July 22: On sports cars and Jeff Belskus

Question: Say it ain't so! Sports cars? At the first F1 race at Indy, they ran a Porsche race (Mario drove) and a Ferrari race. They were soooo slow compared to the F1 cars that it was downright tedious to watch. MotoGP was excellent and so are the Indy cars. NASCAR and sports cars should not be on the track at Indy! (Richard, Carlsbad, Calif.)

Answer: I've never thought a sports car race would work there, and I don't now. I asked Joie about the possibility and he didn't back down from it. Do I think it's a long shot? Absolutely. It has to make sense financially, and I can't imagine that it will. But it was a topic of yesterday's gathering. I listed several of the topics.

Question: Is the IRL looking to get back to either the Dover or Gateway speedways? Open-wheeler have raced at both before. They both are near major markets and another plus is they are not owned by SMI or ISC. So a win-win. (Rex, Port Ludlow, Wash.)

Answer: I don't see any scenario where the IRL returns to those tracks. Dover was a disaster. Not sure what happened with Gateway.

Question: Bourdais has been fired by Red Bull Toro Russo.Any rumors? (Nick, Greenwood, Ind.)

Answer: Rumors, but no facts. I just can't see it, personally, unless for some reason NHL can raise a ton of money. Seb doesn't have anything left to prove here except for winning the 500, and I keep hearing how much his family likes living in Europe.

Question: Is there any clear idea of how all the changes at the track will affect the MotoGP race in the future? How long is the current contract? It would be a shame for that series to leave a few years from now, as motorcycle road racing is one of the few areas where American athletes excel internationally. (Esteve, Los Angeles)

Answer: This is the second year of a three-year contract.

Question: It seems that Jeff Belskus is taking on a lot of different roles in IndyCar. Is this a good or bad thing that there are not other people in some of these positions? (Neil, Raleigh, N.C.)

Answer: I'm starting to think he's going to need help. Some of that will come from within in the form of Brian Barnhart and Terry Angstadt on the IRL end and various people at the Speedway, but he runs the risk of being spread too thin. There are only three people in at least vice president capacities currently at the Speedway (Fred Nation, Mel Harder and Chris Schwartz). I don't care what anyone says, Jeff is now doing jobs held by two people plus his own (in some form). That's a lot. Plus, he didn't come off as a good public speaker yesterday. The Speedway needs someone who can get in front of any crowd and talk up the track.

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