IROC Delays start of 2007 season, needs a sponsor: The International Race of Champions (IROC) officials announced today a delay in the start of the 2007 season due to not having a title sponsor in place. The traditional IROC season opener at Daytona International Speedway in February will not take place while the Series continues to pursue a new title sponsor. IROC President Jay Signore said, “We’re very disappointed about not making it to Daytona this year and we’re working very hard to find a title sponsor. Our hopes are to find a new title sponsor in enough time to be able to have a full four-race season within 2007. I want to thank Robin Braig and his entire staff at Daytona International Speedway for all of their patience and support during this difficult period. All of IROC’s partners and associates have been, and continue to be, very loyal and supportive of our efforts to continue the IROC Series.” The elite All-Star invitational competition, which matches 12 drivers from different disciplines of auto racing in equally prepared cars, celebrated its 30th anniversary season in 2006 with Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart winning the prestigious $1-million IROC championship. All plans regarding the remainder of 2007 are pending the procurement of a title sponsor.(IROC PR)(1-9-2007)
Guess I'll be waiting further into the season before I start building the new site for LROC.
sounds like they are in jeopardy............if they were even close to a deal, then they wouldn't say anything and just try and get it wrapped up and signed hours before the race.
The International Race Of Champions, or IROC for short, is what I now consider the forgotten series. Why you ask? Simple. No one in the media has mentioned this series since the end of last season. The problem is that IROC needs a sponsor, but instead of the media trying to help, they seem to have just blown the series off.
Crown Royal, the former sponsor of the series, left at the end of last season. To this date IROC still has not found a sponsor. This is why we did not see an IROC event at Daytona. The race at Daytona was canceled. But IROC officials said the season is still on, at least for now. Each passing day is like a ticking time bomb. The longer the IROC series goes without a sponsor, the more of a chance the series may fizzle away.
What can we, the fans, do to help save the IROC Series? Basically nothing, unless we own a million dollar corporation that is willing to sponsor an auto racing series.
The International Race Of Champions was a favorite series among many auto racing fans. IROC takes drivers from various forms of motor sports (IRL, NASCAR, World Of Outlaws, ARCA, and ROLEX Sports Cars) and combines them to make a racing series, usually consisting of 12 drivers. These 12 drivers jump into cars that are identically made, except for the paint job, and race at their hardest. Whomever is leading the points after the fourth race of the season is declared series champion. IROC is based on driving ability, rather than setup.
The series has grown in popularity since the early 1990’s with names like Earnhardt, Gordon, Stewart, Hornish, and Kimmel taking part in the series. Who could ever forget the battle for the win between Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Michigan International Speedway in the late 90’s.
It is sad to see such a great series like the International Race Of Champions go down like this. During Speedweeks, I missed not watching the IROC race from Daytona. Hopefully IROC will find a sponsor very soon. If not, this IROC season will be canceled and the future of the series will be in jeopardy. Someone out there, please save this forgotten series. We should be talking about this series in present tense, and not past.
I enjoyed the IROC races but the series never received the respect that it deserved. There has been many great IROC races from the past but nobody seems to care about it now. why? I'm surprised the drivers aren't lobbying more to get a sponsor for this series. The only driver that I heard trying to get something done was Tony Stewart.
Why doesn't Budweiser sponsor it? They seem to have more more than they know what to do with.... sponsor 4 IROC races during the year.
