IndyCar back at the Mile? Penske's appearance heats up the chatter

ELKHART LAKE – Further fueling speculation the Milwaukee Mile could return to IndyCar as soon as next year, series owner Roger Penske visited the track Sunday morning before the IndyCar race at Road America 65 miles away.

It’s been no secret the series and State Fair Park representatives have had ongoing talks about a possible race at the facility, which was a staple of Indy-style races for decades.

Penske attended the drivers meeting at that track in West Allis, where the ASA STARS National Tour Father’s Day 100 was headlining a program of grassroots stock car racing Sunday.

On the same day, the NTT IndyCar Series was completing its Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America, where Penske had three cars entered.

Bob Sargent, head of the Illinois-based Track Enterprises, which promotes racing at the Mile, said Penske’s visit was “an opportunity to sit down at a table and talk about possibilities and options.”

Sargent has brought national-level racing back to the Mile this year with a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race scheduled for Aug. 27 and has expressed interested in adding other events. He indicated last week ticket sales for the truck race were noticeably ahead of expectations.

“I think he and a lot of people really still feel good about this facility, not only the history but the condition it’s in now,” Sargent said Sunday in an interview at the Mile.

“So I think we’re ready to move forward in our progress and our plans, and the State of Wisconsin and the Fair board people have been great to work with. It think there’s just one more step, and I’ve got to talk to Roger, and again we’re collaborating and discussing all the possibilities.”

The Mile, a century-old oval, has hosted 114 Indy-style championship races sanctioned by AAA, USAC, CART, Champ Car and IndyCar, many of them following the Indianapolis 500 by a week. Over the last few decades, though, various promoters tried and were unable to run a profitable IndyCar event. The track has not hosted IndyCar in eight years.

Milwaukee has been popular with drivers for its history and for the challenge its long, flat corners present.

In an interview with the Journal Sentinel before the Indy 500 and without being prompted, Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden said: “I would love if we could go back to the Milwaukee Mile in addition to Road America. That would warm my heart.”

In December, the State Building Commission approved nearly $3 million for improvements at the track to be paid for with funds from State Fair Park, the state and private fundraising. Work has begun to repair and add SAFER barriers, the steel-and-foam wall coverings that lessen the impact of a crash, and to even the transition from asphalt to dirt in places around the track.

“They’ve made some improvements, and they’re interested in us coming at some point, but we haven’t made any commitment at all,” Penske told the Indianapolis Star in a brief interview Sunday. “I wanted to see it, and they’ve made some big steps there, which is good.

“We’d like to (come back), but they have to do quite a bit more work. I would say that’s the bottom line. What they’ve done with the soft walls and some of the safety things are as good as I’ve seen, but it’s not all done. They’ve got a pretty big step still to take.”

State Fair Park consulted with IndyCar and NASCAR, as the industry leaders, regarding what work was needed if their series were to consider racing at the Mile again.

Shari Black, executive director and CEO for State Fair Park, said she and Fair board chairman John Yingling toured the facility with Penske and Michael Montri, vice president of Penske Entertainment.

Improvements Penske mentioned are included in a second phase of work to be done after the NASCAR truck race, Black said. They include work on pit road and some additional concrete.

“The purpose of the visit today was to see the progress that we’ve made, which he seemed to be very pleased with,” Black said in a telephone interview Sunday night. “He popped into the drivers meeting to say hello and just mentioned that he potentially would like to be here in the future.”

Although Road America could see competition from a race at the Mile, track president Mike Kertscher said recently he would welcome another successful IndyCar race in the state.

”Hey, what’s good for motorsports is good for Road America,” Kertscher said in an interview in May. “Anytime motorsports grows in any market, I think it benefits us.

“We’d be delighted if it was. You’re in a big metropolitan area, you have this massive reach that maybe we don’t have because we’re an hour north. If folks get excited about IndyCar there, wait till they see it here. It’s good for both parties if it was a success.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: IndyCar's Roger Penske visits Milwaukee Mile stock car race