IRL sizes up possible road races

The possible move comes as a major development in the rivalry between the IRL, which is currently restricted to ovals, and the CART Fed Ex series, which combines the two.

IRL's vice president for business affairs Ken Ungar has said that there are plans afoot to stage a road or street race at either Watkins Glen or Sears Point in the vein of the NASCAR Winston Cup road races. However, the additions are not likely to happen until at least 2003.

"Since its inception, the Indy Racing League schedule has tripled," said Ungar. "The growth of the league has been exactly what [IRL president] Tony George was looking for.

"At this stage of our growth, 15 races is a very good schedule. We don't see any additional races being added to the schedule unless any existing races fall off."

The IRL had a major boost last week when stalwart Champ Car team Penske announced it would be switching to the oval-based series for next year. A move to include road races in the calendar could prompt more teams to follow.

A race at Daytona International Speedway has also been mooted and operations vice president for the IRL Brian Barnhart said that a return to the famous track, for the first time since Indy cars last raced there in 1959, is not inconceivable.

"The thing I like about our rule package is there is not an oval we can't run on," said Barnhart. "If the opportunity is there, we could go down and put on good, safe race. But that's a few year's down the road."