SPARTA, Ky. — Things continue to look up for IndyCar in the wake of the unification of the two American open-wheel series.
Saturday’s Meijer Indy 300 will be the first sellout in nine visits to Kentucky Speedway by the IndyCars.
A capacity crowd of 66,098 is already assured, a testament perhaps to revived interest in open-wheel racing after the IRL and Champ Car merged in February. An additional 2,000 standing room only tickets will go on sale Saturday morning.
The yearly visit from NASCAR’s Nationwide Series normally packs the yellow-and-blue grandstand, with over 73,000 coming for this year’s June race won by Joey Logano.
The IRL’s elite series, however, hasn’t been quite as big a draw. The race has averaged just over 53,000 during its previous visits, with no crowd larger than 62,595.
The sellout for the IRL race is good news for Speedway Motorsports Inc., which is in the process of purchasing the track from the current ownership group. SMI president Bruton Smith said during a visit to the track in June that he doesn’t anticipate moving the IRL race and is looking forward to working with the league in the future. Smith is scheduled to be at the race on Saturday.
PAINFUL RETURN: Justin Wilson’s knees still hurt following a crash during testing at Kentucky last week. Yet the aches when he walks down the steps pale in comparison to the frustration of knowing his team’s brand new car was totaled in the wreck.
Wilson was nearing the end of his first test run on July 31 when a piece of the car’s suspension broke, sending him into the wall.
“Going back to the place where I just crashed a week ago is something I have never had to come across before on an oval,” said Wilson one of the nine drivers transitioning from Champ Car. “I’m sure we will get back up to speed pretty quick and I’ll gain my confidence back. We’ll push it to the limit and see what the McDonald’s car is capable of.”
The accident leaves the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team with little margin for error heading into the season’s final four races. Wilson and teammate Graham Rahal both have just one Dallara-Honda to get through the rest of the season.
Rahal is 10th in the points heading into the Kentucky race, while Wilson, coming off a season-best third-place finish at Edmonton on July 27, is 16th.
DANICA’S DENT: Danica Patrick could be racing in her backup car on Saturday after crashing during afternoon practice on Friday.
Patrick was entering the second turn when her car careened into the SAFER barrier on the 1.5-mile oval. She was unhurt, though the same couldn’t be said for her Andretti Green Racing car, which had to be carried off the track on the back of a tow truck.
“All of a sudden the front end just started lightly sliding up the track, and I tried to turn and it wouldn’t turn,” Patrick said. “I wasn’t able to put any steering in the front end of the car, so I don’t know.”
Patrick had been running well before the crash, posting the seventh-fastest lap in the session. It’s not the first time she’s had trouble in practice here. She collided with Vitor Meira while exiting the pits during practice before the 2006 race. She went on to finish eighth in that event.
TOUR de INDY? After signing a new TV deal that includes coverage on the Versus network — which has made a name for itself thanks to its wall-to-wall coverage of the Tour de France — maybe IndyCar should have the series leader start every race wearing a yellow jersey.
“I’ve seen what Versus has done for the Tour de France and if they do the same kind of job for us then I can only think it will be much better for the IRL,” said Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Racing. “(We) also welcome the financial and programming commitment Versus will make to tell the story about the drivers, teams and series to the public.”
The new deal, announced Thursday will allow Versus to carry at least 13 IndyCar races annually for the next 10 years. The move to Versus means ESPN will no longer carry IRL races on its domestic channels. Besides race-day coverage, Versus also will air a one-hour preview show the day before each race.
Five other races will be carried on ABC, including the Indy 500.
PLAY BALL: IndyCar rookie Hideki Mutoh thought racing cars at 200 mph was a pretty dangerous way to make a living. Then the Japanese driver watched Houston Astros second baseman Kaz Matsui stand in a batters box facing 90 mph fastballs.
Mutoh watched from behind the Astros’ dugout on Thursday as Matsui, who helped the Colorado Rockies make the World Series last year before joining the Astros, went 1-for-5 in Houston’s 7-4 victory.
“It was an amazing experience,” said Mutoh, currently seventh in the season standings behind Scott Dixon. “It was an emotional feeling for me.”
Earlier in the day Mutoh got a chance to show Matsui what it’s like to be behind the wheel, taking Matsui for a spin in the Indy Racing Experience two-seater.
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