Nashville: in the crosshairs? (LAT photo)

Ovals are in the DNA of Indy cars and naturally there needs to be a half dozen or so (just like in CART's heyday) but IRL management must be selective. It took George a long time to learn that ISC was not his ally and hopefully he'll continue to weed out the weak sisters (can you say Kansas City and Chicagoland?) and add a Phoenix.

The IRL founder recently approached ISC about returning to Phoenix but was only offered a Thursday night date which could be good for TV but obviously not a way to get back that 1995 crowd of 64,000.

Terry Angstadt, president of the IRL's commercial division, and Tony Cotman, vice president of competition, are in Mexico City right now (along with T. George) to talk with promoters about the road course but they're also interested in looking at an 1.5-mile oval in Puebla, Mexico to possibly open the season (as early as February) someday.

Loudon, another racy layout for open-wheel cars now owned by Smith which drew 50,000 for the final CART race in 1995, is also back in the IRL's gunsights and Gossage said it was "60 percent" it could happen as soon as '09.

Richmond is a keeper because it's developed a nice little niche of some 40,000 and it's usually a darn good show. Milwaukee made a nice comeback this year and drew almost 30,000 and it remains a great test of drivers instead of an aerodynamic excercise like all those mile-and-a-half joints.

Iowa drew good, enthusiastic crowds last year but the track was a one-groover while Sparta, Kentucky remains on the ambivalent list. Are either of those better than returning to Michigan? Or Fontana?

Those are some of the decisions George & Company must make down the road.

We do know that Edmonton offers the speeds and passing of an oval, in addition to monstrous crowds (provided somebody gets Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani good rides) and it would be splendid to get that other airport circuit (Cleveland) back on the schedule.

In an ideal world, the 2011 schedule would look like this:

Road courses: Elkhart Lake, Mid-Ohio, Sonoma, Watkins Glen, Mexico City, St. Jovite or Montreal.

Street circuits: Long Beach, St. Pete, Surfer's Paradise, Edmonton, Toronto, Cleveland.

Ovals: Indy, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Richmond, Loudon, Texas and Michigan.

Gossage, bless his heart, reasoned that the IRL won the war because ovals ruled which, of course, is ludicrous. George simply outlasted Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe but he did learn a valuable, if not expensive, lesson about history.

For all its faults, frauds, phonies and failures, CART did understand what worked for a long time. Street races drew festive crowds for three days and impressed sponsors. Road courses were for the purists who camped out for the weekend. And ovals for the die-hards who were seduced by speed.

And it remains the only formula that can work for open wheel.



The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, SPEED, or Haymarket Worldwide.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED