IndyCar racing is an annual sporting exhibition that takes drivers through a rotating combination of road courses and oval tracks, with the championship title each year going to the one driver who shows the most dexterity at racing both track types. The IRL has functioned with this championship format for years, but under the leadership of new IRL CEO Randy Bernard, things are about to change.
Much to the approval of several IndyCar drivers and fans, Bernard has put into place two new titles that drivers will soon be vying for. Bernard's slight change in the organization of the IRL has created two different championship titles; one for the driver with the most points on oval courses and another for the driver with the most points on street/road circuits. These two titles will coexist with the overall IRL championship title, which is the whopper for the series.
Starting this season, drivers can win one of the categories (road or oval) without winning the overall IndyCar Series title, allowing drivers who favor one type of track the opportunity to shine at one or the other, also adding more excitement to the IRL circuit at the same time. Speaking with the Indianapolis Star about the decision to add oval and road course titles to the IndyCar Series, Bernard said, "This could help us with people like Sarah Fisher, who wants to run strictly ovals. But she might put Graham Rahal in the car for non-ovals; he could come in and win a championship. Danica (Patrick), she's already gone on record saying she doesn't like the non-ovals, well, maybe she could win the championship. This helps create story lines for the stars."
The IRL's new championship structure is sure to sell more <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.stubhub.com/irl-tickets-indy-car-series/">Indy Racing League (IRL) tickets</a> in the near future, especially as the new titles will heat up the competition on the racing scene. Drivers like Danica Patrick can start focusing on the ovals championship while top road performers like Tony Kanaan continue to go all out on street courses, helping develop all kinds of storylines running into the thick of the IRL season.
While Randy Bernard's new policy for IndyCar championships continues to take root on the racing scene, details are still being sketched about how the two new titles will evolve. The honoree for the road and oval course championships will be announced at the Firestone 550K in Texas this June (the Indy Star suggests it will be named after A.J. Foyt), and the honoree for the road course will be announced during the first weekend in July at the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen in New York.
The new IRL championship series structure will affect most every driver in the IndyCar Series, but will have the most significant impact on this year's frontrunners. Ryan Hunter-Reay, currently (as of April 28) in first place in driver standings points, seems to be onboard for the new league change, telling IndyCar.com, "It's the only racing series in the world that does that with the street courses, road courses, mile-and-a-half super speedways and short ovals. So it's great to highlight that and give it some recognition, but what really matters is winning the Indy 500 and winning the series championship."
Who will this year's three IndyCar Series champions be and will one driver be able to capture all three titles at once? It's all to come this season as the IRL kicks into full gear.
Jenna Jay wrote this article, which is sponsored by StubHub.com. <a href="http://www.stubhub.com/">StubHub</a> is a leader in the business of selling <a href="http://www.stubhub.com/irl-tickets-indy-car-series/">Indy Racing League (IRL) tickets</a>, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.
