Does the IRL limit participation by non-Americans?
No. A common bit of disinformation spread by the IRL’s detractors is that they have rules restricting non-American participation. There are no such rules, and among the non-U.S. born currently driving in the IRL are 1998 IRL champion Kenny Brack, Scott Goodyear, Stephan Gregoire, and two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk. The IRL wants to strongly discourage foreign drivers (and American drivers too, for that matter) from using their own funding to buy their way into rides (a characteristic of Formula 1 and other forms of big-money road racing), but there is no rule against international participation per se. To summarize: internationals are welcome, but the form of racing itself is uniquely American, and no apologies are offered for that. In the IRL’s early days, there were a few incidents where IRL officials, team owners, or drivers made disparaging remarks about international participants. It’s a free country, so the owners and drivers can make fools of themselves if they want, but
