IRL OWNER suggests Cross over Events

One of the Indy Racing League's longtime team owners is pushing the idea of IRL-NASCAR Nextel Cup combined events.

John Barnes is owner and general manager of Panther Racing and he's presented a logical approach to maximizing fans and dollars, and also helping tracks centralize their events, by suggesting that "if the IRL event was positioned as a support race to NASCAR events, Indy-style racing would benefit."

He contends Saturday to be an IRL day and Sunday would be a NASCAR day. His premise is to get the IRL in front of NASCAR fans and "show them what real racing is all about."

OK, ok, hold it right there.. "real racing"? It's still a good idea, but the last time I saw an IRL car rub fenders, they were done for the day!! To each his own, because each league brings something different to the table for different fans!

But then, there's the naysayers: "Terry Angstadt, the IRL's new president of its commercial division, said the IRL would not allow itself to be presented as a support race."

And, in my humble opinion, squeezing all the action into one weekend, forcing the Busch series to move to Sunday, reallocating all the contracts and schedules.. zoinks.. that'd be trick, it seems to me! But that's just my opinion!

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