In an interview with ESPN's Bob Varsha, IndyCar President &
CEO Andrew Craig said the inaugural U.S. 500 is almost sold out
with 3,000-4,000 seats remaining ("U.S. 500 Pole Qualifying,"
ESPN, 5/11). CART members said if no compromise is reached with
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for next year's Indy 500, there
will be a another U.S. 500 on Memorial Day, but the location is
undetermined (Anglique Chengelis, DETROIT NEWS, 5/13). Driver
A.J. Foyt blasted CART teams yesterday, calling owners who are
boycotting the Indy 500 "crybabies and ingrates" (CHICAGO
TRIBUNE, 5/13). In an interview during Indy time trials on ABC,
Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George said the new
IRL series was "inevitable" and designed to create "new
opportunities" for U.S. drivers who were not getting the
opportunities to get into Indy cars and "pursue a dream of racing
at the Indianapolis 500." George: "We feel that oval racing is
Americana. It's what the tradition of the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 has always been, and we're
trying to reinfranchise oval tracks in America. ... Clearly
there's a demand for more motor racing. It's taken off, and we
feel that the product we are trying to develop is needed and
wanted and time will tell as to whether it is accepted by the
public" ("Indy 500 Time Trials," ABC, 5/11).
