IndyCar's history at Charlotte Motor Speedway was left with a black eye on the night of May 1, 1999. Three spectators were killed after an accident sent a tire in the stands the last time IndyCar made a trip to the Queen City.
It's been fourteen years since that dark night and IndyCar has never been in a position to return to North Carolina. However it may be the right time to consider returning to the one and a half mile oval.
ESPN executives visited Charlotte Motor Speedway today as a possible venue for the 2014 Summer X Games. The event which has been a foothold in Southern California since 2003 is looking for a new home starting in 2014. Charlotte along with Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Chicago and Detroit are all candidates. The four-day event, which includes skateboard, BMX, motorcycles and rallycross, are looking for a new home and if I am IndyCar and if Charlotte wins the bid for the 2014 Summer X Games, I try to get on the bill. With the X Games being run by ESPN, this would be an ABC race for IndyCar, the IndyCar TV partner available to most homes. The X Games attract young fans and sponsors geared towards young fans such as Red Bull, Monster Energy Drink and GoPro sponsor the event. IndyCar can only benefit and hopefully draw eyeballs should they join the X Games bill.
IndyCar currently has two weeks off in July and two weeks off in August. These gaps have to be broken up and an oval in the summer would be perfect. What could work out the best for both the X Games and IndyCar would be to hold the event on the third weekend in July, a weekend NASCAR has traditionally taken off. It would be the highlight event on ESPN that weekend and pair it with an IndyCar race on Sunday afternoon could benefit both, especially on Sunday afternoon.
IndyCar has nothing to lose and should be open to any and all partnerships possible. A Sunday doubleheader with rallycross and IndyCar would be great for race fans and either be great lead-in programming to other X Games events or be great to wrap up the X Games. Having a few crossovers with IndyCar guys running both races or Travis Pastrana running rallycross and the IndyCar race would be cool to see and I think now that Pastrana has been running in the NASCAR Nationwide Series he could hold his own in an IndyCar. A 360-mile (in honor of extreme sports) IndyCar race on a Sunday afternoon with little competition from other sporting events would be a big step for IndyCar to get out in the public spotlight.
Instead of trying to be separate, IndyCar should embrace the X Games, back the Charlotte bid and work to become apart of the four-day weekend. It would be a great opportunity for IndyCar to widen their narrow audience to include younger fans.
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