IRL IS BACK AT FONTANA SUNDAY TOYOTA INDY 400 ON TWO-MILE OVAL.

Byline: Louis Brewster Staff Writer

FONTANA - There were plenty of snickers through the open-wheel racing community a year ago in March when the Indy Racing League made its debut on the West Coast.

It had been a bold move by IRL creator and president Tony George. Not only did the IRL invade Southern California, a long-time stronghold for rival Championship Auto Racing Teams, but at California Speedway.

The move to the Fontana superspeedway, a venue that had produced some of CART's greatest moments, was born of industry politics. A rift between CART's upper management and International Speedway Corp., which owns California Speedway, created the opportunity for the IRL to compete, for the first time, at a track which also had CART on its calendar.

George is determined to maintain a presence in Southern California, the biggest market for the series.

``It's a great opportunity,'' he said. ``It's important for our teams, sponsors and fans.''

While there were a few snide comments about last year's Yamaha Indy 400 from the rival sanctioning body, it was hard to ignore the close, side- by-side racing. In its first race at Fontana, the IRL produced its second-closest finish to date - a 0.281-second victory by Sam Hornish Jr. over Rancho Cucamonga's Jaques Lazier - with 39 lead changes among eight drivers.

But it also was hard to ignore the empty seats at the vast speedway. Generous estimates placed the Sunday crowd at 20,000, almost 95,000 less than would show for the NASCAR Winston Cup race the following month.

CART supporters chuckled with glee at those numbers. After all, CART had drawn more than 80,000 for its 2001 race five months before at the track, down from the all-time high of more than 100,000 for its 1999 race. The decline continued last November when the CART crowd was estimated at 60,000.

``There's no question the race has grown,'' track president Bill Miller said. ``It has been part of year-long strategy and part of our season-ticket package.''

Don't expect a repeat of the small attendance when the IRL returns to Fontana for Sunday's Toyota Indy 400. There are several factors that indicate the crowd for the 200-lap race could more than double for the IndyCar Series.

--Speedway and IRL officials have been promoting the race for nearly 18 months, as opposed to the five months when the Fontana stop was a late addition to the IRL 2002 schedule.

--The inaugural race was part of a crowded spring calendar at Fontana that included the Cup race and AMA Superbike doubleheader within six weeks. This year, the shoe is on the other foot for CART, which has a six-week separation from its 500-mile race Nov. 4.

--Inclusion in the speedway's season-ticket package. Unlike a year ago, when the IRL virtually depended on walk-up sales, the weekend was offered in all speedway ticket packages.

Louis Brewster, [phone]

l-brewster(at)dailybulletin.com

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Photo:

Eddie Cheever Jr., above, won the pole and Sam Hornish Jr. won the race in last year's Yamaha Indy 400 at California Speedway in IRL's debut on the Fontana track. The IRL returns Sunday with the Toyota Indy 400.

Will Lester/Associated Press

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