IRL’s run in Charlotte is over

Joe Macenka

Wednesday, Sept. 29, 1999 | 2:09 a.m.

CONCORD, N.C. - The Indy Racing League's foray into the heart of stock-car country is finished.

The promoter of the suburban Charlotte track where three spectators were killed during an IRL event in May has decided against bringing back the series, racing sources said Tuesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Speedway Motorsports Inc. had been leaning in recent weeks against renewing its three-year contract to hold IRL races at Lowe's Motor Speedway at Charlotte. The company finalized its decision as it draws closer to finishing plans for its 2000 calendar.

SMI officials declined to discuss their decision Tuesday, saying they preferred that the announcement come from the IRL. The sanctioning body also would not speak publicly about losing the Charlotte race from its calendar.

The Charlotte stop was one of five SMI-controlled races on the IRL's 11-event schedule for 1999. The company's agreement to stage races at Charlotte expired after this year's race, but SMI still has pacts in place to hold events at Atlanta, Las Vegas and Texas motor speedways.

When the IRL announces its 2000 schedule in the coming weeks, it is expected to include two races at Texas and one each at Atlanta and Las Vegas.

The IRL's long-term future at SMI tracks could depend on how the series responds to the company's concerns of car design. Concord-based SMI raised questions of design and safety after a wheel and other debris from a multicar wreck flew into the stands during the VisionAire 500 on May 1, killing three spectators instantly and injuring eight others.

After the accident, SMI raised the height of the safety fences surrounding the racing surfaces at its tracks, and the IRL slowed its cars and instituted a tethering system designed to keep wheels from flying off during crashes.

But SMI wants the IRL to do more, including a move to larger cars that would provide more protection for wheel assemblies and be more visible to fans. The IRL said it is studying additional changes but is not yet ready to commit to any.

The fledgling IRL came to Charlotte in 1997, hopeful of tapping into the passions of a region where stock-car racing was born decades ago and is still home to most NASCAR Winston Cup teams.

Charlotte routinely draws crowds of 170,000 for Winston Cup races, and SMI officials were encouraged when more than 72,000 showed up for the inaugural IRL event at the 1.5-mile, high-banked superspeedway. But that number slipped to about 50,000 in 1998 and to less than 40,000 for this year's race, which was canceled after the crash.

Even before the accident, SMI officials had expressed concern about the IRL race's shrinking attendance, high promotion costs and low revenue stream. The fatal crash, which prompted several lawsuits by the families of victims, heightened those concerns.

In its bid to find alternate revenue sources, SMI is building dirt tracks of about four-tenths of a mile in length at Charlotte and Texas and will begin holding World of Outlaws races on the tracks next year.

The IRL also is looking elsewhere. The league's 2000 schedule is expected to include new races in Nazareth, Pa., and Covington, Ky.