Motorsports

Grand Prix remains coveted course

Place on open-wheel schedule unlikely to change after merge.

By Brant James, Times Staff Writer
Published February 28, 2008

HOMESTEAD - The backdrop was rich in metaphor. There was a construction crew razing part of the Homestead-Miami Speedway garage. There was a leaden sky yielding to rays of sunshine.

The 12-year schism that broke North American open-wheel racing into weakened halves was officially over with the photo-op Wednesday.

So what if Tony George, the Indy Racing League CEO, and Kevin Kalkhoven, co-owner of the Champ Car series, slightly missed their live television cue? That was almost fitting in a process so protracted and so filled with hope and disappointment.

There was a preponderance of change, with the IRL planning to add Champ Car's dates in Long Beach, Calif. (Champ Car's teams will run for IRL points as the IRL races at Motegi, Japan, in April); Edmonton, Alberta; and Surfers Paradise, Australia; and add from eight to 12 cars to the grid, according to president of competition Brian Barnhart. There would be new stars such as Graham Rahal to go with Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti, older ones such as Paul Tracy to join Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves.

But the "clean sheet of paper" on which the IRL will scrawl its 2009 schedule after an admittedly transitional slate this season will not be truly clean. Though George said the series' existing venues will be re-evaluated to comprise what he hopes is an eventual 20-race schedule, the Indianapolis 500 isn't going anywhere.

And the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which on April 6 will be the first street race under a unified banner, will be right there again, presumably on the first Sunday in April.

"That's clearly one of the cornerstone events in the IndyCar series that's been on the IndyCar series since 2005," Barnhart said. "(It) was the very first non-oval event we ever ran and we have been extremely pleased. ... Clearly, it's one of the best events on the schedule, no doubt."

The IRL plans to keep it that way even after its amalgamation brought in three more street courses for now. George envisions as many as 10 nonoval races, instead of the current five.

Kevin Savoree, race managing director for Andretti Green Promotions said Wednesday that he had not been contacted about moving the Grand Prix's date.

Although an entire set of former Champ Car entrants may not be on-track until the May 25 Indianapolis 500, some teams, including Newman/Haas/Lanigan, plan to compete here.

St. Petersburg, the second date on the schedule, has been a crucial stop for the IRL since its inception because the series proved on downtown streets that it could break from the ovals that had comprised its schedule in 1994. This season's event will be crucial again for the future well-being of the series as the backdrop for a sponsor push. Open-wheel racing has struggled against NASCAR and in a stagnant economy to secure the corporate funding. Just Marketing - the firm contracted six months ago to secure an important title sponsor - will entertain a cadre of suitors on a yacht in the basin constructed for the event.

"We're bringing out a lot of prospects," Just Marketing CEO Zak Brown said. "It's a sponsorship awareness campaign for team, title sponsor candidates, everything. That's a good opportunity for us to show them what this series is all about."

FAST FACTS

Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

When: April 6, 2:45 p.m.

Tickets: (727) 898-4639

[Last modified February 27, 2008, 22:15:58]