IMS President & IRL Founder Tony George confirmed that
he has met with CART officials about a reconciliation, but
said yesterday "philosophies are preventing that from
happening," according to Koenig & Cavin of the INDIANAPOLIS
STAR-NEWS, who write that George sounded "alternately
optimistic, then pessimistic" about a merger. Early in the
day, George said, "I think there's genuine interest on both
sides to develop the best open-wheel series we can. It is
productive to have dialogue." Later, George added, "Nothing
came out of those discussions to lead me to believe we came
any closer to a (joint) philosophy." Toward "the end of the
afternoon," George concluded, "I think the IRL is doing very
well in its growth. I think we've proven we don't need
(CART) to have a successful event. ... They're obviously
trying to shift some attention to themselves." George "said
some partisans are worried only about boosting CART's stock
price," which closed yesterday at $32.94, up $1.625. George
said that NASCAR President Bill France Jr. "is not
controlling the recent talks." George: "More than anything,
he wants to be a facilitator" (STAR-NEWS, 5/28). George:
"There's still a very big gap philosophically" (BOSTON
GLOBE, 5/28). George: "I think I've gone above and beyond
the call of duty in scheduling meetings at my busiest time
of year" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/28). Meanwhile, at Gateway
Int'l Raceway in IL, CART CEO Andrew Craig said, "We're in a
no-comment mode. We all certainly feel that one series is
better than two" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/28).
WHAT WOULD DEAL LOOK LIKE? In Detroit, Steve Crowe
writes that sources say the "most likely" CART/IRL deal
would "look like a CART surrender," with George "probably"
the leader of a new group (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 5/28). In
Chicago, Dave Van Dyck reports that sources say George,
buoyed by his new ABC/ESPN TV deal, "is playing hardball to
get a compromise that is weighted toward his side" (SUN-
TIMES, 5/28). IRL Exec Dir Leo Mehl said CART drivers are
missing the Indy 500: "I call it the May whine -- it happens
every year. They're over there lounging in their whine
cellars, watching 50 hours of live TV, and they get a lot of
pressure from their sponsors" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/28).
GEORGE "WRECKING" INDY? USA TODAY's Jon Saraceno writes
that the CART/IRL split has "muddled the champ-car formula,"
but he reserves his "harshest judgement ... for the kid:
Tony George." George has "shooed away drivers, some
sponsors and loyal racing fans all over the world because he
mistakenly believes the Indy 500 is self-important enough to
survive any nuclear racing fallout" (USA TODAY, 5/28).
AROUND THE TRACK: USA TODAY runs a 24-page special
section on "SpeedWeekend" (5/28)....The IRL said yesterday
it plans to run a race at the new Kansas Int'l Speedway,
which is scheduled to be completed in 2001 (K.C. STAR,
5/28)....IRL execs will "use hardware and software to drop
speeds by some 10 mph for the June 12 Longhorn 500 at Texas
Motor Speedway" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/28).
