Back in December, Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles revealed that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was likely to re-install the track’s previous “apron” in order to spice up the action for its NASCAR events.
But now comes word that the apron project has been delayed for at least one year, with Curt Cavin of The Indianapolis Star reporting that NASCAR officials wanted more time to study the effects of changes made to the track.
The Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series will race at Indy on July 26 (NNS; Indiana 250) and 27 (Cup; Brickyard 400), respectively.
“They asked if we could postpone [the project] so they could test it,” IMS president Doug Boles told Cavin today. “We said, ‘That makes sense; we understand that.'”
Boles also noted Indianapolis’ rough winter, which delayed multiple other track projects over the off-season; since the area took longer to warm up, officials decided not to run the risk of having the track not be ready for 2015 Indianapolis 500 activities.
Speedway crews had planned to begin re-installing the apron following the conclusion of its vintage racing weekend in early June.
The apron has been targeted as a way to increase passing for the stock cars at Indy, which have not also produced a great show on the 2.5-mile rectangular oval. An apron has not been in place at Indy since the early ’90s, when a series of bad IndyCar crashes compelled the track to remove it.
However, as Cavin reports, the delay on this project should be just that as Boles says that track shareholders have approved the re-installation.
Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports
Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.
Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.
Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.
The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.
In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.
Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.
Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.
Last Five Seattle Winners
450s 2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto
