Memorial Day weekend will feature three major auto races centered around the 81st running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. CART will hold its inaugural Motorola 300 on Saturday with the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. ABC will feature live coverage of the IRL and CART races, while TBS has live coverage of the Coca-Coca 600 (THE DAILY). INDY'S LOST LUSTER? In the WALL STREET JOURNAL, John Helyar writes that the Indy 500 "sputters into its second year of second-rate action Sunday, diminished by a continuing motor-sports feud and apparently doomed to remain that way for the foreseeable future." The "battle" between CART and the IRL "is turning both sides into losers" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/23). In USA TODAY's "Bonus" auto racing section, the front-page featured Indy under the header, "Indy Being Torn Apart. Tradition of 500 Takes Another Hit." In a separate column, Tom Weir writes of the IRL-CART feud, adding, "Already NASCAR has shown signs it is prepared to blow past Indy-car racing for keeps" (USA TODAY, 5/23). In Florida, Tony Fabrizio: "But without the Indy 500, CART is a major league without a showpiece TV event. ... The IRL is widely perceived as second-rate despite being built around the prestige of the Indy 500" (FLORIDA TIMES UNION, 5/20). One CART team member who asked not to be identified: "None of our owners are concerned with the IRL. The competition that has everybody worried is NASCAR" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/21). In L.A., Jim Murray: "Wait a minute! I came back here to cover the Indianapolis 500! But I can't find it. Whatever happened to it? Where is everybody? Who are these guys?" (L.A. TIMES, 5/22). In Philadelphia, Bill Fleischman previews the Indy 500 under the header, "Whoever You Are, Start Your Engines! Dispute Leaves 81st Indy 500 Underpowered" (PHILA. DAILY NEWS, 5/23). CART NOTES: Among the race car owners to be in St. Louis for CART's Motorola 500: Paul Newman, Joe Montana, Walter Payton and David Letterman. Letterman "will be treating 70 area youngsters to Saturday's race" (Coats & Sonderegger, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/23). CART EYES IMS? IRL Founder Tony George said there was an "indirect approach" to the IRL on the "possibility of running a CART event at the track in September," according to Angelique Chengelis of the DETROIT NEWS. George: "We have to look at it as a business decision, and I don't think it would make sense for us to do that." CART CEO Andrew Craig "did not deny there had been talk of looking into a CART race at Indy but indicated the issue had never been raised in formal discussions" (DETROIT NEWS, 5/23).
