After Andrew Craig resigned as CART Chair & CEO on
Friday, the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS' Bill Fleischman writes
that Craig "was seen by many as the obstacle to any thaw
between CART and the IRL." IRL driver Eddie Cheever said,
"Maybe [Craig's] absence will allow us to take a couple of
steps forward" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 6/21)....In Dallas,
Tony Fabrizio writes that if CART team owner and interim CEO
Bobby Rahal "has his way," CART "will compete" at TX Motor
Speedway (TMS) in 2001. Rahal: "Nothing is final by any
stretch. But [TMS GM] Eddie [Gossage] and I have spoken for
several years about a race. Eddie is one of the finest
promoters in the country. I think our cars would put on a
heck of a show there" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/21).
IRL IN TENNESSEE? After the IRL formally announced its
2001 schedule on Sunday, league and Nashville Superspeedway
officials said that "bringing" an IRL race into an area
where NASCAR "is king is no more a stretch than pro football
blossoming in a college football stronghold," according to
Andrew Humbles of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. Dover Downs
Entertainment President & CEO Denis McGlynn, whose company
is building the speedway in Nashville: "We'll find out if
we've made good decisions by how many tickets are sold. The
Nashville market is becoming pretty sophisticated in its
sports preferences. Nobody thought the NFL would be in
Nashville." IRL VP/Corporate Communications Fred Nation
said of the Nashville market: "We do not expect to draw like
NASCAR Winston Cup. Our expectations are to draw 30,000-
40,000" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 6/20).
