Since the merger of ISC and Penske Motorsports, the
"buzz has been nonstop that a plan is being formulated to
pull together CART and the IRL," with NASCAR President Bill
France Jr. as the "mediator," according to Robin Miller of
the INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS. CART team owner Barry Green: "I
don't think CART or the IRL impress him (France)
individually, so maybe he's interested in helping make us
better." Miller wrote that the "thinking" is that France,
who is partners with IRL Founder Tony George for a proposed
track in Joliet, IL, and runs NASCAR's Brickyard 400 at IMS,
"can convince" George to "close ranks." Although "nobody
will confirm it, there is an unofficial proposal from CART
that reportedly suggests" the following: CART and IRL names
are dropped for the term Indy Car; CART's Troy, MI, office
is closed and moved to Indianapolis, where Indy Car will
operate; CART Chair Andrew Craig's role "would be reduced,
redefined or removed;" CART would control the rules and IMS
the marketing; and IRL's "car specifications" would be
retained. George did admit that France and Craig "both
visited him, separately, last week, but he neither saw nor
heard of any unification plan" (INDY STAR-NEWS, 5/22).
IS CROWN JEWEL A "FAKE"? In Edmonton, Dave Cameron
writes that the Indy 500 "has been turned into a fake ever
since" George and the IRL broke from CART. George is
"scamming the public and getting away with it because the
event is larger-than-life" (EDMONTON SUN, 5/24).
THE RATIONALE: CHICAGO TRIBUNE Associate Sports
Managing Editor John Cherwa explained the newspaper's
decision not to cover the Indy 500 as long as the IRL banned
SI Senior Writer Ed Hinton from covering the event. Cherwa:
"Sometimes you have to make a stand and defend a principle
that is greater than any single newspaper. And certainly
any single sporting event. ... We can't allow the people we
cover to pick the reporters they want to cover them. How
can you, as readers, have confidence that the reporting we
give you is unbiased if the people running an event are
picking the people who write about them?" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE,
5/23). In Boston, Michael Vega took exception to George
calling Hinton "dangerous to himself and the sport" that he
covers. Vega: "You're wrong, Tony. ... Actually, you are
the one who's dangerous to yourself and the sport we are
assigned to cover." Vega wrote that George "is vengeful and
carries grudges, so don't hold your breath waiting for a
reconciliation" with CART (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/23).
