Motorsports insiders think the Brickyard 400’s declining fortunes will hasten the Hulman-George family’s decision
on the future of the Indy Racing League, which the NASCAR race has helped subsidize.
The Lakeville-based company won a victory in the antitrust case brought by Pittsburgh-based Specialty Tires of America,
which objected to exclusive contracts for the supplying of racing tires.
Three days after witnessing the smallest Brickyard 400 crowd in the race's 17-year history, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
CEO Jeff Belskus said he intends to cut ticket prices for about 75 percent of fans at next year's race.
With Jamie McMurray's victory in the Brickyard 400 on Sunday, owner Chip Ganassi claimed the first
team triple crown
in American auto racing: winning the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year.
The win was huge for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, which this time last year was struggling to prove the team was stable and capable
of competing for wins. On Sunday, Chip Ganassi became the first team owner to win the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard
400 in the same season.
Financial terms of the deal were not released, but motorsports business experts said it was a six-figure deal.
An agreement with the International Motorsports Industry Show will keep it in the city indefinitely. Attendance for the three-day
December convention is expected to top 20,000.
Motorsports marketer Zak Brown, once a driver, feeds his competitive fire in the board room, and believes big egos are
good for business.
The racing company’s only operations outside of Italy could create more than 80 new jobs in the Indianapolis area.
Racing insiders say Dallara and Lola are frontrunners to become the new Indy Racing League chassis providers.
Avis will take an active role in promoting the series through e-mail campaigns, displays at select airports, and other large-scale
promotions, company officials said.
Ruling prevents industry-certification group from breaking contract with Brownsburg-based company founded by Bill Simpson.
New IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard needs to attract more fans as TV ratings slip and networks and sponsors get antsy. Izod,
in the first year of a six-year contract, hopes strategically deployed glitterati will help rev up interest.
India-based JPSK Sports Private Ltd. hired JMI to provide strategic consulting for the venue that will host the inaugural
Formula One Indian Grand Prix in 2011.
Franchitti’s earnings were part of an overall purse of $13,592,815. The paychecks were announced at the annual victory dinner
Monday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Two years removed from his failed try in NASCAR, the Scottish driver holds on with barely a gallon of fuel in the
tank. Meanwhile, the much-touted Penske team falls victim to its own blundering.
Formula One, which hasn’t conducted a U.S. race since 2007 in Indianapolis, plans to return to the United States in 2012 with
an event at a new track in Austin, Texas.
An overhaul of the Indianapolis 500 and Indy Racing League, possibly as soon as 2012, could take the legendary race back to
its roots as a bellwether of automotive innovation. Engine and chassis rules for the 500 might be greatly loosened, encouraging
the kind of technological innovation that made the race famous.
Race organizers, trying to save money and pump new life into Indy’s old qualifying format, have shaken up the status quo.
Just two years ago, the future seemed as bright for the Indy Racing League. But that was then. This is now.
