by Paul Gohde
9/3/2007 New Berlin, WI Two interesting items reported by writer Curt Cavin in his Indianapolis Star blog: One being a future announcement by the Indy Racing League of a 2008 event in the Los Angeles area, and one regarding the Milwaukee Mile. An event in the Dodger Stadium parking lot has been rumored for a year or so, but now it sounds like a reality for next years schedule. It seems to me that the LA area has had several opportunities to prove it a viable market for major racing events, and has failed on a regular basis. The once successful Ontario Motor Speedway, constructed during the speedway building boom of the late 1960s, was eventually demolished even though it was the home of a 500 mile USAC Indy Car race as well as the first NASCAR super speedway events on the west coast. Each event began with large crowds, but they dwindled over the years as the easily-distracted left-coasters moved on to the next flavor-of the-day. For awhile the road course at Riverside drew huge throngs for NASCAR, USAC and SCCA races, but eventually lesser crowds, coupled with rising land value, led to its demise also. The more modern California Speedway lost its open-wheel events due to some embarrassingly small gatherings, while the recent Labor Day weekend Nextel Cup race looked to have several thousand empty seats. The Saturday night Busch race looked to be less than 1/3 full at the most; and this in a state known for its car culture. And now the IRL may put another event into the LA basin? If the story turns out to be true, we hope the event is a success, not only the first year, but for years to come. The Star writer also reported recently that Indianapolis Motor Speedway head man and IRL chairman Tony George was disappointed with the turnout for the Milwaukee Mile IRL race in June. MM personnel had been excited back in 2006 as their lobbying efforts were rewarded with a move from July to the prime first weekend after the Indy 500. But what some perceived as a less- than-aggressive promotion campaign brought a surprisingly weak crowd to the historic track. Now Eddie Gossage and his Texas Motor Speedway juggernaut are seeking to move their IRL date to that prime post-Indy weekend. Gossage holds many cards in his hand and could likely get what he wants. If that occurs, it will be up to the MM staff to prove that the IRL made the wrong decision. The recent success of the Champ Car/ALMS weekend at Road America may signal a new approach for road course promoters. Several other road course venues have mixed IRL-CCWS events with Grand Am-ALMS races with some success. Its time to put the fractured open-wheel series on the same course, on the same weekend and see what happens. Promoted correctly, at a popular track like Mid-Ohio or RA, the weekend could go a long way toward helping open-wheel racing return to the motor sports mainstream. Watching the races on TV recently made me long for the days when most of screen was visible and not hidden by an endless stream of graphics. Time was in the early 1990s, that the World Cup soccer telecasts came under fire for daring to place the score in the corner of the screen-and this in a sport where the score rarely changes. Why cant we see the scoring ribbon every 20 laps or more often if theres been a series of pit stops. But do we have to know that Michael Waltrip is occupying 42nd place twice per lap? Spare us. With all of the recent mergers, associations, affiliations, etc., that have occurred in Nextel Cup Series racing lately, we wonder what the face of that series will look like ten years from now. If you think NASCAR has gone from its simple, southeastern US roots to a national corporate sport business today, think what itll be like in 2020. A NNCS crew chief said recently that its a sport only on Sunday and a business the other six days. Well said. Not that the IRL needs any more on its plate, but Back in the Day, when USAC controlled open wheel racing, the USAC stock car division was a viable circuit, second only to NASCAR. The series featured Indy drivers such as Bobby and Al Unser, Mario Andretti, AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones and Jim Hurtubise, often in Detroit-backed cars, competing against stock car regulars Tovella, Hartman, Bowsher, Stott, Nelson and White. Today, open wheel racing suffers from regular defections of its talented drivers to NASCAR. What if Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, JP Montoya, JJ Yeley, Dave Blaney, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Robby Gordon, Kasey Kahne and AJ Allmendinger had been able to stay in IRL stocks? I know that wouldnt be NASCAR with all of its money-earning chances, but the thought of an IRL stock car circuit is intriguing. Run at Milwaukee, Iowa, Chicago, Kansas, Memphis, Michigan, Kentucky, Nashville, Gateway and Indy Raceway Park and couple the event with the open-wheelers and see what happens.