Heitzler’s departure could kill LV race

Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2001 | 10:05 a.m.

Joe Heitzler, whose 366-day tenure as president and CEO of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was mired in controversy, was forced to resign Tuesday during a meeting of the series' board of directors in Phoenix.

Heitzler's departure likely will put an end to talks between CART and Las Vegas Motor Speedway about staging a race here next season. LVMS general manager Chris Powell and Heitzler had been negotiating since April to bring the series to Las Vegas, but talks stalled in recent weeks.

Powell would not say a CART race at LVMS next season is a dead issue, but he said time now is of the essence with the start of the 2002 season less than 100 days away.

"I don't think (Heitzler's resignation) should change anything, but the fact that the season is so near might make (scheduling a race for next season) tough," Powell said.

Heitzler will continue to oversee the day-to-day operations of the embattled open-wheel series while a search is conducted for a new president and CEO. When that search is completed, Heitzler said he would remain with CART as chairman of the board of directors.

"Today, the board unanimously recognized my passion, dedication and leadership," Heitzler said in a statement. "I will continue as chairman and CEO of CART while we conduct a search for a president and CEO to add to the senior management team.

"After the search is completed, I will continue as CART's chairman of the board. I remain totally dedicated to CART and its sponsors, teams, television partners, race promoters, shareholders and especially our fans. I wish to thank the board for this new challenge."

According to an industry source, Heitzler was given the option of stepping down as president and CEO or facing a vote of CART's 11-man "Delaware Board." Heitzler reportedly opted for the former.

One published report indicated that a vote would have resulted in a 10-1 verdict to fire Heitzler, who was hired to lead CART one year and one day earlier.

Chris Pook, who founded the series' hugely successful Long Beach Grand Prix, is reported to be the leading candidate to take over as CART's fifth president since 1990. Pook, however, is under contract to Dover Downs Entertainment, Inc., which owns the Long Beach Grand Prix, and DDE has indicated it would not release Pook from his contract.

Heitzler, a former television executive, inherited a series that was suffering from poor TV ratings, sagging attendance at many of its oval races and a lack of identity in the marketplace as a result of the CART-IRL split in 1996.

Almost immediately after he took charge, Heitzler was forced to cancel the series' race in Rio de Janeiro when the Brazilian city failed to honor its end of the contract with CART.

In April, CART announced it was postponing its race at Texas Motor Speedway on the morning of its inaugural event there after drivers complained of dizziness due to high speeds on the steeply banked track. It cost CART $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by TMS when the event ultimately was canceled.

In August, some team owners criticized Heitzler after he negotiated a new television contract with CBS and Speedvision that will have only about one-third of the series' races on network TV in 2002.

Heitzler found himself in the middle of yet another controversy in October when the series announced it would dump its turbocharged engines in 2003 for ones that more closely resemble the IRL's normally aspirated engines. All three of CART's engine suppliers later announced they would leave the series at the end of the 2002 season.