Car wars

ABC executive says IRL solid, CART running on fumes

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The head of ABC Sports has tied the network's future in auto racing to the Indy Racing League for a simple reason: He believes the IRL will be around in a few years and CART won't.

"There's not enough money, there's not enough advertising support, there's not enough sponsorship," ABC Sports president Howard Katz said Wednesday. "There's not enough room for both U.S.-based open-wheel series."

Preparing to televise its 38th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, ABC Sports is betting on the IRL, the circuit that shook up open-wheel racing when Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George started it in 1996, hoping to fill a void in open-wheel oval racing in the United States.

These days, the IRL is on strong footing. A contract with ABC Sports and ESPN, recently extended through 2007, is part of that base. ABC and ESPN televise all 15 IRL races, although it's no secret that they merely tolerate 14 of them so they can have the rights to the crown jewel, the Indy 500.

Meanwhile, the Championship Auto Racing Teams circuit is struggling to hold onto a dwindling number of owners, drivers and engine builders. If Katz's prediction comes true, CART's TV money will dry up soon, too, and that will hasten the demise of the circuit.

CART has a deal to televise seven of its races on CBS. Fox televised the CART Grand Prix of Long Beach last month. Most of the rest of the races will be on Speed Channel, a deal CART officials say has drastically increased their circuit's exposure from the days of its decade-long contract with ABC and ESPN that ended after last year.

CART vice president of marketing Steve Fusek concedes neither series enjoys great TV ratings -- CART was celebrating a 1.0 for its Long Beach race on Fox. Still, he disputes the notion that there's no room in the TV landscape for both series.

"We couldn't grow our sport when we didn't have a partner that was interested in growing the sport," Fusek said of CART's time with ABC and ESPN. "Now, they're cherry picking a big event and doing the others as necessary evils. We've got a partner that wants to grow our sport."

But unlike the IRL, to get its product on network TV, CART must buy the time from CBS and is responsible for ad sales for its broadcasts. It's hardly the arrangement many experts expected after the split, when all the big-name teams and drivers stayed with CART and left George scrounging to fill the field for the 1996 Indy 500.

But slowly over the years, they have come back. Before this season began, Roger Penske broke ranks with CART to join the IRL, a major move that hugely increased the IRL's legitimacy and hurt CART. Penske, whose drivers are Gil de Ferran and defending Indy champion Helio Castroneves, was one of the founders of CART.

"If Roger saw that it was better for his future to join with Tony George, I think that's a heck of a statement," Katz said.

Katz believes there is no longer any value in trying to promote competing open-wheel series on the same networks. This is despite the fact that ABC will follow the Indy 500 with coverage of the Monaco Grand Prix, the Formula One circuit's top race. Katz views that programming decision more as an experiment than a long-term trend.

Instead, he views the real issue as the one between CART and IRL, and Katz thinks he has already picked the winner. He says ABC will try to ensure the IRL's success.

"You can only promote so many things," Katz said. "With more than one racing series out there, we have to make sure all our energy and focus is on IRL."

Fusek thinks CART is better off with its new TV deal. He concedes, however, that this isn't the greatest week for CART to be touting itself.

"Here in Indianapolis, we're in a position where people want us to apologize for what we have," Fusek said. "We don't have to apologize."

 

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