Andretti Green sponsor hints at IRL switch

The US racing star announced last week that he has bought a majority stake in Team Green, for which he is driving in CART this year. But he claimed that no decision has yet been taken on which series the newly-named Andretti Green Racing squad will compete next year because the sponsors need to be consulted.

According to a consultant for KOOL's parent company Brown & Williamson, the IRL is looking more favourable than continuing in CART.

Bert Kremer, a former director of sponsorship for Brown & Williamson, said: "Am I leaning toward the other side? Yes, because quite frankly [CART] is a tougher sell right now. But all I am looking at is return on investment. That involves two things: your cost and your benefit you get in return.

"We're talking with CART. We're trying to work through both sides of those things. Have we made a lot of progress to date? Not a lot."

A major consideration for KOOL is that CART has become more international while the IRL is solely US based. Some of the countries where Champ Cars race are not markets where KOOL cigarettes are sold.

"CART does have pluses," said Kremer. "The CART property reaches a target that is closer to KOOL's target. It's younger adults, it's more multi-cultural and those aspects are favourable.

"But I think the movement away from the US by CART is very much a detriment. The money that goes into this programme is KOOL marketing money that comes out of the US budget - nowhere else. So, every time we go offshore some place, certainly where KOOL is not sold, it's another chunk of money that's being spent on what is not the US consumer base."

Kremer added that IRL boss Tony George's decision not to uphold Team Green's appeal and hand this year's Indianapolis 500 victory to Paul Tracy after the Helio Castroneves pass controversy, will not be the deciding factor for KOOL.

"It's not a positive for the IRL and it's part of the mix, but it's not going to make the decision go one way or the other," he said. "It doesn't give me any greater concern than some of the things in CART have given me."

A decision on where Andretti Green will chose to race is expected in August.