The following story first appeared on this blog in September 2006. It is republished here with a few modifications.
The year was 2014. It was a quiet year for open-wheel racing. The IndyCar Series had folded at the end of 2013 after an unprecedented eleventh consecutive season of racing the same Dallara cars. The major open-wheel teams either went to NASCAR or sports cars. Many of the smaller teams simply went out of business.
In February 2014, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway sensationally announced that it would change its formula to accommodate Formula BMW and Formula Atlantic race cars in addition to old Indy cars. For the first time in nearly two decades, the Indy 500 entry list swelled to fifty unique car-and-driver combinations. But the race featured few recognizable names, and the television ratings hit a new low. Most viewers tuned in to watch the Coca-Cola 600, which ran in the afternoon for the first time, and now featured a half-time show.
In response to the pitiful state of open-wheel racing in the United States, a group of businessmen and racing enthusiasts pooled their resources together to form the Xanadu Speedway Company. The company's mission was simple: "to stage the world's most challenging and prestigious automobile race for the world's best drivers."
Xanadu took out a full-page advertisement in the New York Times, asking the general public to submit design ideas for "a next generation racing circuit to showcase 21st century automotive possibilities." Over the next month, Xanadu received a variety of submissions, from conservative designs, such as a two-mile oval, to outlandish ones that featured tunnels, loops and extreme elevation changes. In June 2014, Xanadu hired a committee of architects, artists, journalists and engineers to sort through the designs and come up with a preliminary circuit. The only requirement: it had to be no less than 10 miles long, and fit inside a recently-acquired plot of land just outside of Los Angeles.
In July, a layout was finished and presented to the press. It was quite a radical design that incorporated both paved and unpaved sections, a high speed oval, a hilly section, an underground section, and an extensive tour through a large building. Perhaps the most radical idea was that it was really two separate circuits connected by a two-mile stretch of pure, unpaved desert.
At the press conference, Xanadu also announced that a 500-mile race would be held on November 26, 2016, when most drivers would be available. The race would be sanctioned by the SCCA and open to a new category of race cars: Group D. Group D was essentially the return of formula-libre, with no limit on engine size and with only basic dimensional limits such as the height and length of the car. Indy cars, Formula 1 and Le Mans prototypes were immediately legal, if not optimized, for Group D racing. Because the track featured such extreme changes in surface and layout, it was not obvious which kind of car would be best-suited for the race. Fortunately, teams would have two years to develop their cars.
In August 2014, Lola Cars became the first constructor to enter the event with a modified version of their B12/40 sports car. A month later, Volkswagen confirmed that they would enter a derivative of their Formula 1 car. Most constructors were reluctant to produce a completely new car for the race, since the Group D category was created specially for Xanadu.
Construction of the circuit began in November 2014. The circuit itself was simple enough to carve into the desert, but the huge structures created some delays.
In January 2015, Red Bull was announced as the title sponsor of the race. The deal was worth a rumored $80 million, plus partial ownership of Xanadu. "Red Bull has been a long-time supporter of the sport and we feel that Xanadu is the ultimate expression of automobile racing, and thus a natural fit for the brand," according to the press release. The prize fund was set at $20 million for the winner, $10 million to the second place finisher, and $5 million to third place.
The sponsorship deal and prize money was crucial in attracting more competitors. Over the next two months, twenty competitors, mostly privateer efforts using old Indy cars and sports cars, entered the race. Robby Gordon entered a pair of Ford GTs for Tomas Scheckter and Buddy Rice. Gordon said that "no Indy car will possibly make it through the desert section" and that he plans to win through attrition.
In March, Jacques Villeneuve announced that he would be coming out of retirement to race in the Red Bull 500. Villeneuve called the race "the first real automobile race since the German Grand Prix at the old Nurburgring." Villeneuve said he had not decided which team to drive for, but he was open to the possibility of acquiring an old Champ car. "In my opinion, the Champ car will have the best chance on this circuit," said the two-time world champion.
In September, Xanadu announced that ESPN would provide live coverage of the race. A few weeks later, race teams and members of the racing industry were invited to see the track under construction. Nearly the whole track was completed; only the buildings, including the indoor section of the track, and the underground complex remained in construction.
That winter, twenty more competitors entered the race. The most notable was Penske Racing, which entered a Porsche sports car, two old Indy cars, and a Penske Champ car. The cars would be driven by Robert Kubica, Graham Rahal, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Buddy Lazier. Team owner Rick Mears said, "We are splitting our strategy for this race. Our simulators have shown that all of our cars have a shot at winning."
Three months before the race, Xanadu organized an open test for all confirmed participants. 36 teams showed up. Only the desert section and the north side of the circuit were used; the tunnel on the south side was still under construction. Nevertheless, it was clear that the open-wheel cars had an advantage in the twistier parts of the circuit. The fastest lap was turned by Robert Kubica in his Dallara-Ford. Kubica said, "This is a very weird circuit but they did a good job especially with the safety aspects."
It was discovered that the cars would go airborne in the downhill esses right before the desert section. Some Indy car teams also found that their cars did not have sufficient turning radius through the indoor section. Villeneuve, who found a ride with Eurointernational, got stuck trying to clear the hairpin. He said, "It's tigher and narrower than Monaco inside the building." Several drivers jokingly referred to the indoor section as the "IKEA showroom."
After the test, a number of sports car entrants switched over to Indy cars. However, despite languishing near the bottom of the timesheets, Robby Gordon stuck with his GTs, saying that durability, not speed, will win the race.
Just two months before the race, Team McLaren revealed that they had been developing a purpose-built car for the past year, and had already tested a prototype. World champion Lewis Hamilton and McLaren tester Giedo Van Der Garde were confirmed to drive in the 500. Team principal Martin Whitmarsh said, "With the MP4/30C, which has shown extremely quick and versatile during testing, we fully expect to win the 500." Several privateer squads immediately protested McLaren's entry, calling it unfair competition. But most competitors welcomed the entry, saying that it legitimized the event. Xanadu issued a statement saying, "Any competitor who can pass the technical inspection, regardless of political connections or economic influence, will be allowed to race." Indeed, on the same day, Flavio Briatore (who was still banned from FIA-sanctioned competitions) announced that he would enter two upgraded GP2 cars for Lucas Di Grassi and Heikki Kovalainen.
After these high-profile announcements, Xanadu launched an aggressive publicity campaign. In a television commercial aired during the NASCAR season finale, the Red Bull 500 was touted as the "next Indy." Ticket sales were better than normal for a first-year event. It didn't hurt that the race was scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend.
During opening practice, Hamilton lapped the circuit in a little over seven minutes, nearly five seconds quicker than Kubica.
Hamilton said, "The circuit is very interesting, but very long! I spent most of the session just learning the lines."
The fastest sports car, driven by James Hinchcliffe, was eight seconds off Hamilton's pace. Hinchcliffe said, "We are much closer to the pace than we expected. I think we have a legitimate chance to win the race as long as we stay in one piece."
Several drivers suffered mechanical failures during the session. Villeneuve's Panoz-Ford experienced a gearbox failure which stranded him on the "far" side of the circuit. A number of engines also blew up on the 2-mile desert straightaway, where speeds reportedly reached 250 mph. Van Der Garde escaped a high speed spin on the desert, largely thanks to the complete lack of guardrails in that section.
Penske produced a shock during the final hour of opening practice, when it was revealed that one of their Porsche sports cars was to be used as a mobile refueling car. Fuel would be delivered on the desert straightaway at speeds of over 200 mph using a device inspired by aerial refueling systems. In theory, this would save the team several minutes over the 500 mile race. Not surprisingly, several competitors protested this innovation, but their complaints were dismissed with a reminder that race control will allow anything to compete, as long as it qualifies and passes tech inspection.
The second practice session was marred by a serious accident in the hilly section of the course. At 2:30, John Belmont's Dallara-Ford went off the road and rolled down a ravine. The emergency helicopter was on the scene within 20 seconds to assist the trapped driver. Belmont suffered a concussion and a broken arm, but escaped serious head injuries thanks to the closed-cockpit. (Closed-cockpits had been a standard feature of Indy and F1 cars since Brian Kochanek's accident in 2010).
Before the session was stopped for Belmont's accident, Hamilton had shaved nearly four seconds from his morning time. Van Der Garde was two seconds behind Hamilton. From there, it was Kubica, Rahal and Pagenaud in the Volkswagen special.
Perhaps inspired by Penske’s creativity, several teams were spotted allegedly practicing road-blocking tactics involving multiple team cars. The racing media noted a conspicuous lack of response from race control over these tactics.
Qualifying featured 51 cars going for 39 grid positions. McLaren dominated the two-hour-long session, with Hamilton setting the fastest lap of the weekend at 6min 32sec, outpacing teammate Van Der Garde by two seconds. Behind them were the Indy cars of Marco Andretti, Kubica and Rahal, followed by the Champ car of Juan Pablo Montoya and two sports cars driven by Hinchcliffe and Danica Patrick. The Briatore GP2 cars qualified 9th and 10th, and the rest of the grid featured a mix of old Indy cars and sports cars driven by many rising stars and old veterans. Several unknown drivers also made the cut, including a masked driver James Hunt in an Audi R10 TDI and Keith Collantine in a Williams FW14B.
Raceday attendance was estimated at 120,000, by far the biggest crowd at an open-wheel event in the last three years.
At the lights, the field made a clean start towards the thirty-degree banked Turn 1. By the time they reached the arena, it was Hamilton leading from Van Der Garde, Rahal, Pagenaud, and Andretti, with Kubica making a slow start and sliding back to sixth place. James Hunt had an impressive start, moving his Audi into seventh place from 13th on the grid.
On the first trip through the desert, gentleman-racer Alan Reynolds made up five positions with his low-downforce "Reynolds' Special" Lola, before tangling with Stefano Coletti under braking. Both men collided with the wall, bringing out the local caution flags.
Further up the field, Van Der Garde made a mistake at the Spotter's Hill and allowed Rahal and Pagenaud to overtake.
The running order at the end of Lap 1: Hamilton, Rahal, Pagenaud, Van Der Garde, and Andretti.
Pitting was not required, so many of the cars had extra-large fuel tanks. This was especially true of the sportscars---the sportscar teams hoped to make as many as three fewer pit stops than the open-wheel cars. Penske, with their on-track refueling procedure, would attempt to go the distance with only two tire stops.
On Lap 3, Hamilton's Mercedes-Benz engine expired on the desert straight. A visibly frustrated Hamilton threw his helmet onto his smoking car before walking back to the pits. Hamilton told the press, "We had the best car out there. This is not a good feeling."
Rahal found himself in the lead with his modified Penske Champ Car, with Van Der Garde catching up rapidly.
Deeper in the field, Villeneuve overtook Patrick for 9th place with a spectacular move in the downhill esses.
On Lap 6, Van Der Garde finally found a way past Rahal, and began pulling away. But onboard cameras showed severe tire wear on the McLaren. Van Der Garde pitted for new tires at the end of Lap 7.
On Lap 8, Kubica's right-front tire exploded in the hills, raising safety concerns among the Indy car teams. Rahal, Pagenaud and Andretti pitted for new tires. Meanwhile, the Lola sports car of Hinchcliffe inherited second place, behind Van Der Garde.
On the next lap, Villeneuve pushed too hard coming out of the tunnel and crashed at the beginning of the oval. Villeneuve emerged unhurt and said, "It doesn't matter [about the retirement]. I am pleased to be a part of history. This track is absolutely stunning, and to be able to drive a Champ car on it is simply fantastic."
On Lap 9, the world witnessed the first successful refueling at 180 mph, when Hornish docked his Indy car with the Porsche refueling car driven by Lazier, and detached ten seconds later. On live television, a visibly proud Rick Mears revealed that the Penske team had secretly practiced the refueling procedure over a hundred times at a test track in Germany.
On Lap 11, Van Der Garde crashed in the indoor section while attempting to lap Tomas Scheckter. McLaren would not win the inaugural 500 despite having the fastest car. Hinchcliffe, who had yet to pit, found himself in the lead almost twenty seconds ahead of Rahal.
Hinchcliffe finally made a pit stop on Lap 13, and emerged ten seconds behind the new leader, Rahal.
At the halfway point, it was Rahal, Hinchcliffe, Pagenaud, Hunt, and Montoya, who was rapidly catching up to the lead pack.
Ten laps to go, Andretti's engine expired in the indoor section, throwing a thick smokescreen onto the track. Traffic slowed to a crawl until the smoke dissipated. This incident gave Rahal, Hinchcliffe and Pagenaud a huge lead over the rest of the field. Meanwhile, James Hunt retired with a mechanical problem and walked straight to a getaway car without ever taking off his helmet.
With eight laps remaining, Rahal lost control going down the esses, but managed to recover. Hinchcliffe, who had been driving a trouble-free race, closed up within two seconds of Rahal.
Five laps to go, on-board cameras revealed missing bodywork on Rahal's car as a result of his spin. Hinchcliffe managed to close the gap to one second, with Pagenaud right behind him.
It was obvious that Rahal was holding up both Hinchcliffe and Pagenaud, but Rahal was much faster on the desert straights.
Three laps to go, Pagenaud suffered an engine failure. He blamed his misfortune on following Hinchcliffe too closely and overheating his engine.
In the closing laps, it seemed like a battle between Rahal, Hinchcliffe and Montoya. Montoya tried a banzai move on Hinchcliffe in the hills, but failed. He saved his car from hitting the barriers and regained control. A desperate move, but there was, of course, a $5 million difference between 3rd place and 2nd place.
On the last lap, Hinchcliffe attempted to outbrake Rahal at the end of the desert straight, but did not get the job done. The loss of momentum allowed Montoya to sneak past and go for the lead.
On the last run through the desert, it was Rahal leading Montoya by less than two car lengths, with Hinchcliffe seemingly resigned to third place.
Coming out of the last corner, in front of a hundred thousand cheering fans, Montoya caught a draft from Rahal's car and pulled alongside...
I'm not going to give away the ending because I think we have earn it first.
Yes, we can make this happen for real. It doesn't have to involve petitioning Tony George and Brian Barnhart to do this and that. We don't have to get permission from Bernie Ecclestone. There is enough wealth in the world to save auto racing five times over.
What auto racing desperately needs is something that can stir our imagination. Remember when you were a child and you first picked up an illustrated book of race cars and you were dazzled by all the different types of cars: the ones with the big wings, small wings, the ones with sharp nose, flat nose, the ones with fancy grilles, the ones that look like rockets... ?
I had a book like that. It had a page that showed a Ferrari 312T with that fancy airbox, and next to it was a six-wheeled Tyrrell. As a seven-year-old, I thought that was really cool. I am sure that image had something to do with why I am a race fan today.
Spec racers on spec tracks betray the promise given to me by that book. Today's children should not have to watch twenty four identical Dallara-Hondas going around in circles. They wouldn't be terribly interested, anyway.
Today's racing is being run for all the wrong reasons, and its success is being measured in all the wrong ways. It should not be about bringing television audiences or making money or selling products. Motor racing should not try to become an entertainment
product. We have ball games and action movies for that. Instead, motor racing should be bigger than life; it should inspire young engineers, be an outlet for technological creativity and innovation, and stir the imagination of audiences worldwide.
Ask yourself why you got into racing, and what particular scenes or moments excite you. Write it down on the Internet. Focus on a positive vision of racing; let's not waste time on cynicism or negative criticism of the establishment. If you're at a race, talk to the engineers and drivers. Ask them how they got into racing. Did they watch
Speed Racer when they were little? Remind them that, once upon a time, drivers conquered the 14-mile Nurburgring at full speed. Ask them why they don't do that anymore.
If we come up with a coherent and persuasive vision of racing, I have faith that the money and resources will naturally follow. It only takes a few wealthy individuals and organizations bitten by the racing bug. We need to make this bug bite again.
It was four-thirty on Sunday morning, somewhere on the outer edge of the Formula 1 universe. In the little suburb, twenty miles from the nearest city, the streets lie deserted beneath the lampposts. Only occasionally, there would be a vague roar of a high-flying jet or a distant hum of a street sweeper. Overlooking an empty lot, through the window of a studio apartment soon to be vacated, there I was in my plastic chair, typing away in the cool glow of my laptop computer. On the wall, a television tuned to a whisper tried to sell me a bottle of motor oil.
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