Walt Disney World's inaugural Indy 200 on Saturday "was such
a success the company already is making plans to expand the event
next year," according to this morning's ORLANDO SENTINEL.
Michael Waggoner, Manager of Motorsports for Walt Disney World:
"I don't want to sound like a cheerleader, and I hate to gloat,
but it all came together way beyond anyone's expectations."
Among the factors Disney was touting: An exit poll conducted by
IRL, the new Indy car series which staged the race, said the
event "met or exceeded expectations" and that they would return
next year; concession sales were "overwhelming"; Every Disney
hotel was booked for the weekend. As for '97, Waggoner said they
won't raise the $90 ticket price, but they will look into adding
more grandstand and VIP seating, a pedestrian tunnel and more
parking (Leslie Doolittle, ORLANDO SENTINEL, 1/30).
RACE REVIEWS: In Orlando, Brian Schmitz writes, "All in
all, a promising beginning" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 1/28). In
Indianapolis, Robin Miller writes the race "wasn't nearly as
swell as he proclaimed, or nearly as lousy as CART had hoped"
(INDIANAPOLIS NEWS-STAR, 1/30). In Boston, Michael Vega writes
that now the IRL is racing, "it seems it will take some time
before [the IRL and CART's IndyCar] reach an accord" (BOSTON
GLOBE, 1/28). In Miami, Gary Long writes, "If George's purpose
were as noble as it sounds and not a weakly disguised bid to
wrest control from those who have built a thriving CART series,
the IRL would be a welcome addition to the auto racing firmament"
(MIAMI HERALD, 1/28). HOT UNDER THE HOOD: Nearly 15 million
attended races in 13 motorsports series last year, up almost 4%
from '94, according to an annual survey by Goodyear. '95
attendance of 14,873,796 included NASCAR's new SuperTruck series.
Goodyear Racing GM Leo Mehl: "The instant popularity of
SuperTruck is a prime example of the depth of interest in motor
sports throughout the country." NASCAR's Winston Cup again led
with 5,326,721 fans, an 8.8% increase from '94. NASCAR's Busch
Grand National Series showed one of the biggest increases with a
23.1% jump from '94 to more than 1.6 million visitors. The PPG
IndyCar World Series, being challenged this year by the IRL, was
up 9.2% to 3,438,071 fans at 17 events including the Indy 500.
SuperTrucks debuted with 551,500 fans (AP/Baltimore SUN, 1/28).
