The Associated Press is reporting that the Indy Racing League is contemplating "major changes" to boost fan interest. CEO Randy Bernard said Friday in Long Beach that the IRL will make an announcement in the next two weeks about adding excitement to races outside of the Indianapolis 500.
According to the AP, Bernard hinted the IZOD IndyCar Series will do something to put emphasis on a handful of events to gain more national attention. He mentioned the NFL playoffs and golf's majors as events that draw bigger audiences, prompting speculation that IndyCar could follow the lead of NASCAR and the NHRA, and adopt a playoff system to determine champions, or go back to the days of a "Triple Crown" of races, such as Indy car racing featured under USAC and CART sanction. The IRL has traditionally shied away from playing up other races beyond Indy, and cut its events at California and Michigan Speedways (since dropped from the schedule) back to 400 miles from 500 after taking them over from CART.