Tear it all down, man

Yesterday construction crews – or more accurately, destruction crews – began to dismantle seats on the inside of Turn One at IMS in preparation for adding a few more turns to the road circuit. This work is being done in anticipation of next year’s MotoGP race, which for all intents and purposes will be replacing Formula One festivities at a fraction of the cost. From the IndyStar.

The remake of the facility’s road circuit for next year’s motorcycle race will eliminate a bleacher section known as the First Turn Terrace, which has 5,136 seats.

That loss will reduce the total number of seats available for the oval-track configuration to 252,189, based on The Star’s findings in 2004.

Track president Joie Chitwood called it “insignificant” during today's tour of the construction site.

That Curt Cavin is a seat counting machine, I tell ya. And yes, those seats are likely insignificant because no one really wants to sit on the inside of a turn with no view of the entry or exit anyways.

You can see photos of the work in progress at IndianaRacing.net, along with some nifty shots of Chitwood and Kevin Forbes, who is Director of Engineering and Construction. On a personal note: when my wife was younger her babysitter was Forbes’ ex-wife, so as you can plainly see I’m thisclose to being an "Insider".