Michigan Warms to IndyCar

We can't imagine many citizens saw this coming. Bob Duff of the Windsor Star reports that Michigan International Speedway President Roger Curtis might be warming-up to IndyCar racing.

In recent years, Curtis has not pretended to have interest in bringing Indy cars back to MIS.

Will the IRL return to MIS some day soon? Well, we can hope. Curtis said he would consider a "proposal that makes sense." We doubt that the standard $1.2 million to $1.5 million IndyCar sanction fee would make much sense at Michigan International these days, given the IndyCar series' present value proposition. Roger Curtis is in the business of selling tickets and merchandise to consumers, few of whom have indicated interest in IndyCar's present roster of drivers.

Unless Terry Angstadt can dig up another corporate underwriter to cover the losses and guarantee that MIS covers its hurdle rate, then MIS and IndyCar will remain separated.

How many times must the Indy Racing League be thwarted by its overpriced racing product before it takes appropriate action? Isn't that what management is supposed to do? IRL Management, please quit talking about technology you can't afford. Hire engineers to design a safe and economically efficient driver compartment, distribute a schedule of design constraints, and tell the teams to begin building their new cars. Granted, most of the teams don't know how to manufacture cars, but they'll either figure it out or call their buddies in NASCAR for guidance.

Nevertheless, thank you, Roger Curtis. It's fun to recall our sport's proud history at Michigan International, and it's even more fun to imagine that it might return some day with a product that people want to see.

Roggespierre