IndyCar Series officials announced Wednesday that the Aug. 19 race in Qingdao, China, has been canceled.
“We wanted to give the China race every opportunity to move forward and be successful, but IndyCar has been notified
by the promoter that the event is canceled for 2012,” IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard said in a prepared statement.
The promoter tried to move the race to a different date and location, Bernard said, but ultimately canceled the event. "A
decision had to be made to allow IndyCar and its participants to plan accordingly for the second half of the season,”
he said.
IndyCar announced plans for its inaugural race in China on Nov. 10, 2011. Bernard said the series is “not closing the
door” on opportunities for a future race in China.
This will be the first time in a decade the open-wheel series has not had a race in Asia. The series has raced in Motegi,
Japan, the last nine years.
The cancellation also means the series is running afoul of some of its sponsor agreements—including its title sponsorship
with Izod—that call for 16 races.
Bernard said the series is investigating a possible replacement event that will keep the schedule at 16 races.
“We are working with our promoters that host events in the second half of our calendar to keep them apprised of how
the date of a potential new race could impact our current schedule,” he said.
Some observers have speculated the series will try to hold a replacement race at Road America in Wisconsin or even on the
road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway or at Lucas Oil Raceway.
But as IBJ reported on its The Score blog Tuesday, those potential solutions aren't perfect.
For example, the series already is set to race in Milwaukee later this month, just a little more than an hour from the Road
America course in Elkhart Lake, and two races so close together likely would hurt attendance at both events.
Bernard on Wednesday would not reveal what options he was considering, but there is also talk that IndyCar could pick up
an event at Pocono Raceway or an Oct. 7 second stop at Texas Motor Speedway.
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What's the next shoe to drop? Milwaukee attendance and TV ratings failure? Yup...you realize they've jeopardized everything this year just to stay alive, right? More like in the red, still.
Stop wasting money on this series. It has been rejected as unacceptable to all but a very small group of people, numbering less than 250,000, according to some sources. Certainly the TV numbers and lackluster attendace at most events bare that out.
Save money.
Start anew in 2013 with a small, select group of self or co-promoted ovals. Three, four, tops. Plus focus on making the Indy 500 the great event it is. There is your future. Again, street parades and park play-races have been rejected. So have most ovals. The whohe thing has, accept Indy. You'll need a handful of races, not a series int he old sense, but more like support exhibitions here and there that are payign races, and sprinkle them through the Spring to Fall. Maybe buy Pikes. Gateway. Whatever.
IndyCar days as a big series are over. No models work. Just run Indy and those handful of smaller oval races here and there.
Get rid of this ugly car in the next season or two. Call up Offenhauser and apologize. Spec a basic Indy car chassis that current stock car, sprint car, Lights, NHRA, and sports car builders can do out of their shops. Invite to Indy.
Budget not to exceed $1 Million per season for any team.
Pikes. Gateway. Toss is a Cleveland GP as a "tiwsty" if you must. Maybe a Pocono. Maybe a Texas. TOPS. Five, six races with a decent purse. That is the future.
Trying to be all F1-glamour wannabee and America's Cup like has been vomited by the public.
Baltimore. Edmonton. Firestone Fast-Six. Girl Power racers. Tassle-loafered cool cats. It has all been rejected.
IndyCar racing is loud, fast, sophisticated, yes, but all nuts and guts.
You people refuse to accept the world viewpoint...and it is killing the sport. bump Day turned into Fill Day, just like the 2012 season is turning into find a track (any track) so they don't compromise the IZOD contract...even though IZOD wants out. Sad state of affairs....and Texas attendance was pitiful for a series that has an established fanbase in Texas for the past 14 years.
It would give those of us who actually enjoyed the F1 races a chance to see decent cars run on it again, and an opportunity for those who don't want to fight the crowds & traffic of the 500 a chance to see OUR series locally.
Let's see: No sanction fees, over-charging owners for parts, selective rules enforcement, selective engine rules, ugly car, no car kits for 2013, fines, owners taking over failing races as promoters, Las Vegas, non-existent TV ratings, lower attendances, fans frustrated, cars have less HP than pace cars, IZOD wants out, Mike Kelly not getting 300% ROI, website stinks, no practice qualifying or race streaming, Lotus cars can't even start races...now the humiliating CHINESE race CANCELLED.
YES! This is the direction I want the series to head in. This is VIBRANT stuff! Give Randy a RAISE for all his hard work. I seriously haven't seen a marketing effort or any advertising of races or anything anywhere. PATHETIC. Stick a fork in it? Naaah, it's been done since 1996...folks are just coming around to realize that.
Wanna say, go ahead and cancel the series too, because it is stinks of poo.