IRL News - Daytona To Join 2008 Calendar05/10/2006
Daytona International Speedway is a legendary racetrack, but it is not a venue you associate with single seater racing. But that could change very soon.
The IRL IndyCar Series ran a two-day test there on the 2.73-mile road course this week to assess its viability - first as a test venue, and then potentially as a race venue for 2008.
The 10 turn course is different from the one used for the Daytona 24 Hours, but it still includes the famous - and daunting – high-banked corners which host the Daytona 500.
The test also allowed teams a chance to test and gain insight to Honda's 3.5 litre V8, powered by 100 percent ethanol fuel.
Four IRL IndyCar champions - Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon, Sam Hornish, Scott Dixon, as well as Vitor Meira and rookie of the year Marco Andretti (above) attended the test, and they also checked out Bridgestone/Firestone's Firehawks tires on the mixture of high speed, high-banked oval and twisty road course.
Andretti Green Racing's Kanaan loved the experience and gave it the thumbs up. "I have to say that going through that banking in an IndyCar is very, very impressive. The most fun I’ve ever had! We want to race here," he said.
"I'm very impressed with the fans that have come out," he added. "It's been a busy last couple of days for us as far testing and hosting the fans and the media. But it's been very positive.
"We definitely want to race here. We're just racecar drivers. If you give us a car and racetrack, we're going to race. Working together with the IRL and the drivers, we can push to make it happen."
Brian Barnhart, president and COO of the Indy Racing League (the sanctioning body of the IndyCar Series) and Daytona International Speedway president Robin Braig didn't quell the potential of a race as soon as 2008 but also didn't quench Kanaan's thirst.
"I remember back when the NASCAR cars ran at the (Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1992)," Braig said. "Having the IRL at Daytona, especially the way it has been growing is exciting. Any time you can see a Penske or a Chip Ganassi transporter pull into the track, it's exciting. That Sam Hornish Jr. and some of the other drivers are here shows this is a serious deal on the racing side."
"Obviously, I'm an avid fan of the Daytona 500 and understand the tradition and history of that venue," 2005 IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon said. "It's a race that I'm very passionate about. I think everybody in England - and the world -- knows that Daytona International Speedway is associated with NASCAR and the Daytona 500.
"To be here in an IndyCar, I think for the drivers it's fantastic because there's that history I think everybody respects," he added. "I think the people at the track do everything to accommodate the different sanctioning bodies and races that come to this venue. "I think it's a race that everybody wants to do."
