Indycar heading to Alabama, but return to historic venue in Milwaukee in doubt

As the 2010 Indycar schedule continues to come together, at least one new event is confirmed - Indycar is heading to Alabama in April.

Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham is a first-class facility and several hundred turned out for a test session prior to the 2009 season, proving there is fan interest. The track also draws a good crowd for the Rolex Grand-Am cars, as well as good racing.

But while Alabama celebrates, there is growing doubt that The Milwaukee Mile will return next year to host any kind of racing, let alone keep it's traditional post-Indy 500 date. Also in doubt is a possible return to New Hampshire. I have to applaud the efforts of this year's Milwaukee Mile promoter, Claude Napier through Wisconsin Motorsports, which brought large crowds to the Indycar race with great ticket prices and incentives (like a section of grandstand that offered ticket-holders all the beer and brauts they could stomach). But, unfortunately, what Wisconsin Motorsports couldn't produce was the revenue to cover the bills and now it would take a miracle to bring the race back.

New Hampshire is still waiting to see if it will get an Indycar race in 2010 - right now it's best "hope" to get a date is if Milwaukee drops off the schedule.

"With the doubt at Milwaukee, with the promoter being taken out of power there, and the uncertainty that surrounds the Milwaukee Fairgrounds, I made a call back and expressed interest in that date if that was an option as well," Jerry Gappens, New Hampshire International Speedway's vice president and general manager told the Concord Monitor. "They communicated back that they're working on it, and they appreciated our interest. So there's still dialogue going on, and there's still hope of trying to bring them to New Hampshire for 2010.

"I'd rather be there then, than not on the schedule at all."

Gappens said he didn't want to come across as "a buzzard circling Milwaukee," and he hopes the track finds a way out of its fiscal trouble. He also expects the IRL to exhaust all options before giving up on the place. But he does present himself a track that would make a logical replacement for the Wisconsin site if it can't get things straightened out.

Indycar is also looking to start its season in Brazil next year. One thing is for certain, when the final 2010 schedule is announced Aug. 1, expect it to look a lot like the Indycar season of the mid-90s with an almost even mix of ovals, road courses and street races. Sometimes all that is "old" is new again...