Local IndyCar race may get black flag

Series' schedule shuffle could leave out Superspeedway

Email | Print By Geert De Lombaerde

Photo: Ron McQueeney, IRL

Open-wheel auto racing may be visiting Nashville Superspeedway for the last time when the Indy Racing League pulls into town next month.

According to recent speculation, the Firestone Indy 200 will be bumped from the IRL’s 2009 schedule as the league prepares to add new venues following its absorption of the former rival Champ Car World Series.

As part of the reunification of the two series early this year – they split in 1996 – the IRL added three former ChampCar events – Long Beach, Calif., Edmonton and Surfers Paradise in Australia. Another race in Toronto appears very likely to snag a spot on the ’09 schedule.

The merger also has produced a flurry of interest from track owners and promoters from Mexico to Oregon and New Hampshire, calling into question the future of several established oval races. Speed Channel’s Robin Miller earlier this month reported that the events in Nashville and Homestead, Fla., will not return in 2009.

IRL spokesman John Griffin said “it’s way too premature” to place odds on tracks making or missing next year’s lineup, which league officials plan to roll out by the end of July. Griffin said talks are underway with various tracks currently on the schedule as well as former ChampCar sites and circuits that were on neither series’ calendar.

“We’re trying to build a schedule that’s a one-of-a-kind,” Griffin said.

Speaking to NashvillePost.com in late May, Superspeedway Vice President and General Manager Cliff Hawks was confident his Gladeville facility will be on the calendar as it has been since 2001.

“This has been such a strong market for Indy cars,” he said at the time, noting the strong attendance in recent years, when crowds have neared 40,000. “When it comes, it is the event in the area. There’s not a lot to compete with” in mid-July.

In a voicemail today, Hawks reiterated those thoughts, adding that he and his team expect to begin contract talks with the IRL during race week.

Adding a wrinkle to the Nashville race’s future is the involvement of Firestone, whose parent company, Bridgestone Americas, is headquartered here. Firestone has been the title sponsor of the local race since 2002 and has in the past sponsored IndyCar races at other tracks.

But, as the IndyCar Series’ only tire supplier and one of its main marketing partners, the company also has broader factors to consider. Joe Barbieri, manager of Firestone Racing, said that, while his company contributes to schedule discussions, final decisions about where to race rest solely with IRL officials. He also said Firestone would not make having a Nashville race a condition for its involvement in the series.

“We’re so global with our different divisions and our retail presence that we can promote just about anywhere,” Barbieri said.

Nashville Superspeedway is owned by Dover Motorsports Inc. (Ticker: DVD), which also runs Dover International Speedway, Memphis Motorsports Park and Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis. The Nashville race is the company’s only open-wheel event.