Several major corporate sponsors say they plan to bypass the
Indy 500 in May and instead go to the new U.S. 500 in Michigan,
according to the INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS. Sponsors such as Honda,
Toyota, Miller Brewing and Mercedes Benz have traditionally used
the Indy 500 to entertain customers or stage corporate events.
But they all have "extensive ties" to CART, which plans to stage
a competing race as the result of a dispute with the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway and its new Indy Racing League. Miller expects
most of its employees with race duty to go to Michigan because of
the involvement of Bobby Rahal, whom the company sponsors. But
Miller spokesperson Marc Abel said some will probably be
interested in going to Indy. Some sponsors, especially those not
tied to CART teams, will stick with Indy. Among them: PPG
Industries and Borg-Warner Automotive (Bill Koenig, INDIANAPOLIS
STAR-NEWS, 1/23).
INDY RACING LEAGUE DEBUT: With most of CART's major stars
and teams avoiding the new IRL, the circuit's debut race,
Saturday's Indy 200 at Walt Disney World, will help answer
whether Indianapolis Motor Speedway makes the stars or vice-
versa, according to the N.Y. TIMES. The IRL started with 18
drivers entered for the Disney race, 3/4 of a full 24-car field.
But only two of the drivers have ever won an Indy car race.
Since then, five more drivers have been entered, the most famous
being Lyn St. James. Questions have also been raised about the
ages and experience of some of the drivers entered (Joseph Siano,
N.Y. TIMES, 1/21).
A sellout crowd of 51,000 is expected to see a race that includes
a "cast of unknowns" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 1/21).
WHERE'S IT HEADING? In Dallas, Cathy Harasta writes that
IRL President Tony George "might not have much room to back off
his stance, even if the IRL emerges as a minor-league product."
She adds, "Plenty of companies might start resisting the idea of
putting their money into mass confusion" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS,
1/22). In Chicago, Dave van Dyck writes, "In the end, it is the
fan and his money who will decide the outcome of the weird war"
(CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/21). In Miami, Gary Long writes that one
of the IRL's "more marketable" participants, Eddie Cheever,
thinks both IRL and CART can exist, but "one will definitely be
dominant over the other" (MIAMI HERALD, 1/21).
