The IZOD IndyCar Series has officially canceled its scheduled Aug. 19 race in Qingdao, China (LEFT).
"We wanted to give the China race every opportunity to move forward and be successful, but IndyCar has been notified by the promoter that the event is canceled for 2012," said IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard, who explained that . "We were informed that the promoter was trying to move the event to a different date and location. After ongoing discussions regarding alternative dates, as well as doing our due diligence in exploring alternate venues in China, the promoter canceled the event. A decision had to be made to allow IndyCar and its participants to plan accordingly for the second half of the season."
IndyCar announced plans for its inaugural race in China on Nov. 10, 2011. Bernard said IndyCar is "not closing the door" on opportunities for a future race in China.
Bernard added that IndyCar is investigating a possible replacement event that will keep the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule at 16 races.
"We are working with our promoters that host events in the second half of our calendar to keep them apprised of how the date of a potential new race could impact our current schedule," he said.
The Qingdao event was slotted in two weeks after Mid-Ohio and a week before Sonoma. The current schedule has the season finishing at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. However, Bernard confirmed in Texas last weekend that there was no clause in the California speedway's contract that guarantees that it will host the season finale.