IRL calendar set to be extended

Senior vice president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League Bob Reif said he is discussing the possibility of IRL dates at several extra venues including Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania, California Speedway in Fontana, and Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

The IRL staged its first-ever race at Disney World in 1996 and has raced there every year but will stay away in 2001 as neither side could agree on a suitable race date. The IRL has also competed at Las Vegas for the last five years but will not return this year due low attendance figures.

Both Las Vegas and Disney World have expressed interest in getting the IRL to return, but Reif said he is not going to add race dates without being convinced it will work for the series.

"I'm fine with 13 races," Reif said. "We're putting all of our emphasis on the 2003 season. That will be the first year of our contract with Toyota and the last year of the television contract with ABC and ESPN. It will be a very, very big year for us. It's time to excel."

Reif admitted that Sunday's race at Homestead-Miami Speedway would not pack the grandstands, saying it will be the smallest crowd of the entire IRL.