Then the cars will dive down to new pavement inside Turns Two and Four, connected by a route south on Hulman Boulevard. It has survived with only a few tweaks. Forbes calculated through computer imaging that an F1 car can circle the circuit in 73 seconds, a speed average of 127 mph. Billy Boat completed the quickest qualifying lap for the 1998 Indianapolis 500 on the oval last May in 40.076 seconds at 224.573 mph, a record for Pep Boys Indy Racing League cars. F1 cars are expected to reach 195 mph at the Yard of Bricks and a top speed of 200 mph just before entrance to their Turn 1.
Tickets go on sale sometime next year.
Tickets are expected to be priced comparably to the 2000 Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400. There was even a little Fiat or Yugo or something. Thus endeth another Bench Racing column. Happy holidays, and may you all lose a second a lap. Bruce McLaughlan is copy desk chief in The Detroit News Features department, where he strives to make sure that all sentences are properly safety-wired, but occasionally has to resort to judicious application of 200mph tape.