The Indy Racing League (IRL) announced it will assume
the sanctioning and officiating responsibilities for all of
its races, beginning with the Samsonite 200 in Colorado
Springs, CO on June 29. The IRL will take over these duties
from the U.S. Auto Club (USAC), and the two had shared
sanctioning duties since the IRL's founding in '95. IRL
Exec Dir Leo Mehl: "Recent events have led us to conclude
that the Indy Racing League needs to move officiating in-
house to ensure better communications with our teams." USAC
President Richard King: "USAC has always been very
supportive of the [IRL] and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
and we will continue to be in any way we can" (IRL).
TRIAL AND ERRORS: In Indy, Curt Cavin writes that IRL
Founder Tony George decided to drop the USAC after its
"control and scoring errors" at the Indy 500 and the True
Value 500K at the Texas Motor Speedway. George will remain
on USAC's Board of Dir. IRL's Mehl added that the "eventual
consolidation of all sanctioning functions under IRL control
had been planned all along, but 'recent events moved up our
schedule'" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS, 6/17).
