IRL eyes European races

UPDATE #2 We hear that it is fairly definite the IRL will race in Portugal next year, we assume at Estoril.

07/10/07 According to AutoRacing1.com sources, the IRL is very close to announcing a deal that will see the IndyCars racing in Europe. Does this surprise us? No, because the IRL game plan all along has been to copy everything CART and now Champ Car does. In the later case the goal is to marginalize Champ Car by offering a competing product that provides essentially the same product. Recall all those statements from the IRL side that their sponsors were from the USA and it did not make any sense for them to race in Europe or overseas.

03/25/07 Recall Brian Barnhart’s recent comment about a possible Indy Car race in Portugal. The IRL has clearly tried to copy everything about CART and Champ Car it could in an effort to kill off the rival series by mimicking its business plan. In recent years the IRL has added street and road courses and even bolstered its Indy Pro Series by significantly increasing its purse payout, not unlike Champ Car. That game plan, to marginalize their enemy, continues today.

In an interview with USA Today reporters Tony George said he and his top executives are thinking about adding a couple of non-points overseas races in Europe in the fall sometime in the future. This comes after Champ Car announced it would race in Europe later this year.

"I think there's a case to be made if the right opportunities come, if it's good for the sponsors, if it's good for the teams, if it's good for IndyCar racing in general to do a couple of offshore races," he said.

"We could do a couple of races in the mid-September to end of November time frame. We're just looking for the right way to package it. It's conceptually something that I've given consideration to, but nothing has been set in stone."

"I think we could add a race or two, as long as they're the right one or two. We have opportunities for new events in new markets," he said. "There's interest from new sponsors, which means healthy teams and a growing series. All those things will start to fall into place and will require strong leadership."