IPS: 16 races, Liberty double-header, for 2007.

The Indy Pro Series will feature a series-record 16 races - including seven races on ovals, seven on road courses and two on street courses - next season, and will compete three times at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 2007 season begins on the weekend of 24 March at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and concludes on 9 September at Chicagoland Speedway. The series, which introduced double-header weekends to its competitors in 2006, will expand from two to four such events in 2007, including two back-to-back races on the road course at Indianapolis in support of the United States Grand Prix. More than $3 million in prize money will be at stake.

"The 2007 schedule is yet another step forward for the Indy Pro Series," said team owner Sam Schmidt, whose drivers have won two of the last titles, "In the last two seasons, we've seen a tripling of the prize money, the addition of double-header race weekends as a cost-effective way to add races to the schedule, and the addition of a bonus testing programme, giving IndyCar Series teams an incentive to participate as well. Now, this is a well-balanced schedule that will afford us the opportunity to do a lot of racing on a variety of courses."

New venues for 2007 include the 7/8-mile oval at Iowa Speedway and the 13-turn, 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

"2007 should be our best season yet," said IPS executive director Roger Bailey, "Our teams have been asking for more road and street courses. Last year, we were able to introduce a 50/50 mix with the ovals, and this year the balance tips just slightly to the road/street side. We're able to maintain our oval heritage with a diverse group of racetracks ranging from less than a mile to the 2.5-mile circuit at Indianapolis while competing at a variety of challenging road and street venues."

There will now be two Pro Series races during the USGP weekend at Indianapolis, with the Liberty Challenge running as a road course double-header on 16-17 June. With the annual support race on the oval at the Indianapolis 500, the IPS will race three times at the Brickyard.

"We're excited to add another Indy Pro Series race to the United States Grand Prix schedule," IMS president Joie Chitwood said, "Fans frequently tell us they want to see more track activity and, by adding this second Indy Pro Series race and the recent announcement of more practice time for the Formula One teams on Friday, we are building an exciting weekend of on-track activity for the fans."

"We're delighted to add a third race at Indianapolis," Bailey added, "We're still the only series that competes on both the oval and the road course, and now we get another opportunity to showcase our young drivers and teams on the world's biggest auto racing stage."

After a three-race swing through Florida to begin the season, the Pro Series will compete in the fifth annual Freedom 100 on Carb Day at Indianapolis, before joining the IRL again at the Milwaukee Mile the following weekend in the only back-to-back oval races of the season, The series then returns to Indianapolis for the double-header on the road course. The series will then alternate events at ovals and road courses through the season finale.

The complete 2007 Indy Pro Series schedule is as follows:

March 24 Homestead-Miami Speedway
March 31-April 1 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg*
May 25 Indianapolis Motor Speedway
June 2 Milwaukee Mile
June 16-17 Indianapolis Motor Speedway*
June 23 Iowa Speedway
July 7-8 Watkins Glen International*
July 14 Nashville Superspeedway
July 22 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
August 11 Kentucky Speedway
August 25-26 Infineon Raceway*
September 9 Chicagoland Speedway

* denotes double-header weekend