IndyCar may implement a post-season runoff

UPDATE #2 Mark Miles already finds himself at the center of IndyCar issues. He said two things have stirred fans and people in the sport: His interest in having lights at the Speedway and wanting IndyCar to have a playoff system. The latter, in particular, is just a thought he's had from afar, he said.

"A couple of people have written me and said, 'You idiot, why would we want to be like NASCAR?'" he said Thursday. "All we're doing is asking ourselves questions."

Miles spent 15 years as head of men's professional tennis, and he said that sport struggled to hold people's attention late in the season.

"Most great sports leagues have some form of culmination that moves the needle near the end of their season," he said. "While (IndyCar) has a championship and it gets some attention, I wonder whether there's a way to create more value and more interest for fans at the end of the year.

"That's kind of the question we're having right now."

Then he laughed.

"We are light years away from having a knockoff of the Sprint Cup," he said. "One of the things you don't want to do is take away from the importance of individual events." Indy Star

12/12/12 A reader writes, Dear AR1.com, Here we go with follow the leader, after the last two seasons of the title coming down to the final race why would you go to a chase format. NASCAR and NHRA both do it and it seems to take a lot away from the season for me, it’s like a manufactured yellow with ten laps to go. It doesn't get any better than the last two years. Be your own series and that will set you apart from the others. Jerry Marney, Topeka, KS

12/12/12 IndyCar fans will likely see schedule tweaks for the 2013 season, but in 2014, expect to see major changes including some type of post-season structure.

During an IBJ.com interview, new Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles mentioned the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup and NASCAR’s Chase for the Cup as models the series might mimic.