The IndyCar Series and International Speedway Corp. have come to an agreement: They don't need each other.
That's how it appears from two strange press releases sent out on the 2011 IndyCar schedule, which doesn't include any ISC track.
The funniest spin on the situation came from Homestead-Miami Speedway president Matthew Becherer in a release to the media Friday.
The release stated that the 2011 IndyCar Series business objectives did not align with HMS. Translation: Sanctioning fee's too high.
ISC, which is controlled by the France family (owners of NASCAR), obviously feels playing host to IndyCar events isn't worth what it costs to stage the races. And IndyCar officials are tired of going to ISC tracks with mostly empty seats.
Becherer also said Homestead is "hosting 280-plus events a year, so it's imperative that we make sound business decisions."
Yes, let's not clog that overburdened track calendar with an IndyCar race.
Hmmm? The track has 280 "events" a year? A quick check of the HMS Web site shows those events include the Pineapple Gala and the Penguin Racing School. No, I don't think there are any penguins in South Florida.
Obviously, I'm having some fun at Homestead's expense, but the release was politically correct PR at its best.
The release closes with this statement by Becherer about the 2010 IndyCar season finale on Oct. 2: "We can't wait to welcome IndyCar superstars. Rest assured we'll give them every effort to put on a heck of a show."
And after that, see ya.
And speaking of odd releases, the IndyCar Series (don't call it the IRL; that's now a no-no) sent out its 2011 schedule announcement without saying where it would compete in the final race.
It was TBA on the release. Stay tuned, folks. As far as our championship event goes, we'll get back to you.
IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said Friday he hopes the finale happens at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a Speedway Motorsports track of racing mogul Bruton Smith. But Bernard wouldn't rule out the possibility of ending the 2011 season at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
Fontana? That's an ISC track. So IndyCar might meet the ISC business objectives of Fontana but not Homestead?
OK. I'm confused. PR releases with PC spin and TBA info can do that sometimes.