No Cleveland, no Australia...but no New Hampshire or Las Vegas either. (LAT photo) » More Photos

Loudon, the racy oval in New Hampshire where CART and IRL both staged events in the 1990s, did not make the cut – which didn’t seem to surprise anyone but Jerry Gappens, vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Speedway.

“I think it's a slap in the face to Bruton Smith, our Chairman, and to our company who have both been very supportive of the Indy Racing League since its inception,” said Gappens, referring to the fact IndyCar currently runs at Texas, Kentucky and Sonoma (all Smith tracks).

“I sat in a meeting and watched Bruton ask them for a race here, which they seemed extremely interested in doing, pending scheduling conflicts with Japan. In addition, in that same meeting, they asked him to host the series finale in Las Vegas, which Mr. Smith agreed to and even offered the speedway and financial support for it to happen this year.

“Having attended that meeting in early June, it’s hard to believe that neither facility is on the new schedule.”

IndyCar was considering one of its former tracks, the Smith-owned oval at Las Vegas, for the season finale but it’s believed IRL officials looked at Loudon no earlier than 2010, due to prior contractual commitments.

“We continue to have an interest in that market (Loudon), we’ve said that, and we hope we can keep an open dialogue there,” said Angstadt. “I had a very cordial conversation with Bruton two days ago and I don’t think he felt that way.

“We respect if we don’t fit into their business plan and we hope we can work together in the future. At both venues.”

Opening on a street course (St. Petersburg, April 5) instead of an oval for the first time in its 14-year existence signals the IRL’s shift in philosophy. Of the 18 races, eight are road races or street circuits.

Toronto, which will likely need Paul Tracy to be in a competitive ride to be successful, will be promoted by Andretti Green and returns following a one-year hiatus.

Long Beach, which hosted the Champ Car swan song this year, entertains IndyCar for the first time next April 19th and it will be the 35th anniversary of the most successful street show in this country.

As expected, Nashville was dropped and Homestead faced the same fate, but the IRL did not want to end its season out of the country so it came down to Las Vegas or Miami-Dade Speedway. The IRL drew pathetic crowds in its final years at Vegas (1999-2000) while Homestead has struggled to get 20,000 despite being the IRL season opener since 2002. It will now host the finale on Oct. 11.