Championship contenders will emerge from varied oval, road/street mix source: indycar.com / Dave Lewandowski Initially, Rick Mears liked the 2007 IndyCar Series schedule for its mix of ovals and road/street courses. Upon further review, the three-time national championship and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner appreciates how it will test championship aspirants. The 17-race blend of speedways, short ovals, permanent road courses and temporary street circuits kicks off March 24 with the XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 on the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway oval. It's one of five races that will be broadcast live in prime time. A week later, the stars and cars will be on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., for the third Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. "Adding the road courses definitely raises the bar," the Indy Pro Series driver coach said. "You have to get more efficient at everything. Personally, from a driver's standpoint, I've always liked 50-50. Then if one guy had an advantage on a road course and one on an oval, it kind of offset a little bit. To still win the championship, you had to get it together on everything." Three venues debut on the schedule: the 0.88-mile Iowa Speedway oval (June 24), the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (July 22) and the 2.096-mile Raceway at Belle Isle street circuit (Sept. 2). "We have 1.5-mile ovals," said Team Penske's Helio Castroneves, a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. "We have superspeedways. We have short ovals and road and street courses. That means in 2007, the driver who wins the championship will have succeeded on a variety of tracks." Of course, Castroneves hopes he's the one on top of the standings after the Sept. 9 race at Chicagoland Speedway. He finished two points behind teammate Sam Hornish Jr. and Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Dan Wheldon in the '06 championship race. The breakdown: ● Four short ovals (Richmond International Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, The Milwaukee Mile and Iowa Speedway). ● Six 1.5-mile speedways (Homestead-Miami, Twin Ring Motegi, Texas, Kansas, Kentucky and Chicagoland). ● Two superspeedways (2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway and 2-mile Michigan). ● Five road/street courses (St. Petersburg, Watkins Glen, Infineon, Mid-Ohio and Belle Isle).
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