[TLK]

Jon is right.... sorry I didn't post the whole article but I was in a hurry.... here's the article.....

Portland gets deadline to commit to CART race

The head of a group trying to buy the bankrupt series isn't afraid of a potential IRL bid for CART's assets

01/14/04

PAUL BUKER

If the Indy Racing League makes a successful bid for CART's assets, where does that leave Paul Gentilozzi and his partners?

And where does that leave Portland?

Out in the cold, obviously. But Gentilozzi, a CART team owner, said Tuesday he is confident that his group will have control of the troubled racing series after a Jan. 28 hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Indianapolis.

Gentilozzi still has Portland penciled in for June 20 on a tentative CART schedule that calls for the season opener April 18 in Long Beach, Calif.

Portland promoter Mike Nealy has been trying to find a major sponsor and gather enough community support to keep the race, which began in 1984. But Nealy's effort has been hurt by the uncertainty of CART's future and the confusion over who will control a series that might not exist in three weeks.

Meanwhile, Gentilozzi said another venue wants Portland's race dates, and, "We aren't going to wait forever. We're going to hang here until we get through the first of February, when we know if we own (CART). So a kind of D-Day for Portland would be Feb. 1. . . . I'm a little confused about Portland. . . . I'm not sure what's happening there."

Gentilozzi said he was mildly surprised at Monday's announcement that Tony George's IRL might make a competing bid for CART's assets. All bids must be submitted by Jan. 23, and Gentilozzi said, "They can't conceivably get prepared to do this in 10 days or less. We've spent thousands of man-hours on this."

The threat of the IRL buying and dismantling CART does not scare Gentilozzi.

"I'm sure his intention is to buy a bunch of used racing equipment in an effort to make sure we can't race," Gentilozzi said. "It won't work. My view is, we're going into the last lap and he's a lap down. He doesn't know he can't win."

Portland city officials have signed off on a 2004 race, assuming Nealy can close the deal with Gentilozzi.

"We want CART to come, and we're still holding a date for them," said Kevin Jeans Gail, the chief of staff for City Commissioner Jim Francesconi, who oversees the Parks Bureau. "We've done what they've asked of us. We've lowered (rental) fees, the Rose Festival has sacrificed, and we've sent a positive message we want them to come to Portland."