IndyCar: Top Five Tracks to Fill Schedule Gaps

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Watkins Glen International has a rich tradition of open-wheel racing. Courtesy: Watkins Glen /

Watkins Glen International

The only Verizon IndyCar Series race currently scheduled for the month of August is the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. So, we’ve got an opportunity here to launch a new assault on the northeast portion of the United States. We’ll take the first week off for travel, but the weekend before the scheduled Pocono Race, we are returning to a track made for Indy Car racing. It’s Watkins Glen International.

CART ran at Watkins Glen from 1979 to 1981 and the Indy Racing League (and the unified IndyCar Series) held races there from 2005 to 2010. Watkins Glen also previously hosted the Formula One United States Grand Prix. It now hosts NASCAR-sanctioned races.

The idea here is to focus on drawing in race fans from the upper New York state area including Rochester and Syracuse, before running the series down into Pennsylvania for the Pocono race. This is another event where IndyCar’s promotional work will be key. The series would need to focus on both the New York and Pennsylvania markets, but make sure its efforts are spread equally without overlapping.

After the August 21 race at Pocono, the current Verizon IndyCar Series schedule has a week off before heading to the brand new Grand Prix of Boston. It makes sense to continue the northeast tour, so we’ll leave that alone.

Next: Heading Back to a Bullring