The Milwaukee Mile, the oldest continually operating motor speedway in the country, won't be hosting a national race in 2010. That was the word late Wednesday from Wisconsin State Fair Park officials, who said there would be no NASCAR or Indy Racing League racing next year at the famed Mile. "I'm sorry for this," was the message Susan Crane, chairwoman of the State Fair Park Board, said she wanted to tell race fans. "We tried to do everything we could to secure racing. But we're not giving up." The announcement is a blow to motorsports fans in the region and a blow to community pride. Both Crane and Craig Barkelar, the fair's interim executive director, said they hoped to bring national racing back to the Mile in 2011. Crane and Barkelar said that, after Wisconsin Motorsports, the race promoter that staged races last summer, went out of business, they tried to negotiate with four different promoters. State Fair officials said they hoped to generate some revenue next year with car clubs, driving schools and some tire and car testing. There is also the hope of staging some regional races next year. NASCAR had scheduled two races for next June: the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck series. NASCAR now is backing away, though the race body has not yet made that official. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)No NASCAR races at Milwaukee Mile in 2010
The Milwaukee Mile, the oldest continually operating motor speedway in the country, won't be hosting a national race in 2010. That was the word late Wednesday from Wisconsin State Fair Park officials, who said there would be no NASCAR or Indy Racing League racing next year at the famed Mile. "I'm sorry for this," was the message Susan Crane, chairwoman of the State Fair Park Board, said she wanted to tell race fans. "We tried to do everything we could to secure racing. But we're not giving up." The announcement is a blow to motorsports fans in the region and a blow to community pride. Both Crane and Craig Barkelar, the fair's interim executive director, said they hoped to bring national racing back to the Mile in 2011. Crane and Barkelar said that, after Wisconsin Motorsports, the race promoter that staged races last summer, went out of business, they tried to negotiate with four different promoters. State Fair officials said they hoped to generate some revenue next year with car clubs, driving schools and some tire and car testing. There is also the hope of staging some regional races next year. NASCAR had scheduled two races for next June: the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck series. NASCAR now is backing away, though the race body has not yet made that official. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
