The Formula One SAP U.S. Grand Prix on Sunday at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) "is the realization of [IMS
President Tony] George's 10-year-old dream, a major part of
the blueprint that he believes will take his speedway into
the 21st century," according to Sandra McKee of the Baltimore
SUN. But McKee notes the race marks F1's return to the U.S.
after almost nine years and asks, "Are American racing fans
ready?" (Baltimore SUN, 9/22). In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin
notes that George's $50-60M renovation project making IMS
suitable for F1 "has taken a decade to plan and less than two
years to build." George, on the project: "If it's not
perfect, it's very close" (INDY STAR, 9/22). In Detroit,
Steve Crowe writes that despite spending millions on the
course, George "has positioned the family-owned firm for
untold future F-1 profit." Crowe adds that the race's
"truest test won't come until 2001 and beyond, when the
novelty of visiting Indy might wane for curious Europeans"
(DETROIT FREE PRESS, 9/22). Title sponsor SAP runs a full-
page ad in USA TODAY promoting the race (THE DAILY).
NOT IMPRESSED: NASCAR team Owner Jack Roush: "I think F1
is a terrible form of racing. It's a terrible business, and
compared to NASCAR, it's not very interesting to the fans."
Roush notes F1's expenses: "By controlling technology, by
limiting the amount of money that can be spent on a car,
NASCAR has made the business work" (USA TODAY, 9/22).
WATCH OUT: In Indianapolis, Stephen Beaven notes that
Sunday's race will be carried live by 16 of FSN's 21 RSNs,
and it "will be competing" with the Olympics on NBC and the
NFL on CBS and Fox. FSN Exec VP/Programming Arthur Smith:
"It'll be tough competition." The 14 previous F1 races on
FSN have "scored" an average U.S. rating of 0.33, or 218,000
HHs (INDY STAR, 9/22). ESPN2's John Kernan reported ESPN2
will not "be able to cover [the race] the way we cover the
other major forms of racing because [F1] officials would not
grant us media credentials" (ESPN2, 9/21).
ALL FILLED UP: Beaven also writes that 200,000-250,000
people "are expected to attend" Sunday's race, and IMS
officials have predicted that about one-third will be from
central IN. About 25,000 int'l visitors are also expected.
Beaven writes, "The parties will be lavish. And money is no
object" (INDY STAR, 9/22).
