A former IZOD IndyCar Series rookie of the year will return to the circuit for its final event in Japan.
Tokyo native Hideki Mutoh, who drove for Andretti Autosport (then Andretti Green Racing) in 2008 and 2009, then migrated to Newman-Haas Racing in 2010, will drive the No. 17 AFS Racing/Sam Schmidt Motorsports entry at the upcoming Indy Japan: The Final (Sept. 17, 11:30 p.m. ET, Versus) on the Twin Ring Motegi road course.
Mutoh had a rough 2010 with N-H, collecting a high finish of 12th in three different events and finishing 18th in the championship. Since his departure from IndyCar, he’s kept busy in his home country’s Super GT sports car series.
Meanwhile, the Kentucky and Las Vegas rounds in October will have Panther Racing fielding a second car for Buddy Rice, who competed for the outfit at the Indianapolis 500. Rice will drive the No. 44 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka-backed machine alongside J.R. Hildebrand in the final two events of the season.
Las Vegas is set to be Rice’s 100th start in the IZOD IndyCar Series.
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Last weekend’s Baltimore Grand Prix notched a 0.6 rating on Versus, making it the second-highest rated IZOD IndyCar Series event in the network’s history. Perhaps just as important with this new market, Versus was the No. 1-rated network in Baltimore during the race’s time slot, pulling a 5.0 local rating in the 2:45-5 p.m. ET period.
Not that everybody should be — or is — completely thrilled with this. After all, there’s plenty of improvement to be made in order for IndyCar to start pulling solid 1s on cable. Meanwhile, Baltimore Sun TV columnist David Zurawik is firing away at the city for what he sees as over-selling TV viewership projections. You be the judge on whether he has an argument…
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The 2012 schedule evolved slightly today as IndyCar and the ISC-owned Auto Club Speedway in Southern California announced that the track will stage a 400-mile IZOD IndyCar Series race under the lights on Sept. 15, 2012.
