NASCAR Cup Series

Milwaukee Mile could return to IndyCar

Published Aug. 29, 2010 4:39 a.m. ET

foxsports

One of the country's most historic tracks might be making a comeback, with IndyCar officials talking to potential promoters about putting the Milwaukee Mile back on the schedule.

Milwaukee could replace Chicagoland Speedway as an IndyCar venue, although it remains unclear whether a deal can be put together for next season - and, if so, when the reconstituted race would be held.

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said before Saturday night's race at Chicagoland that ''several'' promoters are interested in bringing the series back to Milwaukee.

''I want that event bad,'' Bernard said.

The track withdrew from hosting major racing events this year after previous track promoters ran into financial problems and the Wisconsin State Fair Park board of directors could not find a suitable replacement.

The Mile began hosting auto racing events in 1903, and has held IndyCar and the NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck series in recent years. It is most closely linked to Indy-style racing, traditionally hosting a race the weekend after the Indianapolis 500.

''I think that we have a tremendous fan base that feels like we left them behind, and I think that this is a step forward to make sure tradition stays a part of IndyCar,'' Bernard said.

At this point, Bernard doesn't seem to be counting on any financial help from the state of Wisconsin.

''The state would like to help us,'' Bernard said. ''The state's in a pickle in their own mind. I never want to be a parasite to any state. I don't think that's fair to the state, (and) I don't think it looks good upon IndyCar. But it has to be viable. So right now, we're trying to figure out how we make this event viable with what we have to work with.''

Bernard also has held meetings with representatives from track ownership group International Speedway Corp. about IndyCar's future at Chicagoland, but he didn't sound optimistic on Saturday.

''ISC has their primary objectives and IndyCar has their primary objectives, and I'm not sure if we're all on the same page right now,'' Bernard said. ''But we still have a great relationship with ISC going forward, and we're still trying to figure out what that would be.''

Chicagoland is moving its NASCAR Sprint Cup series race to September to kick off the season-ending championship Chase next year, making it unlikely that the track would host another major event in late August.

And given the proximity of the markets, Bernard isn't sure the IndyCar series needs to be in the Chicago area and Milwaukee.

''It would most likely be Chicago or Milwaukee possibly,'' Bernard said. ''I mean, I don't know if we need both.''

The full 2011 IndyCar schedule could be announced in the next few weeks.

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BRISCOE SLIPS: Ryan Briscoe dominated the first half of Saturday's race and wound up leading 113 laps on the night. But the Team Penske driver said he lost a few spots on the final round of pits stops and finished 11th.

''That was a wild night,'' Briscoe said. ''The Team Penske car was great running out front and I was able to run fast on my own. After that last stop, we lost a little track position. I tried everything that I could, but my car was just not as good in traffic.''

Briscoe had a frightening crash at Chicagoland early in his career, but it is turning out to be one of his best tracks. He came into the weekend as the defending race winner, then took pole position in qualifying on Friday - this third straight pole at the track.

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CAR CONCERNS: Bernard was dealing with other issues Saturday, meeting with IndyCar team owners to listen to concerns about the series' long-term switch to a new chassis design.

''I think that when you invest this type of money into a series, every one of these team owners have millions and millions of dollars invested,'' Bernard said. ''They have sponsors, they have drivers, they have fan bases. ... Combine all those factors, you're going to get a tremendous amount of emotion and passion, and I expect this.''

Team owner Dennis Reinbold said owners are committed to working with IndyCar on their concerns, many of which are related to what it will cost to run the new chassis.

''There's a lot of concern from the owners that we've got a shot here to really build our series and keep the momentum going, so we wanted to get our heads together,'' Reinbold said.

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SPARK PLUGS: James Hinchcliffe won the Indy Lights series race on Saturday afternoon while wearing a lighthearted good luck charm on his racing shoes. One shoe had the word ''stop'' written in marker on a small piece of duct tape, and the other said ''go.'' ... Bernard is scheduled to take a trip to Europe, meeting with several automakers and other automotive industry companies about the possibility of participating in the series down the road.