IndyCar says talks are ongoing regarding Mile
INDIANAPOLIS – Although there’s no plan at this time for IndyCar to return to a track once a staple of the sport, the Milwaukee Mile remains very much on the radar, the head of the company that owns the series said Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Mark Miles, president and chief executive officer of Penske Entertainment Corp., said there have been “ongoing discussions” about the possibility, reiterating what he has said previously.
The century-old oval at State Fair Park hosted 114 Indy-style championship races sanctioned by AAA, USAC, CART, Champ Car and IndyCar, many of them following Indy by a week.
Over the last few decades, various promoters tried and were unable to run a profitable IndyCar event. The track has not had one in eight years.
Illinois-based Track Enterprises has brought national-level racing back this year with a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race scheduled for Aug. 27. It had previously promoted races for Midwest Tour super late models and ARCA national series stock cars. Bob Sargent, president of Track Enterprises, has indicated interest in IndyCar or other series if the deal is right.
Michael Andretti, who won five races at the Mile as a driver and another five as a team owner, promoted IndyCar Series races at the Mile from 2012-15, but grew frustrated by low fan turnout.
Still, Miles said he was not surprised that someone would try again.
“No, there’s a great history there, and people aren’t forgetting that,” Miles said at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, two days before the Indianapolis 500.
“The track is special and is being improved, so that’s critical. We look forward to ovals, and so it has that to speak for it. So no, I’m not the least bit surprised.”
A list of projects approved in December by the State Building Commission included nearly $3 million for improvements at the track to be paid for with funds from State Fair Park, the state and private fundraising. Work has begun to repair and add SAFER barriers, the steeland-foam wall coverings that lessen the impact of a crash and to even the transition from asphalt to dirt in places around the track.
Milwaukee has been popular with drivers for its history and for the challenge its long, flat corners present.
“I would love if we could go back to the Milwaukee Mile in addition to Road America (in Elkhart Lake),” two-time series champion Josef Newgarden said, unprompted, Thursday. “That would warm my heart.”