Here is a rundown of what got me thinking....
Penske and Porsche were victorious in the 24 Hours of Daytona after a fabulous finish from Felipe Nasr with Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell and Josef Newgarden all putting their names into the history book. Also, the checkered flag came out what appeared to be a lap early and that isn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be. There was an incident in the bus lot that likely we have not heard the last of. Ferrari is getting into yachting. The World Rally Championship begun, and there is not a consensus in opinion over the new points system. Formula E had a doubleheader. Another endurance race was buried in the shuffle. The Supercross winner never finished first. However, an idea is on my mind.
IndyCar's One Show-Stopping Event
We are living in a time of extravegent motorsport events. If it feels fictional, it is likely exists at the present moment.
From Formula One racing on the Las Vegas Strip to NASCAR racing around Grant Park in Chicago and in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, race tracks that were once pure fantasy red real, and there does not appear to be any sign of those slowing down.
Formula One announced last week it would be racing in Madrid starting in 2026 in a hybrid street course with some non-street sections, which will include two tunnels going under the motorway and a 30-degree banked corner. This is a circuit that would only exist in a video game even five years ago let alone 20 years ago, and in two years time, it will be hosting a world championship race. In Formula One, Vegas, Madrid and even Miami are only the tip of the iceberg. After long suggesting it could race in major cities all across the globe, Formula One is now attempting to do just that.
While NASCAR is racing in Chicago and in a football stadium, it is also doing the unthinkable and resurrecting tracks that were once considered dead and buried. See North Wilkesboro. There is still an itch for new, and whether or not the Clash at the Coliseum remains at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, NASCAR has been openly suggesting it will keep racing in stadiums. Other street courses are not out of the question either.
With all these show-stopping events, IndyCar is lost in the weeds.
We all know it has the Indianapolis 500, but in terms of new seismic events that grab the attention of the average person making them exclaim, "They are racing where?" those haven't been there in the last few years as they have boomed elsewhere. We got Iowa back, which has somehow turned into a purity test, and the Detroit race moved downtown from Belle Isle, which was actually turning into a popular course and that move felt like an unnecessary change.
Neither of those changes are getting anyone's attention. The return to the Milwaukee Mile means something only to those already involved in IndyCar. Milwaukee doesn't have the same heart-warming story as the revival of North Wilkesboro, abandoned and then receiving a new breath of life. Though historic, Milwaukee has not been gone all that long, and its demise and dormancy is more down to bureaucracy while attendance was less than stellar in its final years on the schedule. Milwaukee wasn't so much a race taken away from IndyCar as it was a race that was not convincing anyone it should remain on the schedule and a trip to Road America looked like a better alternative.
Though U.S. based, Vegas and Miami were never financially possible for IndyCar. It would have had to mortgage the entire series just to run one race it could never make a profit on. Those weren't missed opportunities in IndyCar's own backyard, but rather rational decisions not to pursue. It is also the case IndyCar would never had gotten approval from the local municipalities to even come close to organizing a race. Hell, IndyCar got kicked out of Boston before that race even could get off the ground. If IndyCar couldn't make it there, it isn't going to make it in most places.
However, in this era of flashy events, IndyCar must try something, and it must be something no one else is doing. If it could also play on something from the past that IndyCar could bring back, it could add another dimension to the event.
There is really only one answer.
The Hawaiian Super Prix.
CART's failed exhibition race at the end of the 1999 season was riddled with issues from the moment it was announced. From circuit logistics to television rights to format, the Hawaiian Super Prix was a half-baked idea rushed hoping to make a splash during the contentious time of the split. It was also CART's last stand on high. The series, though lacking the Indianapolis 500, was still attractive a healthy amount of sponsorship, had top tier talent and great cars.
A big money race paying $5 million to the winner of an exclusive field of the top 12 drivers from the CART championship plus four wild card entries was a betting with hubris. CART believed it could, but quickly found out it couldn't, leaving it embarrassed at a time when it could not afford any other marks against it.
It was crazy in 1999 and it is still crazy 25 years later, but 25 years later there is a practical way to make this event happen.
For starters, it shouldn't be the Hawaiian Super Prix as it was first intended. That idea is gone, nor does IndyCar have $5 million to give away for the winner of an exhibition. It barely has $1 million to give the series champion. It should be an early season event, possibly the season opener, and with the weekend before the Super Bowl practically open, it would be a great chance to stand out. It would also be fitting for a race to be run in Hawaii during the weekend the Pro Bowl, once the largest sporting event to ever take place on the islands.
Any event there would be the biggest show in town, especially at a time where it is lacking big events. It would be IndyCar's chance to shine, and it could take advantage of the time difference. An afternoon race in Hawaii is primetime on the east coast. If the series is going to Hawaii, it mind as well double down and run a doubleheader, one race on Saturday night and another late afternoon on Sunday. A 6:00 p.m. Eastern start is 1:00 p.m. in Hawaii. It could be prime viewing for the entire county.
It would also give IndyCar a race in paradise, somewhere a person can see on their screens and be transported from the winter chill in the continental 48 states. Who wouldn't love to see the beauty of the beaches and the lush greenery in the background?
Where this race would take place remains a question. On Google Maps, you can still see the outline of the course that never was at Kalaeloa Airport, but I am not sure that is the place for a race in 2024. IndyCar will be racing on Broadway in Nashville this year, a combination of sport and place that makes a person say, "Wow!" Could IndyCar swing a downtown race in Honolulu? Could it find a way though Waikiki? What possible layout best captures the location? That is what IndyCar would need.
It would be costly. Though in the United States, it is not cheap getting to Hawaii, but it is a gamble no one else is taking. It is more practical than any other flyaway options for IndyCar at the moment, and with questions over this year's MotoGP race in Argentina, it doesn't appear IndyCar will be heading there anytime soon.
No one else is targeting Hawaii, and at a time when IndyCar needs an earlier start to the season but is limited on where it can race due to the weather, it is a suitable alternative from the same old places. It can be something worth promoting at a time where there is an opening for something else. Once football season ends it creates a vacuum in the sports world, and you must do something to suck up the oxygen. Sitting on the sidelines until March isn't bringing in viewers. Racing at an unthinkable location for a race gives the people a reason to pay attention.
This would also be IndyCar's chance at what it once failed to do. The Hawaiian Super Prix might be a black eye, but black eyes heal in 25 years. It provides an added element to the race, a story of failure, but a chance now at success and bringing to the people an event that they thought they would never see.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche, but did you know...
The #18 Era Motorsport Oreca-Gibson of Ryan Dalziel, Christian Rasmussen, Connor Zilisch and Dwight Merriman won the LMP2 class at the 24 Hours of Daytona. The #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari of James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi, Davide Rigon and Daniel Serra won in GTD Pro. The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG of Daniel Morad, Russell Ward, Indy Dontje and Philip Ellis won in GTD.
Jake Dennis and Nick Cassidy split the Diriyah ePrix.
Cooper Webb won the Supercross Triple Crown round from Anaheim after finishes of second, second and fifth. Chase Sexton, Jason Anderson and Eli Tomac split the three races. Levi Kitchen won in 250cc class after finishes of first, second and third. R.J. Hampshire and Nate Thrasher won the other two races.
Thierry Neuville won Rallye Monte-Carlo, his second Rallye Monte-Carlo victory, and his 20th career victory.
The #54 Eastalent Racing Team Audi of Christopher Haase, Gilles Magnus, Simon Reicher, Markus Winkelhock and Mike Zhou won the 19th Dubai 24 Hour.
Coming Up This Weekend
NASCAR hosts its Clash at the Coliseum in Los Angeles.
Supercross roars into Detroit.
Dubai remains busy with a round of the Asian Le Mans Series.
