Pit Pass: Renovations at historic IMS underway

From racing to renovating at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Since packing up another MotoGP road-course event and hosting Wednesday's IndyCar oval-track test, the focus has turned to preparations for next year's 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The historic facility will certainly have a different look. Almost everything in the upper deck of the front straightaway's outside grandstand is being reworked, from the replacement of the roof to the introduction of new seating (seats instead of aluminum bleachers).

Support beams will be removed for improved viewing. Accessible seating will go in. New restrooms, too. And WiFi.

Access to those amenities will come in the form of six elevators, something IMS has never had in the part of the facility.

Work isn't limited to general spectator areas. The Hulman Suites located at the exit of Turn 4 will be renovated.

The entrance to IMS will change, too, with Gate 1 getting a makeover. It will be wider, with better flow from the recently added roundabout at the intersection of 16th Street and Georgetown Road.

Gate 9, which is near Turn 4, will receive similar attention.

"That will change the look and feel of those areas," track president Doug Boles said. "We're going to really make it special, make it feel like you've come to the greatest racetrack in the world."

The plan is to replace much of the track fencing.

"The poles will remain, but they'll be cleaned and re-coated," Boles said. "There will be new meshing, and we'll replace the cables if they need to be. The back side of the wall is rusted, so we'll repaint that, too, which should spruce that up."

More steps toward schedule

Auto Club Speedway confirmed Friday it won't be hosting an IndyCar Series event in 2016 due in part to an inability to land a mutually beneficial date. The event had been held the past four years.

A published report out of Phoenix says IndyCar and Phoenix International Raceway have identified a date (April 2) for a race if financial details can be worked out.

"This is the closest we've been in 10 years," track president Bryan Sperber told azcentral.com.

Indy cars raced there from 1964-2005.

It's not really a surprise, but two more IndyCar dates for next season were confirmed with the announcement of IMSA's SportsCar Championship. The Long Beach event will be April 15-17 with the Detroit event June 3-5.

Clauson's 'crazy' plan

Bryan Clauson's 2016 goal is to compete in 200 races, including the Indianapolis 500.

The Noblesville driver who has won four USAC national championships will begin with a Jan. 1 race in New Zealand, where he will end the tour in December.

In between will be more than 100 winged sprint car races along with numerous midget, non-wing sprint car and Silver Crown races, plus the 500 for a third time.

Clauson will again drive for Jonathan Byrd's Racing, which partnered with KV Racing Technology in this year's 500. He plans to race in all of short-track racing's centerpiece events, including the Chili Bowl, the Knoxville Nationals, the Kings Royal and the Belleville Midget Nationals.

Etc.

Dalton Millican, the 22-year-old son of NHRA Top Fuel driver Clay Millican, was killed Wednesday night in a single-person motorcycle accident near their home in Drummonds, Tenn. ... Donny Schatz, who has won eight of the past nine Knoxville Nationals for Tony Stewart Racing, will start on the pole for Saturday night's 55th-annual event in Knoxville, Iowa. ... MotoGP slapped Pol Espargaro with an irresponsible riding penalty from last week's Indianapolis race.

Follow Star reporter Curt Cavin on Facebook and on Twitter: @curtcavin.