Wild Idea for an Indy Lights Venue: Cooper Park Complex

Here's a proposed new oval speedway that's getting lots of buzz here in Central Ohio: the Cooper Park Complex. With it's easy access to the interstate and state-of-the-art facilities, wouldn't this be a great (if not downright wild) venue for Indy Lights?

When the Columbus Clippers baseball team moved downtown into their tony new ballpark, it opened the door for the Cooper Park concept on the site of the old Cooper Stadium. Looks like the proposed track will be a 1/2 mile bullring, with perfect banking for Indy Lights.

The proposal appears to feature a large parking garage and several restaurants with fake names but which are obvious stand-ins for a Rally's, Olive Garden, and a Quaker Steak 'n' Lube. There's also a Marriott Suites, although I'm not sure who wants a room overlooking a race track in this town.

Jeff Gordon Inc. is a partner on the project, and they seem to be downplaying the noise factor in order to get past city counsel. This may be a tough sell, but the proposed Automotive Research and Technology Center may bring in a few jobs that would be tough for the city to pass up.

Check out the video -- I suggest skipping the first 45 seconds, it's unnecessary. :)



Will we see Indy Lights at Jeff's new playground? Unlikely, but it's fun to dream.

It's Time to Shorten The Month of May

Yes, I know. I've committed Indy 500 heresy. Summon the ghost of Hulman and purify me with ethanol.

But as we all sit around with no activity on the track on this gorgeous 70-degree Tuesday, we owe it to ourselves to ask: do we really need 20 days to run the Indy 500?

Just take a look at the track schedule, which is empty for yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We have two days off next week too. Couldn't we focus the attention of the racing world a little better if the action went for, say, 15 days without abatement?

Here's my proposed schedule for the 2010 Indianapolis 500 that cuts out the empty days and adds more days of practice to boot:

• Fri May 14: Centennial Era Balloon Festival.
• Sat May 15: Centennial Era Balloon Festival.
• Sun May 16: Rookie Orientation.
• Mon May 17: Track opens for practice.
• Tue May 18: Practice.
• Wed May 19: Practice.
• Thu May 20: Practice.
• Fri May 21: Fast Friday.
• Sat May 22: Pole Day Qualifying.
• Sun May 23: 2nd Day Qualifying / Coke Zero Music Festival.
• Mon May 24: Bump Day Qualifying / Armed Forces Day.
• Tue May 25: Indy Lights Practice (Rain Day Indycar Qualifying).
• Wed May 26: Festival Community Day / Indy Lights Practice.
• Thu May 27: Indy Lights Qualifying.
• Fri May 28: Indy Lights Freedom 100 / Miller Lite Carb Day
• Sat May 29: Festival Parade, Public Drivers Meeting, Autograph Session
• Sun May 30: Indy 500

It's just a first draft, and I'm sure I left something off. I'm sure those living in Indianapolis would love for the festivities to draw on as long as possible, but packing all the fun into two weeks just might entice some visitors to stay for a week. Or two.

(Photo Credit: Humane Society of Indianapolis)

The Truth: Speed DOES Matter

When TracksideOnline nails it, they nail it. An except of a recent email received via their (fantastic) subscription service, talking about the Firestone Indylights Series:

"...there are 26 cars practicing for this year's Freedom 100 with JR Hildebrand the early leader in the session at 191.575 miles per hour. Not that it matters but the qualifying record for IMS in a Sprint Cup NASCAR stock car belongs to Casey Mears at 186.293 mph, 48.311 seconds, Aug. 7, 2004."

While many NASCAR fans smugly declare that even the second-tier Nationwide outdraws the Indycar Series, it's worth pointing out that on the track our second-tier series can flat-out demolish the Cup cars.

Those guys can have the crowds. We'll take the speed.