JUNE 20, 2005

Attorneys at dawn?

Joie Chitwood III, the President of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has hinted that the problems at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today could lead to legal actions. Chitwood said that the Speedway would be looking at what it will do with regard to the sanctioning fee paid and whether or not it would be asking the Formula One group for a refund. There has also been talk about whether the Speedway might void its contractual arrangements with Formula One.

"It's premature to be discussing that right now," Chitwood said. "What occurred today was something we were not prepared for. We invested a lot of time and effort in preparing this property for a world-class racing event. The inability to have control over the actions today to say it's a disappointment is an understatement. Everyone here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway prides themselves on producing world-class events. The fact we had no control over what occurred today is our greatest disappointment. We feel as victimized as the fans do in what they witnessed today. We had no control over the ability to stage an event. The people who had the ability to control things today were the FIA, Formula One and Michelin.

Chitwood said that the Speedway has yet to decide whether or not to offer refunds to the fans.

"We're going to analyze our situation," he said. "We're probably going to respond in the coming days. There are a number of questions like that we will have to sit down and look at."

Chitwood said that the events at Indianapolis were "a major setback" but said that he hoped the situation was repairable

"I hope it is," he said. "I'm not sure; I hope it is."