CART has a new plan it hopes will strengthen its struggling series and its foundation was revealed Monday when the organization officially announced it would promote and stage a race at the Chicago Motor Speedway on June 30.
The track itself had done that the previous three summers, but early last month it announced it was suspending its auto racing operation and canceling events already scheduled. Last week the Tribune reported that CART planned to resurrect and hold its race, yet the organization did not confirm that until Monday.
The confirmation came just four days after it announced it would co-promote the race it holds in Cleveland.
“For years, we’ve had a business model where promoters have been paying CART increasing fees to stage a race, and [then] are wholly accountable for the way the race is sold to the public,” said Rena Shanaman, vice-president of CART’s joint venture operations.
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That department was created to promote or co-promote events directly.
“Oftentimes, CART’s values aren’t communicated,” Shanaman said. “We’ve had an interest for a while in participating with our promoters as a partner. This is obviously different since we will wholly own the race. But we think we can strengthen the overall experience for fans and deliver better value.”
Target, the title sponsor of CART’s previous Cicero races, has declined to return in that role. But other companies have shown an interest in replacing Target, Shanaman said.
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– Steve Grebeck, 36, a professional drag racer, died shortly after crashing his car at 200 m.p.h. during a race on the Orlando Speed World Dragway.