IRL Founder Tony George said last Friday that running
the league "has been tougher than expected," according to
Bill Koenig of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. George: "We didn't
have a lot of knowledge about running a series. We probably
depended too much on the promoters to sell our product in
their markets." Though George said the IRL is a "good
product," he added the league must "get better at telling
our own story." George also said that it's "unlikely" the
IRL will ever merge with CART. George said, "It's more
difficult with each passing day to get the two series
together," as the two series "have different business models
they've chosen to pursue" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/20). More
George: "It's OK ... to choose to go down separate paths.
There's value in what each of us provides" (CHICAGO SUN-
TIMES, 5/21). The AP's Mike Harris wrote that despite the
presence of CART's Chip Ganassi Racing in the Indianapolis
500, any "hope of a unification" between CART and the IRL
"in the foreseeable future is a dead issue." George: "The
unification of the type that most people consider to be
destiny-changing is not likely to happen" (AP, 5/20).
LOOKING BACK: In Boston, Michael Vega noted that New
Hampshire Int'l Speedway (NHIS) Owner Bob Bahre "opted not
to renew" his contract with the IRL in '98. George, on why
the IRL "didn't seem to be a fit" at NHIS: "It's really hard
to say and address all the things that could've been done
better from our standpoint and from the track's standpoint.
It's so voluminous that I don't want to get into it,
specifically. But I think the fact that we were a young
series and it was very fluid for the first couple of years,
we didn't have a lot of knowledge of running a series, how
to structure ourselves, how to staff ourselves." George:
"We're trying to provide better support and resources to the
promoters, to develop a better working relationship with the
promoters and probably a lack of those things caused New
Hampshire and others not to be successful" (B. GLOBE, 5/20).
WHAT ABOUT BOB? In Indianapolis, Bill Koenig profiled
IRL CMO Bob Reif, who "is now the second-most-important
figure in the IRL, behind only" George. Reif: "I wanted to
run a business about this size and I have an opportunity to
grow this business" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/21).
