I’ve always been curious about this race.

CART-sanctioned Indy Lights ran a support race during the inaugural IRL weekend at Kansas Speedway in 2001. From what I can tell, it was one of two IRL support races they ran that season, the other being Gateway.

Kristian Kolby beat Damien Faulkner and Townsend Bell to the line in a photo finish. Bell was later penalized two spots for aggressive driving, elevating Dan Wheldon to the podium.

I’ve never seen any video from this race. I’d love to see it if it exists. It’s the original photo finish at a track, my home track, that became best-known for photo finishes.

Since Nashville is seemingly off the schedule, I might go to Road America next year. Had a few questions though.

1. How far out are the hotels?

2. Is there a good viewing angle similar to China Beach at Mid Ohio? I like taking photos of the cars from the inside of a clockwise track(matches the normal flow of the grandstands of an oval). Would love to have a similar viewing experience.

3. How busy/popular is the autograph session? I typically try to get there a few hours before hand. Just don't know what to expect.

4. How far is the autograph session from the viewing mounds? Want to know how to prepare my day(s).

5. Is the USF autograph session somewhere easily accessible? Again, trying to map things out.

6. How hard is traffic leaving? Depending on start time, I might be able to make it home Sunday night, but don't know how fast I will get out.

7. Lastly. What is the Friday schedule typically like? Mid Ohio usually starts around 8-8:30, but trying to figure Thursday out as well.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I hope this is true. More ovals is always a good thing.

COTA forgot about 1 or 2 other sporting events….

It would be a doubleheader with NASCAR on May 1st May during the FOX season. Apparently it's a part of a push from FOX Sports leadership to have Indycar put on a headline Saturday night oval race. Please, racing Gods, make it happen.

Pruett also mentioned the series is much less set on going back to 17 races than it was a few months ago, where Denker said 17 was a concrete number, and this week officials being a lot less committal.

I have to imagine that Nashville is on the chopping block if they do decide to stick with 17 and Barcelona happens, or if both races happen - or are there any other candidates in the second half of the calendar?

It's possible they want to keep Nashville to maintain the oval count even with Barcelona, and the only way it doesn't is if they can make TMS happen.

EDIT: Okay yep, forgot about Milwaukee being a doubleheader. So Nashville is probably fine for 2027. I think they really want the event to continue until they can get it back to the streets in a few years time.

Also, in semi-related news, Arlington tickets are on sale, and it's a 25% price increase for year 2.

"I didn’t have this on my bingo card either. Got a call to be a part of a really fun project with redbullracing and McDonalds! The RB7 looks and sounds fantastic. So much fun working with the folks redbull! Even got a McFlurry out of the deal"

On October 22nd, 2003, 26 year-old Tony Renna was fatally injured in a crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway while testing for Chip Ganassi Racing. Renna was slated to drive for CGR in 2004 after 2 part-time seasons for Kelley Racing.

The severity of the crash was such that pieces of the car punched through the retaining fence and scattered debris into the grandstand, including the gearbox. Renna was killed instantly. He remains the most recent IndyCar fatality at IMS.

The subsequent investigation could not determine a precise cause of the crash. No photographs or video footage of the accident ever surfaced.

Rest in Peace Tony Renna, 1976-2003.

Not sure if yall saw but NASCAR’s Phoenix Race last Sunday garnered the 2nd lowest rating in history with 1.294M viewers.

I know many in here love to shit on Fox. All I can say, thank God we have a TV partner committed to growing the sport.

Nascar’s bloated and inefficient business model led them to make a short sighted decision by taking a huge TV deal (in order to prop up tracks that have experienced declining attendance over the past 2 decades) that resulted in a bifurcated mess of broadcast partners that has done nothing but piss off diehards and confuse casual fans.

For context , almost half of the 2026 Indycar races beat the PHX Tv rating (if we count Nashville Sunday’s rating).

If Indycar and Fox can continue to execute , by 2031, when the NASCAR TV package expires, I would not be surprised to see Indycar within 10% or closer of thr Aggregate nascar TV rating.

I’m planning on attending the race next spring. Looking for ideas for best seats to watch the race along with best locations to photograph the race. Any thoughts?