IRL doubles OWRS Champ Car offer

IRL spokesman Fred Nation said that the IRL is confident that it can acquire some of CART's other fixtures on its own. He said: "The hard items we bid on were the same [as OWRS] to make it easier for the judge to compare apples and apples." Judge Frank J. Otte is scheduled to choose between the offers on Wednesday this week in the US Bankruptcy Court in Indianapolis. Both the IRL and OWRS will have the opportunity to revise their bids before Wednesday's hearing.

Long Beach officials were among three creditors to file formal objections with the court on Friday. The others were 88 Corporation (a subsidiary of International Speedway Corporation) and Lexmark Indy 300, the promoter of Australia's Champ Car fixture at Surfer's Paradise, which signed a new deal last year to run the event through 2008.

OWRS co-founder Paul Gentilozzi said of the IRL bid: "It's clear what the intentions are when you look at which assets they want to purchase. They just want to kill the [Champ Car] series by taking the engines, and cherry-pick Long Beach. If you can do that and take away your competition, I guess you try to do that. But it won't work..."