Series to add road courses

But IRL officials confirmed on Saturday that the league will unveil a 16-race schedule during a press conference at Watkins Glen on Tuesday. As well as the Watkins Glen and Infineon dates, two additional to-be-announced dates will be available in the schedule, with their intended use for road or street-course events.

One of those dates is likely to go to Portland International Raceway, which has not renewed its contract with Champ Car World Series. Specific details of the schedule were not disclosed by IRL officials Saturday at Michigan International Speedway, where the IndyCar Series is preparing for Sunday's Michigan Indy 400.

The announcement heralds a much-anticipated move by the IRL from its ovals-only format to a more varied mix of venues. It also marks the return of Indy-style racing to Watkins Glen and Sears Point, two of the nation's most famous road courses.

"It sure is going to be nice to turn right," said Townsend Bell, who left his pursuit of European road racing to join the IRL in late June. "Just having spent a few weekends in the IRL, it sure feels like big-time racing to me - the kind of open-wheel racing that I grew up wanting to do. If we can add some road courses, that's a great mix of events. I'm happy that we're doing it."

Top levels of open-wheel, single-seat racing have not raced at Watkins Glen since 1981, when CART last competed on the 2.45-mile, 11-turn course. Likewise, Formula 1 left Watkins Glen after its 1980 race there.

"I'm really excited about this," said Vitor Meira, whose career includes a long list of road courses in Brazil and Europe but none in the US. "It's a big step. It will make a big difference. I'm sure our team will be good at this because they were good at it in the past. Nothing changes. It's just a matter of teamwork and doing things right."

Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, hosted USAC races in the early 1970s, but has become famous of late for its annual NASCAR Nextel Cup race. Infineon is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, while Watkins Glen is operated by the rival International Speedway Corporation.

Word that the initial schedule would not expand from its current 16 events gave way to speculation on Saturday that the IRL will lose the season finale in Texas. ISC-owned Nazareth Speedway, one of the IRL's venues this season, is being closed to major events after the season. Texas Motor Speedway, which is owned by SMI, recently received a second Nextel Cup race and wanted the IRL to move its Texas season finale to September.

Drivers said the IRL cars, which will remain essentially in the current format for 2005, will require some major alterations, namely in regard to brakes.

"We're going to have to a lot of changes," said Tony Kanaan. "These cars are built to race on ovals. We'll need a new brake system, for sure. We'll need a new differential, and maybe a little bit more power, too. Otherwise we're going to be too slow."

Whether the IRL's move toward road courses will lead to any endgame in the on-going battle for control of open-wheel racing in the US remains to be seen. The leaders of both the IRL and Champ Car announced in mid-July that they would not pursue further discussions regarding unification.