New sponsor: Crown Royal
Old Tracks Out…except Dayotna
New Tracks In: Texas, Richmond and Atlanta
Drivers can use their familiar car number
Vickers can’t run the series
Looks for at least 5 Cup drivers, but Jeff Gordon will likely bow out
Announcement on Thurs Jan 15th at 1:15pm/et
see column at ThatsRacin.com or the last week or news/rumors about IROC on my 2003 IROC page)(1-13-2004)
UPDATE – New Sponsor: The International Race of Champions [IROC] announced today the signing of a multi-year agreement with Crown Royal to be the official title sponsor of the IROC Series for 2004 and beyond. The 2004 Crown Royal International Race of Champions schedule will include the traditional Speedweeks opener at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Friday, Feb. 13. New venues are in the works for the remainder of the season including, Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday, April 2., and Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va., on Thursday, September 9. IROC is also finalizing a fall date for the Crown Royal IROC Championship finale at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Atlanta, Ga. IROC is in negotiations with Fox/Speed Channel to televise all four events [LIVE!]. With the new Crown Royal sponsorship comes a significant increase in the Series’ prize money. The purse for the 2004 IROC season will be $1.9 million including $1 million to the Series champion. This is a major increase from the 2003 season in which the champion received $250,000 and represents the highest payout for a Series Champion in IROC history.
Another big change taking place in 2004 will be the appearance of the Crown Royal IROC cars. Instead of the history-long tradition of drivers having different color cars and numbers, representing their position in the point standings, at each of the four races, a color scheme and car number, representing the driver’s native series team, will be assigned pre-season and will remain with the driver throughout the four events. The pre-assigned color and utilizing the driver’s team number will better enhance tracking and recognizing the individual competitors throughout the season. The traditional process of a blind draw will still take place among the lot of Crown Royal IROC race cars brought to each event. After the draw, color graphics and numbers will be applied to the field of race cars.
Crown Royal, America’s leading super premium whisky, has a tradition as long and distinctive as its taste. Specially blended to commemorate a grand tour of Canada made by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain in 1939, Crown Royal’s smooth, elegant style reflects its aristocratic origins and is considered the epitome of Canadian whisky. In addition to its sponsorship of the Crown Royal IROC Series, the brand also sponsors Team Crown Royal, a professional fishing team; The Crown Royal Comedy Soul Fest and a number of other major regional and national events. For more information on Crown Royal, visit www.crownroyal.com.(IROC Racing Site)(1-15-2004)
DRIVERS? Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick will compete from NASCAR’s Nextel Cup Series. Helio Castroneves, Scott Sharp and Scott Dixon, the winner of last year’s SunTrust Indy Challenge, will represent the IRL. Craftsman Truck champion Travis Kvapil, USAC star J.J. Yeley and World of Outlaws stars Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski also are expected to participate.(Richmond Times Dispatch/Fort Worth Star Telegram)(see above in this story why Vickers won’t be in it.(1-16-2004)