Penske to LVMS: CART race could bring in big money

Wednesday, May 5, 1999 | 10:34 a.m.

FONTANA, Calif. -- If Las Vegas Motor Speedway officials are concerned whether a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) race can be a profitable venture, perhaps they should consider conferring with Greg Penske.

Penske, president of Penske Motorsports Inc., which owns and operates four tracks including California Speedway in Fontana, said hosting the premier open-wheel series can be nearly as profitable as holding a NASCAR Winston Cup event.

"We make money on the CART race ... we're doing very well," Penske said. "It is a very, very successful event. It's like having two Winston Cup dates -- the only difference is we don't get the TV money."

NASCAR allows its tracks to keep 65 percent of the television broadcast fees for a race after paying 10 percent to NASCAR for a sanctioning fee and 25 percent to the race purse. CART, on the other hand, negotiates its own TV contract and keeps those monies.

"If we added TV money in, I'd say (a CART race) is just as strong as a Cup race out here in California," Penske said.

LVMS general manager Chris Powell and track owner Bruton Smith have held talks with CART chairman Andrew Craig, but CART's estimated $2.5 million sanctioning fee is believed to have them doubting that a CART race can be profitable.

California Speedway has hosted two CART races on its two-mile oval since the facility opened in 1997. Last year's race attracted a crowd of more than 109,000 but was not considered a sellout, Penske said. Sunday's California 500 Winston Cup race did sell out, drawing a crowd estimated at 117,000.

"For last year's CART race, we had about 109,000 -- we didn't sell out the grandstand but the infield was (sold out)," Penske said. "We had about 5,000 or 6,000 (seats) we didn't sell in the grandstand. But the key is, it's the biggest event on the CART circuit as it sits today.

"In our case, the thing has to make economic sense and this is a great market for open-wheel racing out here in California and we're very happy to have them out here. When you can have the kind of crowds that we've had for the second largest sporting event in the state, I guess I'd say it was a pretty good deal."

And Penske said he had no reason to believe that a CART race would not be equally successful in Las Vegas.

"Even though we have a Winston Cup race right next door (in Las Vegas), you'll see that we still sold out our race," Penske said. "There's more racing in the region and I think, like everything, there is a big market in Las Vegas and there are a lot of states around them.

"Look what they do for the Winston Cup race, it's very positive there. The guys at Vegas have done a nice job, they've built a first-class facility and they're good competitors. We're all vying for the entertainment dollar and we think we've done a pretty good job here at California.

"I think the record shows that we've both done fairly well with both of us here. I still believe that racing is continuing to grow and the awareness of racing is continuing to grow. The key is trying to get new people into the sport."

Added Penske: "There is enough population between Nevada, Arizona, California and those surrounding states that I think can sustain that growth."