Fittipaldi USA, a company owned by two-time Indy 500 winner
and CART driver Emerson Fittipaldi, is a named defendant in the
antitrust lawsuit filed May 6 by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
against CART, Roger Penske and three Penske companies over use of
the IndyCar trademark. NATIONAL SPEED SPORT NEWS reports
Fittipaldi USA was added to the suit after the driver sued IMS
for stripping him of Brazilian Indy 500 TV rights -- which he has
owned for the past 11 years. The dispute arose following the
airing of two earlier IRL races on Brazilian TV at 1:30am.
Fittipaldi claimed it was the network, not himself, who decided
to air the races at that time (NSSN, 5/15 issue).
GET READY TO RUMBLE: Chief among criticisms this week from
CART drivers, who completed their time trials at Michigan Int'l
Speedway, is an allegation that IRL officials are "doctoring the
rules" so that speeds will be faster at Indianapolis than at the
U.S. 500. Meanwhile, NATIONAL SPEED SPORT NEWS Editor Chris
Economaki notes the "forgotten fact" that it was not rules
differences, but rather the placing of a CART date on IRL's "New
Hampshire Sunday" that sparked the feud. Economaki: "Had that
move not been made, everyone would be at Indy" (NSSN, 5/15
issue).
