Indy Racing League Indy Car Series Tickets

Details of Indy Racing League Indy Car Series and the Ticket Luck value

Indy Racing League Indy Car Series
Better known as IRL, the Indy Racing League is the sanctioning body of a predominantly American based open-wheel racing series. The League comprises of two series, the premier IndyCar Series in DIRECTV HD and Firestone Indy Lights.

IndyCar Series is usually considered synonymous with the Indy Racing League. The series' centerpiece is the Indianapolis 500. Firestone Indy Nights, on the other hand, is the official developmental series of the Indy Racing League.

The IRL was founded in 1994 by Tony George and started off racing in 1996. It is owned by Hulman and Co., which also owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex and the Clabber Girl brand.

The organization broke away from USAC and thus underwent dark period. CART had sanctioned Indy car racing since 1979. The IRL was considered as a lower-cost alternative to CART, which had become technology-driven and dominated by a few wealthy multi-car teams, much like Formula One.

It initially garnered attention from some of the smaller teams who believed in the vision presented by Tony George. In following years, the IRL became similar to the CART series from which it separated.

Today, the League's winner's circle is dominated by a few wealthy teams and a strong contingent of foreign-born drivers. It has a well-developed schedule which includes five races that are not contested on ovals.

In 1992, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway registered the IndyCar trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office. CART renamed its championship the IndyCar World Series. At its inception, the series and George himself were widely ridiculed by both members of the media and some CART competitors.

The IRL's early seasons faced lack of proper schedules, mostly unknown drivers, and novice-level teams, even in the Indy 500. Having expanded the schedule and improved the caliber of drivers, the IRL began to draw teams from CART starting in 2000.

This contributed to the CART's bankruptcy, rebranding as Champ Car in 2003, and ultimate demise and absorption by the IRL in 2008.

On April 3, 2008, The IndyCar Series announced that DIRECTV is its Premier Official Sponsor. With this new sponsorship came a new name and the series was known as the IndyCar Series in DIRECTV HD.

The 2008 IndyCar Series in DIRECTV HD season was the 13th season of the series. Its Premier event was the 92nd Indianapolis 500. First of the season's 16 races were held on March 29 at Homestead. All races were televised on ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC and aired on XM Satellite Radio.

The 2008 season opener was taken away by Scott Dixon followed by Marco Andretti and Dan Wheldon. Tony Kanaan was leading the race when he crashed into a spinning Ernesto Viso's car just 7 laps from the finish and thus finished 8th.

The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the second race of the season and was won by Graham Rahal. The race was begun under caution due to excessive moisture on the course. There were several spins in the wet conditions, including the winner. Rahal was chased across the finish line by Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan.

Rahal became the youngest winner ever in the IndyCar series. He is also the first driver to win in his series debut since Scott Dixon in 2003.