IRL still covets Southern California

As the IRL's season finale drew near this weekend, an underlying theme became clear: Don't count out California Speedway just yet.

One of the most surprising and controversial aspects of the league's disclosure last month of the 2006 schedule was the absence of California Speedway, a part of the IRL calendar since 2002. IRL president and chief operating officer Brian Barnhart hinted Saturday that California might be back on the schedule in 2007.

"I'm confident that we will be back in this market in 2007," Barnhart said. "We want to keep an open mind and an open dialogue and do what we can to get back in this market in 2007. — there are hurdles to overcome." More at SPEEDTV.com