IRL Hits the Road, Adds a Finale in Fontana

The Indy Racing League, which broke away from the CART series nearly 10 years ago, added two road-course races for the 2005 season.

The former all-oval IRL IndyCar Series, which released its 2005 schedule on Tuesday, added races at Sonoma, Calif., and Watkins Glen, N.Y.

California Speedway was one of the winners in the IRL’s realignment, presenting the 2005 season finale, the Toyota Indy 400 on Oct. 16.

“We’re excited that the league championship could come down to a wheel-to-wheel shootout right here at the speedway that holds the IRL record for the fastest race ever completed,” said Bill Miller, president of California Speedway. “Not only could the race be decided by tenths or hundredths of a second, but a season’s worth of competition could be decided on that last lap.”

Sam Hornish Jr. won last year’s race with an average speed of 207.151 mph, defeating Scott Dixon by 0.3563 of a second.

This year’s race, the IRL’s third at the Fontana facility, is scheduled for Oct. 3.

The IRL race Aug. 28, 2005, at the 10-turn, 1.77-mile Infineon Raceway will be the first IndyCar race in Sonoma since Dan Gurney’s United States Auto Club Indy car victory in 1970. At Watkins Glen, the race Sept. 25 over the 11-turn, 3.4-mile course occurs on the weekend long associated with the United States Grand Prix. It will be the 15th of 16 races.

The IRL’s 10th season begins March 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, includes one race at Motegi, Japan, and features the Indianapolis 500 on May 29.

To make room for the two road races, the IRL dropped one race at Nazareth, Pa. -- the hometown of Michael Andretti, who has a four-car team -- and the second race date at Texas Motor Speedway.

TMS had consistently provided some of the best racing in the series’ nine-year history, and had been the site of the final race of the season. It will retain a date on June 11 with a night race. Although it lost one IRL date, it added a second NASCAR Nextel Cup race for next season.

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IRL Schedule

Sites of Indy Racing League’s 16 races in 2005:

March 6 Miami

July 24 Milwaukee

March 19 Phoenix

July 31 Brooklyn, Mich.

April 30 Motegi, Japan

Aug. 14 Sparta, Ky.

May 29 Indianapolis

Aug 21 Fountain, Colo.

June 11 Fort Worth

Aug. 28 Sonoma, Calif.

June 25 Richmond, Va.

Sept. 11 Joliet, Ill.

July 3 Kansas City, Kan.

Sept. 25 Watkins Glen, N.Y.

July 16 Nashville