IndyCar Dumps Nashville
The Indy Racing Series leaving Nashville Superspeedway.
Both sides have failed to negotiate an agreement for a 2009 race. Track officials made the announcement Monday.
The IndyCar Series had raced here the past eight years, including July 12 when Scott Dixon won a rain-shortened race.
The superspeedway is owned by Dover Motorsports, Inc., which had stopped running IRL races at its tracks in Delaware and St. Louis.
Nashville had been the only concrete track on the IRL circuit, and drivers had been unhappy with the difficulty of passing on the 1.33-mile oval.
Probably not for 2009, but for 2010 this may mean Indy will race at the 2.38-mile road course at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.
By leaving Nashville, the IRL is gone from the Southeast. Barber would restore a race in that region. Plus, it is just down the road from a major Honda assembly plant.