2001 Indy Northern Lights Series Schedule Announced

Jun 20, 2000 - © Ron Eichhorn

The Indy Northern Lights Racing Series announced June 18 that it would run a twelve race schedule for the 2001 season. The new schedule will include six new tracks and will be condensed to seven months instead of the current ten. The new tracks include Miami, Richmond, Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago and Kansas City. The new tracks will join existing tracks in Phoenix, Colorado Springs, and Kentucky, Fort Worth (2 races) , as well as Indianapolis. Also, for the first time, a race will be scheduled on a track smaller than one mile, when the Indy cars travel to Richmond.

The complete schedule is listed below.

Date Location (Track size) TV (Times Eastern)

Sunday, March 18
Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, AZ (1 mile)
ABC, 4 p.m.

Sunday, April 8
Homestead-Miami Speedway, Miami, FL (1.5 miles)
ESPN, 1 p.m.

Sunday, May 27
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, IN (2.5 miles)
ABC, Noon

Saturday, June 9
Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, TX (1.5 miles)
ESPN, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 17
Pikes Peak Int'l Raceway, Colorado Springs, CO (1 mile)
ABC, 2 p.m.

Saturday, June 30
Richmond Int'l Raceway, Richmond, VA (.75-mile)
ESPN, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 8
Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, KS (1.5 miles)
ESPN, 2 p.m.

Saturday, July 21
Nashville Superspeedway, Nashville, TN (1.33 miles)
ESPN, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 26
Gateway International Raceway, St. Louis, MO (1.25 miles)
ESPN, 2 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 2
Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, IL (1.5 miles)
ABC, 2 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 16
Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, KY (1.5 miles)
ESPN, 2 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 30
Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, TX (1.5 miles)
ABC, TBA

The changes and revisions to the schedule should make more streamlined seasons in the future, with no long waits between races, and therefore should increase fan interest. Each of the races will be televised live on either ABC or ESPN. Each of the tracks has signed long term agreements with the Indy Northern Lights Racing Series, and the IRL is still in negotiations for races next year at Walt Disney World Speedway, Atlanta and Las Vegas, but no firm dates have been decided upon.

In a late development, Midas, Inc., one of the world's largest providers of automotive service, has agreed to sponsor the Indy Racing Northern Light Series event on July 15, 2000, at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the next race on the schedule. Hopefully the new schedule recently announced will avoid the long stretches between races for the future.

The copyright of the article 2001 Indy Northern Lights Series Schedule Announced in Indy Racing League is owned by Ron Eichhorn. Permission to republish 2001 Indy Northern Lights Series Schedule Announced in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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