Thursday, April 20, 2000 | 10:20 a.m.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway general manager Chris Powell said he would be surprised if the Indy Racing Northern Light Series did not return to Las Vegas in 2001 and beyond.
Powell reacted to a published report that quoted Bob Reif, IRNLS senior vice-president of sales and marketing, as saying the series may not return to LVMS because of lagging ticket sales for Saturday's Vegas Indy 300.
"I have been talking to (representatives of) the IRL about sitting down to discuss dates for a race next year, so this (report) is the first I've heard of anything like that," Powell said. "I have not had an opportunity to talk to Bob this week or even in the last couple of months, but I'm sure we'll discuss the future as this week unfolds."
IRNLS founder and president Tony George, who ultimately will make the decision whether LVMS continues to host the open-wheel racing series, was not available for comment.
A report in the Sun last week revealed that LVMS had sold only about 2,000 advance tickets for Saturday's race at the 117,000-seat facility. A source told the Sun this week that advance sales were "about 4,000" as of Wednesday.
Reif said Wednesday that he would consider a crowd of 40,000 "really encouraging" and tried to distance himself from the comments he made Tuesday.
"I believe the story said something like we were eyeing pulling out of Las Vegas," Reif said. "You can also say we're eyeing a long-term deal ... it depends on how you want to spin this thing.
"Right now, we're trying to set ourselves up for success for the future in the best markets we can be in. I think the walk-up (crowd for Saturday's race) will tell a big story for us. If we have 40,000 folks, I'd be tickled and I'd say that's really encouraging. If we had 30,000, I'd be encouraged."
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