SurfaceUnits
08-12-13, 09:56 PM
The upcoming MotoGP motorcycle race could be the last at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as NASCAR officials lobby instead for a stand-alone race for a newly merged sports-car series.
NASCAR executive Jim France this summer approached Speedway officials about holding its sports-car event currently staged the same weekend as the Brickyard 400 as a stand-alone event, motorsports sources said.
Mark Miles Miles
Losing the MotoGP would be a big blow to the local economy, said Chris Gahl, spokesman for Visit Indy, the city’s tourism arm.
“That event brings in an international and white-collar crowd,” Gahl said, a crowd that spends easily in excess of $10 million.
But hosting a sports-car event could wind up a bigger coup for the city and Speedway than the marginally profitable MotoGP race, given that NASCAR recently rolled the American Le Mans Series into its Grand Am Series to form the United Sports Car Series that will kick off in 2014.
“With the merger, this series is one on the rise. It has really good, close racing, cool cars and heavy involvement from [car] manufacturers,” said Zak Brown, founder of Just Marketing International, a Zionsville-based motorsports marketing firm that represents a number of the world’s biggest motorsports sponsors. “You want to talk about a sought-after demographic—this series will have it.”
High-end manufacturers such as Porsche, Ferrari, BMW and Mazda are expected to be involved in the merged series, NASCAR officials said, while the likes of Audi and Aston Martin are considering joining.
NASCAR executive Jim France this summer approached Speedway officials about holding its sports-car event currently staged the same weekend as the Brickyard 400 as a stand-alone event, motorsports sources said.
Mark Miles Miles
Losing the MotoGP would be a big blow to the local economy, said Chris Gahl, spokesman for Visit Indy, the city’s tourism arm.
“That event brings in an international and white-collar crowd,” Gahl said, a crowd that spends easily in excess of $10 million.
But hosting a sports-car event could wind up a bigger coup for the city and Speedway than the marginally profitable MotoGP race, given that NASCAR recently rolled the American Le Mans Series into its Grand Am Series to form the United Sports Car Series that will kick off in 2014.
“With the merger, this series is one on the rise. It has really good, close racing, cool cars and heavy involvement from [car] manufacturers,” said Zak Brown, founder of Just Marketing International, a Zionsville-based motorsports marketing firm that represents a number of the world’s biggest motorsports sponsors. “You want to talk about a sought-after demographic—this series will have it.”
High-end manufacturers such as Porsche, Ferrari, BMW and Mazda are expected to be involved in the merged series, NASCAR officials said, while the likes of Audi and Aston Martin are considering joining.