IRL releases its 2007 IndyCar schedule

So much for talk of having the IRL be part of the NASCAR Busch Series weekend in Montreal. The IndyCars will be at Michigan Int'l Speedway that weekend.

From IndyCar:

(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.) -- With the confirmation of Michigan International Speedway on the schedule, Indy Racing League officials have completed a 17-race schedule for the 2007 IndyCar® Series season, featuring the most diverse championship in all of motorsports.

The schedule, which will have races on 12 ovals, three on permanent road courses and two on temporary street circuits, includes every venue which hosted the IndyCar Series in 2006 plus new events at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio and the Raceway at Belle Isle near Detroit.

“The 2007 schedule is clearly the most diverse schedule in IndyCar Series history and one of the most diverse in motorsports today,” said Brian Barnhart, president and chief operating officer for the Indy Racing League, sanctioning body for the IndyCar Series. “The schedule offers night races, short ovals, speedways, street courses and road courses with each track offering its unique personality that should produce exciting racing.”

Each IndyCar Series event will be televised nationally by ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The 2007 television schedule will include seven events on ABC, five on ESPN and five on ESPN2.

“We are pleased to once again bring the speed and excitement of IndyCar Series racing to the viewers of ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 in 2007,” said John Wildhack, senior vice president of programming and acquisitions for ESPN. “This will be our 43rd year at the Indianapolis 500 and our 12th with the IndyCar Series. We look forward to more of the close competition and thrilling races that this series is famous for.”

For the sixth consecutive season, Homestead-Miami Speedway will serve as host for the season opener, but for the first time, IndyCar Series teams begin the season under the lights with a prime-time race scheduled for Saturday, March 24.

The race is one of five prime-time races on the schedule joining races at Texas Motor Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Nashville Superspeedway and Kentucky Speedway as events held under the lights.

“We are committed to continuing the compacted schedule we introduced in 2006 with 17 races scheduled in a 25-week period, including the Month of May at Indianapolis and the two-week lead time for the event at Twin Ring Motegi,” Barnhart said. “In completing the schedule we achieved our two primary goals of returning to all of the venues that were on our 2006 calendar while adding three events to the schedule, and we truly appreciate the efforts made by all of the tracks on our schedule allowing the IndyCar Series to maximize the potential of its 2007 schedule.”

Chicagoland Speedway again will host the season finale on Sunday, Sept. 9. It will mark the second consecutive season that 1.5-mile oval will host the season finale. The 91st Indianapolis 500 is slated for May 27. Other highlights on the 2007 schedule include:

· The IndyCar Series’ stop at Kansas Speedway moves to April 29 giving the IndyCar Series an extra event prior to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 2002 while allowing the Kansas Speedway to offer fans a cooler springtime date rather than a hot, humid July date.

· The Milwaukee Mile event moves to June 3, one week after the Indianapolis 500, resurrecting a tradition that began in 1946. From 1947-1995, The Milwaukee Mile traditionally hosted the cars and drivers of the Indianapolis 500 in the weeks following the 500-Mile race. Eight drivers have been able to pull the Indianapolis-Milwaukee double, including four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt, for whom the IndyCar Series race is named. In addition to Foyt, many Indianapolis 500 champions have competed at The Mile, including every Indianapolis 500 winner since 1946, with the exception of 1966 “500” winner Graham Hill.

· With Kansas’ shift, the historic 3.37-mile road course at Watkins Glen International will have its third date in as many years, July 8, but the Fourth of July weekend has always been the track’s preferred choice for the IndyCar Series event with the intent to make the weekend a mid-summer institution.

· Michigan International Speedway will move from its traditional July weekend to August 5 allowing the IndyCar Series to reach its intended goal of 17 events.

The ESPN alliance dates back to the league’s inaugural 1996 event with ABC’s’ first broadcast of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race in 1965, a relationship that is the second-longest in sports between a network and sports property.

The complete 2007 IndyCar Series schedule follows:

Date // Venue
March 24 // Homestead-Miami Speedway, 1.5-mile oval (Night)

April 1 // Streets of St. Petersburg, 1.8-mile street course

April 21 // Twin Ring Motegi, 1.5-mile oval

April 29 // Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile oval

May 27 // Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2.5-mile oval

June 3 // The Milwaukee Mile, 1-mile oval

June 9 // Texas Motor Speedway, 1.5-mile oval (Night)

June 24 // Iowa Speedway, .875-mile oval

June 30 // Richmond International Raceway, .75-mile oval (Night)

July 8 // Watkins Glen International, 3.37-mile road course

July 14 // Nashville Superspeedway, 1.33-mile oval (Night)

July 22 // Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, 2.258-mile road course

Aug. 5 // Michigan International Speedway, 2-mile oval

Aug. 11 // Kentucky Speedway, 1.5-mile oval (Night)

Aug. 26 // Infineon Raceway, 2.4-mile road course

Sept. 2 // The Raceway at Belle Isle, 2.096-mile street course

Sept. 9 // Chicagoland Speedway, 1.5-mile oval