ON THE CART PATH: INDYCAR WON'T GO HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH INDY

     CART, the IndyCar sanctioning body, released their schedule
Monday and will not run a race "head-to-head" against the IRL's
Indy 500, according to Shav Glick of the L.A. TIMES.  The CART
schedule shows a race at the yet-to-be-built Gateway
International Raceway in Madison, IL on Saturday, May 24, the day
before the Indy 500.  Last year, CART ran the U.S. 500 at
Michigan International Speedway on the same day as the Indy race.
This year, the U.S. 500 will remain in Michigan but will be run
on July 27.  Roger Penske's new California Speedway will be the
site of CART's season finale on September 28.  CART President
Andrew Craig: "Our last race gives us the strongest schedule
possible on the West Coast. We have now have five races --
Vancouver, Portland, Laugna Seca, Long Beach and Fontana -- in
the West" (L.A. TIMES, 10/8).  In Indianapolis, Bill Koenig notes
that May '97 will be much "less controversial" than this year,
but "big corporate dollars ... may still bypass the city" as
major sponsors of CART say "they'll spend their money where CART
competes."  Major sponsors reportedly told CART they preferred
the group not race on the same day as the Indy 500, and "at the
same time, representatives of companies that sponsor CART race
teams and events said they likely won't come to Indianapolis in
May -- like they did prior to the split" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR,
10/4).