2004 Indycar series calendar

[marcus]

2004 IndyCar Series Schedule

29th February 2004 Toyota Indy 300
Miami-Homestead Speedway

21st March 2004 TBA
Phoenix International Raceway

17th April 2004 Indy Japan 300
Twin Ring Motegi

30th May 2004 Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway

12th June 2004 Bombardier 500
Texas Motor Speedway

26th June 2004 SunTrust Indy Challenge
Richmond International Raceway


4th July 2004 TBA
Kansas Speedway


17th July 2004 Firestone Indy 200
Nashville Superspeedway

25th July 2004 TBA
The Milwaukee Mile

1st August 2004 Firestone Indy 400
Michigan International Speedway


15th August 2004 Belterra Casino Indy 300
Kentucky Speedway


22nd Ausust 2004 Honda Indy 225
Pikes Peak International Raceway


29th August 2004 Firestone Indy 225
Nazareth Speedway


12th September 2004 Delphi Indy 300
Chicagoland Speedway


3rd October 2004 Toyota Indy 400
California Speedway


17th October 2004 Chevy 500
Texas Motor Speedway

[climb]

Thank-you Marcus.
Maybe you know the dates of the Test in the West, too?

[marcus]

ummmmmmmm , dunno but i will try and find out for you climb

[alonso11]

There were rumours suggesting that they will add one road course to the IRL calendar.So it's obviously not going to happen in 2004...

But I would like to know what do you think/know about this?Is it possible (or even likely) to happen in 2005? Has any IRL team ever tested on a road course? Does the road course spec aero-kit for IRL cars exist physically (or at least on the plane-table) ? If it's ever going to happen, which road courses are the most likely to host an IRL event? Sorry to flood you with so much questions

[marcus]

simple , I have no idea


of course they have looked at it but for next year it looks as if they wont do it ,I guess its possible for 2005 ,time will tell

[climb]

From what I know: both chassis constructors have been charged of designing and manufacturing such road-kits.
Some motnhs ago they were urged by TG, cos' it seemed very likely that CART could disappear.
Afeter things at CART have improved a bit, and their survival is almost certain for 2004, everything has been differed to 2005, provided IRL is surely ready to change the schedule and insert some road races, should CART have a sudden breakdown.

[Hazza]

Or just consider this:

The irl cars have fuel pickups on *both* sides...
"We don't race backwards on ovals" - T Kanaan.

[rustyfan]

The last I read, regarding the road course modified chassis, was that the manufacturers were to develop chassis' to be tested during 2004 and at the earliest, be ready to race on a select few road courses in 2005.

2004 was never even a remote possibility - from what I have read anyway.

I reckon we will know around half-way into 2004 whether 2005 will see a couple of non-oval races added or not.


(edit) Having written the above, I obviously felt urged to check some older articles etc, and in a piece posted late July, the intial word was that perhaps even 2004 could have included some road-courses (although not likely) and as such the chassis' were to be modified in order to be ready for that, if it was to be the case (as it turns out, it wasn't).

Oh well, at least the third paragraph of my initial post will probably (hopefully) be half-right

[codename_47]

Having read all about the newly restructured Homestead and it's variable banking...I'm wondering what affect this will have on the IRL race.....will it make it much faster for them too? :confused:

[rustyfan]

Originally posted by codename_47
Having read all about the newly restructured Homestead and it's variable banking...I'm wondering what affect this will have on the IRL race.....will it make it much faster for them too? :confused:

Considering the amount of grip that new asphalt offers at the moment, I would say so yes. Might even be so fast it's scary.

In little over three months we'll know.

[codename_47]

Originally posted by rustyfan
Considering the amount of grip that new asphalt offers at the moment, I would say so yes. Might even be so fast it's scary.

In little over three months we'll know.

Oh well...wait and see then!

Funny who you bump into over here isn't it?

[rustyfan]

Indeed

[jhansen]

In a Q&A with Scott Sharp, he mentioned that he did not believe that the IRL cars would experience the same type of speed jump that the NASCAR cars saw at the new Homestead (which was about a 25 mph increase). His thoughts were that the IRL cars already were nearly flat out for qualifying. But he did say it would make the track much racier, which is always good.

[Down F0rce]

I hope so. The old layout did have the habit of a rather dull race...

[rustyfan]

Originally posted by Down F0rce
I hope so. The old layout did have the habit of a rather dull race...

I reckon you didn't watch the NASCAR race? Let's just put it this way; during the first 10 laps there were probably more lead changes than during the entire 400 miles in 2002

They were, despite the fact that the surface is new, able to race two and three wide in the turns and the racing was some of the best seen all year.

I'm extremely confident the IndyCar guys will be able to put on an equally impressive display come the 2004 season opener

[rustyfan]

Speaking of the new Homestead...

From Autosport;

Teams test at reworked Homestead - IRL drivers get first taste of new variable banking


Several leading IRL IndyCar Series teams had their first taste of the reconfigured Homestead-Miami Speedway, in a test at the Florida oval on November 19-20.

The oval has been rebuilt with radical variable angle banking to improve the racing. At the midpoint of each turn, there are 18 degrees of banking at the bottom, 19 degrees in the middle and 20 degrees at the top.

Six drivers from five teams took the opportunity to run at the 1.5-mile oval. Briton Dan Wheldon was in action for Andretti Green, with new champion Scott Dixon running for Ganassi. Tomas Scheckter tested for his new team, Panther Racing, while Scott Sharp ran for Kelley Racing and Penske ran both Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr.

Times from the test were not released, although it was anticipated that the IndyCars would lap the track 20-25mph faster than in its previous configuration.

Brian Barnhart, the IRL's senior vice president of racing operations, supervised the test.

"This test was conducted so we could evaluate the reconfigured Homestead-Miami Speedway, as it's obviously a lot different from when we last raced there in March," said Barnhart. "With all the changes, this is basically a new facility for the IndyCar Series, even though we've raced here since 2001.

"Our teams, drivers, manufacturers and league officials gathered valuable data to ensure that the IndyCar Series can put on the best race for the fans, as well as a competitive and safe environment for everyone."

[Down F0rce]

no, I didnt watch the nascar race..not really my thing. But yeah, I read about the testing...good to see some positive feedback

[jhansen]

This crash.net article suggests that the times were in the 215 to 217 mph range. Kanan's 2003 pole speed was about 203.5 mph. No official times were released though. So it sounds like 20 to 25 was a bit much and that Sharp's guess was a bit low. Either way, can't wait to see em race the new configuration.



Here's the article link.

http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view...d=12&nid=81637

[climb]

OPEN TESTS DATES SET:

Homestead: jan 27-29
Phoenix: feb 10-12

[sr230772]

before they get new chassis for road courses maybe you better see if your drivers can cope all those tricky right turns they wont know what hit em

[BootsOntheSide]

Actually mate, all but two of the IRL's current drivers have road course experience (the others being Carpenter and Fisher, correct me if I'm wrong?), and about half have scored CART podiums, if not wins. Most of them will be fine. They'll do better than Jacques Villain-getting-on-our-nerves would be likely to.

[sr230772]

never mind road courses when is irl gonna look a bit more of a world seris i know they do the japan race for toyata and honda but what about the rest of the world i,d love to see them come to england

[climb]

I think it would be too expensive, that's one of the reasons why CARt went bankrupt.
Thay'll hardly repeat the mistake.

[GP Racer]

Also it doesn't seem as though the rest of the world enjoys oval type racing as much as we do here in the states.

I think the IRL is ready to jump on some road courses if CART falters. I'm quite sure there are already talks going on between the tracks, promotors, the IRL, and sponsors. They all want to be ready if the opportunity arises, and it looks as though it just might.

[Ian-S]

Originally posted by GP Racer
Also it doesn't seem as though the rest of the world enjoys oval type racing as much as we do here in the states.

Actually, you'd be suprised how many fans oval racing has in Europe.

When a few friends said they were bored with F1 and didn't know why I watched it, I told them I didn't anymore and they should watch the Nascar and IRL races, to say they are hooked is an understatement, now all I get is "when's the next race?".

I hope the IRL learns from CART's mistakes and doesn't goto road courses, or if they do, only 1 or 2 without taking away any ovals, 'cos if you look at it from a distance, CART started to fail the second they moved away from ovals.

The IRL doesn't have to "come to Europe" to win more fans, just get FREE tv coverage over here, after all it's mostly on in the Primetime Sunday night slot.