The contract for an Izod IndyCar Series race at Watkins Glen Int'l "effectively ended" with Sunday's Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen, and IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said that the future of the race "will depend on many variables," according to Ron Levanduski of the Elmira STAR-GAZETTE. Watkins Glen has "always negotiated its IndyCar event on a year-to-year basis," and the track's three-year contract with Camping World is "up for renewal for next year." WGI President Michael Printup "met twice with Bernard over the weekend," and he said that a decision "will be made in the next six weeks, but probably sooner." Printup: "It was the best and most productive meeting we've ever had with IndyCar. They like it here and we like them here." Levanduski reported Bernard Sunday also acknowledged "a series of demands that will put pressure on all of its series promoters." Those demands include an "increase in sanctioning fees and a request for tracks to be more aggressive in promoting its events to get more fans in the stands." IRL Commercial Division President Terry Angstadt last month said that the series "plans to announce its 2011 schedule in the first week of August" ( Elmira STAR-GAZETTE, 7/5 ). Bernard said he would "really like to find a way to continue to race" at WGI. But he added, "I'm held accountable for my bottom line and I want to make sure each facility is held accountable with plenty of butts in the seats" ( ESPN.com, 7/6 ). Printup conceded that it is a "challenging proposition to offset the cost of hosting the series," but he added that there is "too much history of open-wheel racing at the track to toss aside." Meanwhile, Printup said that he told Bernard he would "accept the same holiday weekend in 2011, but he would prefer to have the event a week earlier." The IndyCar Series has raced at WGI the past six years ( Curt Cavin, INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 7/5 ). FUTURE PLANNING: Bernard said of the '11 schedule, "Right now we are going to continue to look at all of our markets and pick the best 17 that we can. We aren't ruling anything out yet but we have to go with the markets that want IndyCar and that can succeed." SI.com's Bruce Martin noted Bernard is "certain of one thing, however -- Homestead-Miami Speedway will not be the final race of the 2011 season." Bernard is "currently in negotiations with officials at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Las Vegas Visitors Bureau to make that location the series finale." Two new events -- New Hampshire and Baltimore -- have "already been added to the 2011 schedule." Meanwhile, Bernard's "long-term goal is to have 24 races on the schedule," and he "believes the series is looking for the '24 best promoters' that can help achieve that goal." Martin wrote such an "ambitious schedule has to be good news to such venues as Elkhart Lake, Cleveland, Houston and Portland" ( SI.com, 7/5 ). Bernard said of next year, "We have about 24 promoters that want an event. This year we have 17 races and we might be able to take that to 18, but we're going to have some winners and some losers. ... There's probably at least one we're going to have to cut" ( BUFFALO NEWS, 7/5 ). SEPARATE LANES : In Birmingham, Doug Demmons noted NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France "wasn't too interested" when asked over the weekend about the "possibility of a doubleheader weekend featuring a Sprint Cup race and an Indy race." France said NASCAR "won't be doing doubleheaders" with IndyCar with the Sprint Cup levels. France: "They've had some of our lower divisions which do about the same in terms of audience and everything else, like the Truck Series has run a time or two with the IRL. That won't be possible because of scheduling issues. We don't have any interest in doing that either" ( BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 7/5 ).
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