[TLK]

The IRL Fires Back.....

IRL Responds to OWRS
Written by: Jeff Olson
Indianapolis, Ind. – 1/16/2004

If the Indy Racing League bids on CART’s assets -- and if that bid is successful -- it could be a major step toward reunifying U.S. open-wheel racing, an IRL spokesman said Friday.

Fred Nation, the IRL’s executive vice president for communications, said league officials are in the process of determining what, if anything, they plan to bid on. CART has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors; Open Wheel Racing Series, a group led by CART team owners Paul Gentilozzi and Kevin Kalkhoven, has proposed to purchase the assets.

Other parties interested in submitting bids must do so by Jan. 23. U.S. bankruptcy judge Frank J. Otte will render a final decision on Jan. 28.

"We have a greater chance of going forward with a unified approach to open-wheel racing on both ovals and road and street courses -- a better chance than anyone else does, in our opinion," Nation said. "The gentlemen who are bidding on the bankrupt CART assets are not responsible for CART’s bankruptcy. They’re trying to resuscitate a failed operation and take it forward with the same failed business model used in the past. We would argue that everyone’s energies would be better spent on a unified approach to open-wheel racing in North America."

Bobby Rahal, who fields teams in both series and is a past CEO of CART, echoed Nation’s sentiments.

"Having one clear leader in the sport, certainly to me, is of great value," Rahal said during an IRL teleconference Tuesday. "If I look back on CART, clearly that’s what it didn’t have. That probably pre-empted or probably produced much of the unfortunate things we’ve seen over the last 10 years. We’re all in this together, and I think if we want open-wheel racing to be what it once was or at least get on the path to what it once was, then we’ve got to all work together."

Nation acknowledged that the IRL is interested in CART’s capital assets but is assessing the value of race contracts and the possibility of penalties from promoters if CART races are canceled. CART’s original season opener in February at St. Petersburg, Fla., has been canceled, and the sanctioning body’s first race of 2004 is set for April 18 at Long Beach, Calif.

IRL officials have toured CART headquarters in Indianapolis, looking at equipment that includes a portable care center, timing and scoring devices and black boxes. Series officials then indicated they were considering a bid.

"There’s little doubt that a lot of that (equipment) would be of use to us," Nation said, adding that the IRL is more concerned about signed contracts and other obligations CART currently has and may still have after bankruptcy proceedings are final.

"What OWRS is saying is they’ll take it all. We’re saying we may not be willing to take that risk," Nation said. "There are a lot of things we’re looking at. We could decide to do nothing. That’s always an option. We could decide to bid on everything or just bid on certain portions."

Kalkhoven said earlier this week that any bid by the IRL would be merely an attempt to destroy the rival series (click here for story). Nation disputed Kalkhoven’s comments, saying any bid by the IRL would be an attempt to strengthen open-wheel racing. However, Nation indicated he wasn’t surprised by the reaction.

"These gentlemen are competitors," Nation said. "We would expect them to do their very best to win this race, if it turns out to be a race. We have come to expect over the years that provocative statements are a stock and trade of whoever is in charge of CART."

The split in domestic open-wheel racing began in 1996, when Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George formed the Indy Racing League and changed the specifications and rules surrounding the Indianapolis 500. Saying, in effect, that they had been locked out of the race, CART teams boycotted the ‘96 Indy 500, and the two series since have run as rivals.

In recent years, most of CART’s high-profile owners have joined the all-oval IRL, including Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi , along with engine manufacturers Honda and Toyota. Last season, IRL officials told teams to prepare for the possibility of road racing in 2004.

"You hear all kinds of rumors about the potential of going road racing," Rahal said. "I think that would be of great value. I think that’s what made open-wheel racing so successful in the 1980s, for example, and early 1990s, was when you had sort of a combination of both. I’m hopeful that road racing is a component of the IRL, but that’s really not up to me."

Nation said it is "highly unlikely" that the IRL would add any road or street races to its 2004 schedule regardless of the outcome of the CART bankruptcy proceedings. He said IRL officials are not in contact with promoters of CART’s most valued street and road venues, including the Long Beach Grand Prix, the Toronto Molson Indy and Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

"We don’t really have the ability to deal with the venues to put on those races (in 2004)," Nation said. "First, they’re under contract to CART. Second, our season is complete, our sponsors are complete, our TV schedule is complete. We have a very limited ability to make any changes at this point. If we make a bid and we are successful, we can put on a 2005 season that will incorporate the best of road and street courses with our oval schedule and preserve them in a way that provides a sound foundation."

Nation said a final decision regarding a possible bid for CART’s assets isn’t likely until shortly before the Jan. 23 deadline.