "boot". Bunch of pansies.

Maybe IRL doesn't suck after all....