IndyCar race at PIR part of building process

Hopefully IndyCar won't look like a losing series in Phoenix tonight with mostly empty grandstands, but odds are it will

A crowd about the size of a Suns’ home game – 15,000 – is likely for Saturday night’s return of the Verizon IndyCar Series to Phoenix International Raceway after an 11-year absence.

“There’s been a lot of buzz about the event," said PIR President Bryan Sperber about the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix. “It’s a building process for us; it’s the first year of many. If we have an enthusiastic crowd and it feels like it’s resonating, I think that will be a winner."

Sperber said PIR is prepared for brisk walk-up ticket sales and added the track did “very well" in terms of corporate hospitality sales

“The measuring stick is we are committed enough to actually be in a business partnership," IndyCar CEO Mark Miles said.

“We’ll see how that works out. We don’t have a bottom line, fish or cut bait, on the future. I will never be part of coming to a place thinking we give it a one-year spin and see how it works." Michael Knight/AZcentral.com