NASCAR President Bill France, Jr. was interviewed by
Tom Groeschen of the CINCINNATI ENQUIRER. France, on which
U.S. markets remain open for NASCAR: "The Northwest is an
area we're really not in, as far as Winston Cup racing. We
are up there, with our truck series, but the weather up
there ... it rains a lot." France, on how the Indy Car
split has affected NASCAR's popularity: "We were running
pretty good before they split. I don't attribute our
success and popularity to their split. We've probably moved
a little faster because of it, but we were well on our way,
on our own" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 6/29).
RACING NOTES: IMS President Tony George continues to
seek an Formula One race for the Speedway. F-1 has not raced
in the U.S. since '91, and George is competing with bids
from San Francisco, Las Vegas and Atlanta. Sanctioning fees
are estimated at $10M-$15M, which includes travel expenses
for participants (INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS, 6/28)....New
Hampshire Int'l Speedway owner Bob Bahre said that he has
not had any talks with IRL officials about extending the
facility's contract to host the New England 200. Bahre has
lost money for three years "because of low attendance," and
Sunday's crowd was estimated at 20,000. Bahre estimated
that he stood to lose "about" $700,000 (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/29).
