The 1997 U.S. 500 will be held on July 27th at Michigan International Speedway. The traditional Marlboro 500 will end the 1997 season at Roger Penske's new facility in September. Penske's California Speedway is located in Fontana, California, and is a stone's throw from where the Ontario Speedway used to be.

Meanwhile, both the fans and the media eagerly await the 1997 IndyCar schedule. The IndyCar board of directors met today (October 3rd) and the announcement of the '97 schedule is heavily anticipated.

Sources say that the IndyCar camp will be running a race on Memorial Day weekend at Chris Pook's revamping of a race facility located in East St. Louis, Illinois.

Gateway International Raceway is currently under re-construction and will host a Saturday race, the day before the Indy 500. Gateway had been neglected over the years and was formerly a combination road-course/dragstrip.

At this announcement, comments from the fans are pouring in. It seems that East St. Louis, Illinois, is not a pretty place. One fan stated, "East St. Louis is like Beirut, except with less glamour." Another fan says, "Never run out of gas in East St. Louis." And yet another says, "I'll go to the race -- with a gun in my pocket."

A former resident (25 years ago) of Missouri said, "Don't cross the bridge...we never crossed the bridge. Never cross the bridge (into East St. Louis).

It also reported that Gateway International Raceway is not in the "bad" section of East St. Louis.

SpeedCenter is initiating a poll and would like some feedback from the fans:

Where exactly, is this track in relation to the "bad area(s)" of East St. Louis?

Have you ever been to East St. Louis? Please describe your experience.

Will you be going to the race at Gateway International Raceway in 1997? And why? Or why not?