Originally Posted by indycool
Good post, Chap, but I think some of that work has already been approached.
Cleveland/Houston -- The IRL met with Lanigan on these and they couldn't strike a bargain. Maybe it wasn't because of anything other than both events have been money losers.
Toronto -- AGR took it over, got Honda of Canada to support it and it makes financial sense now, so it's there.
Road America -- CART and CC treated the track so badly that its date wandered all over the calendar, Mario had to mediate a lawsuit to get the race held one year, CC wound up with a track rental, etc. It's probably a good move to wait a couple years and let the stain go away first. In any case, RA and the IRL briefly talked about it.
Laguna Seca -- CART took away Laguna's date, put it in June, attendance fizzled, put it back in September, the sizzle was gone, Laguna owed CART money, CC ditched it for San Jose, then CC ditched San Jose. Like Road America, it'd be rough going for awhile there. And the IRL has just signed another three-year deal with Infineon.
Fontana and Michigan -- Fontana, with its second NASCAR date, now has a scheduling problem because either spring or fall, it's too close to NASCAR for it, but I understand they actually want to work something out. Not the same with the GM at Michigan, who may have been trying to be a BMOC with ISC in Daytona, which may have been told it wouldn't work. That's probably why the IRL accepted Penske's proposal to go to Detroit. Don't think it's a matter of TG "swallowing pride" and running with Cup. No openings -- ARCA and the Nationwide Series run with Cup.
Time will tell as the schedule evolves over the next few years.