Overheard at Infineon Saturday

UPDATE We are told that the meeting went forward with Tony George on Sunday morning and the Australia folks made a good proposal for 2009. The feeling is that the IRL will find a way to make it work that satisfies everyone. Some follow-up work has to be done and there apparently is still the issue as to whether ISC has a deal in place to be the "last" race of the year and whether the Homestead race, or another of their tracks can still be the season closer after Surfers.

08/23/08

Craig Gore, sporting new haircut and a sleeker body after his recent health problems

The discussion Sunday over the future of the Surfers Paradise race is certain to be a lively one. Besides former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie flying in, so has Aussie Vineyards boss Craig Gore (pictured right on Friday) who is sure to deliver the message that with no race in Australia they will likely be gone from the IRL because NASCAR delivers far more bang for the buck in the USA than IndyCar ever can. Beattie is sure to stress just how big the event is and that Queensland has options (such as A1GP) should IndyCar choose not to cooperate over the date. We hear that there was already a preliminary meeting on Thursday between Kalkhoven and IRL officials and that Kalkhoven is hopeful a compromise can be struck, but that the date won't be in September as a back-to-back date with Japan as had been hoped……….Word is that some folks in the IRL paddock think that the IRL should focus on North America and forget about going overseas at all. Sure, there are more North America venues that want an IndyCar race, but can they grow the series strictly as a domestic product given 1) The global marketplace economy we now live in, 2) NASCAR's total domination of racing in North America, 3) The diminishing strength of the USA dollar in the world markets, 4) The fact that the biggest banks in the world are no longer USA banks but banks in China and elsewhere, 5) The fact that even the very astute Bernie Ecclestone doesn't view the USA as worthy of a F1 race unless someone is willing to pay the big sanctioning fee he demands, and more telling, that no one in the USA can afford or is willing to pay it, underscoring the fact that the wealth in this world is moving from the USA to other countries?………The key to all this is whether or not new manufacturers sign on to supply engines in 2011. If that happens new sponsors will come knocking and the new TV deal will become less of a negative factor. Mark C. reporting from Sonoma, CA