Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Maybe They Could Come Back To Las Vegas

From ESPN:  The IndyCar race in China on Aug. 19 was officially canceled Wednesday, and series CEO Randy Bernard must find another event for the second half of the season.
Bernard had been working with promoters in Qingdao the last several months to salvage the race, which was announced last November to run at the same time as the International Beer Festival. The inaugural race would have been held on a temporary 3.87-mile street circuit in the city that hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics sailing competition.
Despite an existing contract, new leadership in local government balked at the IndyCar race. Discussions began with IndyCar about moving the event to a new date or new location.
When faced with a deadline, Bernard said Wednesday event promoters canceled the race....
He did not reveal what he's considering, but there's speculation IndyCar could pick up Pocono Raceway or an Oct. 7 second stop at Texas Motor Speedway.
There are other intriguing venues that Bernard can't negotiate with just yet because they are located in non-compete mileage restrictions with existing IndyCar venues. For example, if Bernard was interested in a return to Elkhart Lake, he could not speak to those promoters until after this weekend's race at Milwaukee.
Bernard also indicated that the Sept. 15 race at Fontana may not be the season finale. The race picked up that slot when Las Vegas was canceled following Dan Wheldon's fatal accident at that track, but Bernard may need to schedule something after Fontana as a replacement for China.  http://espn.go.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/8046639/indycar-race-set-aug-19-china-canceled
The Indy Car's still have a contract with Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in fact, they had a 3 year contract and last year was just year 1.
The death of Dan Wheldon, while tragic, the same kind of accident could be prevented if they do some simple things.  First, limit the number of drivers- last year they had 34 cars in the field, more than the Indy 500 or any other race last year.
Second, hold the race at night, when the track will be cooler and less slick.
Finally, the new Indy Car design should prevent the type of accident that happened last year.
Yes, the Wheldon accident was tragic but you have to start over.  The Indianapolis Speedway has numerous deadly accidents to both drivers and fans and they never stopped going there.  They just tried to make the race safer.
Did NASCAR stop going to Daytona after Dale Earnhardt Sr. died?  Of course not, they made car and track safer.
So, bring back the Indy car race to Las Vegas.  It will be well worth it for Indy Car because Las Vegas can hold big events on the spur of the money compared  to other cities and it will be well attended.
So, Izod Indy Cars, come back to Las Vegas, if only to fulfill your contract to the people of Las Vegas.

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