Street course events tend to come and go in Indy car racing. Outside of Long Beach, Toronto and St. Petersburg, the average lifespan of an Indy car street race in the modern era is about three years.
Races at permanent road courses tend to have a bit more staying power, for obvious reasons. That's why this weekend's Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana is an important event for the Verizon IndyCar Series. It's an opportunity for IndyCar to get a foothold in a new market. And while NOLA Motorsports Park (located in Avondale, 15 miles from the French Quarter) doesn't offer the convenience of a downtown street race, it also doesn't include many of the drawbacks.
Hopefully that means a cleaner race than the season-opening Grand Prix of St Petersburg, which deteriorated into a series of track-sweeping caution periods. There weren't any wrecks to speak of, just a lot of very real debris in the form of carbon fiber wing pieces from the new-for-2015 aero kits that flew off the cars with the slightest of contact.
NOLA's 2.7-mile, 13-turn layout is much more wide-open, and it promises to be one of the raciest road courses the IndyCar Series has seen in years. It's completely flat and a little bit bumpy, and many veteran drivers compared it to the late, lamented Burke Lakefront Airport course that hosted the Cleveland Grand Prix from 1982 to 2007.
That's something to look forward to for both drivers and fans. One of Cleveland's unique appeals was that fans could see the entire circuit from just about any vantage point -- a rarity in road racing that oval racing fans take for granted.
"That's a cool aspect of NOLA that not many tracks have," said Will Power of Team Penske, the defending IndyCar Series champion. "New Orleans knows how to have a good time and I believe everyone that comes out to the track this weekend will certainly have one."
James Hinchcliffe of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports is optimistic that the first major auto race in New Orleans since an IMSA-sanctioned sports car race in 1995 will draw a big crowd.
"I was lucky enough to be part of some of the build-up to the race with the Mardi Gras celebration, and seeing what I saw, I think the city is going to come out in full force and really support the event," he said. "That's what everybody wants to see."
What Hinchcliffe and the rest of the IndyCar field would really like to see at NOLA is less dominance by Team Penske. Power led 75 of 110 laps at St. Petersburg, but lost the lead to teammate Juan Pablo Montoya and had to settle for second place as Penske drivers finished 1-2-4-5.
Chevrolet swept the top six finishing positions, but the manufacturer's celebration was short lived as it elected to take engine-change penalties for 11 of its 12 engines in the field after discovering a faulty batch of valve springs. There is no penalty to be served by the drivers, but Chevrolet forfeited 220 Manufacturer's points and is in the odd position of trailing Honda in the standings despite trouncing its rival in the first round.
"Chevrolet did an outstanding job and there is no reason to think that it won't carry over to NOLA this weekend," Power said. "Not only because of the testing we did there in the offseason, but we have typically run very well at new venues over the last couple of years.
"NOLA is wicked fast and what it takes to get around that place really suits my driving style," he added. "The grip is very tight and it should promote great racing. Hopefully we can get our first win of the season."
Ganassi Racing's Tony Kanaan prevented Penske from monopolizing the St. Pete podium and completing a 1-2-3-4 sweep. The 40-year old Brazilian is one of the hottest drivers in the series, with podium finishes in six of the past eight races, including a victory in the 2014 season finale at Auto Club Speedway.
"It will be a lot of fun getting out onto a new track and seeing what all the teams can do when we're starting from a more equal playing field with track experience," Kanaan said.
The Ganassi team has run extensively at NOLA since the 2015 testing window opened, including a session after the St. Pete opener. Ganassi will again run rookie Sage Karam in the team's fourth car this weekend, while Simona De Silvestro will make her second start in a fourth Andretti Autosport entry.
Ganassi's Scott Dixon, a three-time IndyCar Series champion, is pegged by many as the favorite this weekend. The New Zealander's hopes were bolstered by a positive test at NOLA after a disappointing 15th-place finish in the opener.
"We spent some time there; that's probably where we've put in the most effort so it was nice to end up at the top of the test when the most people were there," Dixon said. "I think our road course program is in pretty decent shape and we understand a lot more about how the new aero kits work with this tire after St. Pete."
Honda teams appeared to struggle at St. Petersburg, though A.J. Foyt Racing drivers Takuma Sato and Jack Hawksworth found some speed at various points of the weekend.
Andretti Autosport was in the worst shape of the Honda group, but Ryan Hunter-Reay salvaged a seventh-place finish after being shoved back to 18th exiting the first corner. With Honda and its teams not yet getting the theoretical results out of the new aero pieces, Hunter-Reay wonders if some inclement weather might be the answer to his prayers.
"The weather could play a major factor, and it's something we are keeping an eye on as we consider setup options," he stated. "Wet conditions will be extremely tricky at this particular track -- but sometimes big risk equals big rewards."
Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti is also the promoter of the inaugural New Orleans event through his Andretti Sports Marketing firm. Third on the all-time list with 42 wins as a driver, Andretti continues to give back to the sport as a team owner in the IndyCar Series and the Mazda Road to Indy as well as promoting select races.
There are likely to be hiccups and growing pains in the first major event hosted by the facility. With a track designed by Alan Wilson (Barber Motorsports Park, Miller Motorsports Park), NOLA is a work in progress; spectator amenities are limited, and all parking is off-site. Yet Andretti remains cautiously optimistic.
"It's going to be way bigger than anybody thinks it will be," he said.
IndyCar certainly hopes so. With a schedule condensed to 16 races at just 14 venues, the series desperately needs to assemble and grow a consistent slate of events that fills more than five months of the calendar. A warm weather venue such as New Orleans would be perfect early in the year, with temperatures in the region creeping into the 70s by February.
"The biggest thing for us is hoping that it's received well," said Dixon. "The feedback is good so far, but the last thing we want to do is show up for one year and then not go back.
"For me, if a ton of people come out and enjoy the race, that's perfect."