Musco Lighting - Cart Race

The first-ever night Championship Auto Racing Team (CART) race Saturday, May 31 at the Milwaukee Mile proved to be a winner across the board.
Photos courtesy of Allen Graf Jr.

First night CART race huge success

A fleet of fourteen Musco mobile lighting trucks produced more than 126 million lumens of light surrounding the Milwaukee Mile for the 102nd annual Champ Car Race. According to published sources, drivers gave the night a big thumbs up.

Winner Michel Jourdain Jr. said, “I think it is much better the way I could see at night.” Third-place finisher Patrick Carpentier added, “It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed it.”

CART CEO Chris Pook was also pleased. Despite extreme weather conditions, 34,000 fans stayed enthusiastic through the entire race. “We were able to provide temporary lighting for a high-speed circuit and put on a damn good show,” he said.

“You did a great job at lighting the Milwaukee Mile for the first-ever CART night race. The lighting was by far the best that I have ever seen! There were no dark spots and it was evenly lit all the way around the track. I am also one of the photographers who shot the race and my photos are great. Once again, my hat's off to you people and your staff that were at the track and able to help us put on a great show. Without you and your people it would not have happened. Thanks again.” Allen Graf Jr.

Success bodes well for July 5th Cleveland Grand Prix
In July, the trucks will travel to the 2.1 mile Cleveland Grand Prix to light the largest single event ever lighted with a temporary lighting system. That event will require more than 20 trucks, generating approximately 200 million lumens of light…the equivalent of the lighting produced by nearly a half million car headlights.

Challenges to lighting the Cleveland Grand Prix
The Cleveland race will require lighting the equivalent of 23 football fields. In addition to the challenges of lighting such a vast area, technicians will have a small window of time to set up the lighting systems. They will have less than 48 hours to erect, aim and power the system in time for the July 5th race. Following the event, the system has to be moved out to allow nearby Burke Lakefront Airport to reopen Monday morning, July 7th.

Musco’s experience lighting night races

CART chose Musco for these events based on Musco’s extensive involvement in race track lighting. Musco has been associated with auto racing since 1986 when they first lighted a major track with their mobile lighting system…the Bristol Motor Speedway and later the Richmond International Raceway. Since that time Musco has worked closely with auto racing to ensure driver safety, spectator needs and television requirements in lighting ten major NASCAR tracks with permanent systems.

Fifteen 6,000 watt HMI par lights are mounted on each truck; the trucks are completely self-contained, self-sufficient and remote controlled. The trucks are placed to accommodate camera locations, while at the same time making sure quality lighting is provided for the drivers.

The same type of equipment was used to light the first primetime broadcast of a college football game in 1982 at Notre Dame Stadium. Since then Musco mobile lighting trucks have provided temporary lighting solutions around the globe for a wide variety of events such as Olympic Games, Goodwill Games, Statue of Liberty Rededication, and U.S. Presidents’ inaugurations. Additionally, four trucks were set up for more than eight months at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center site providing light so rescue and cleanup efforts could continue around the clock. Those four trucks are part of the fleet lighting the races at both locations. •