From: Michael Powell 

INDY RACING LEAGUE NOTEBOOK

De Ferran to be honored; Richmond continues upgrades

INDIANAPOLIS, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2003 – Gil de Ferran joined an exclusive
club with his victory in the Chevy 500 on Oct. 12 at Texas Motor Speedway:
He became only the second Indianapolis 500 winner ever to win his final
career start in motorsports.

De Ferran announced Aug. 25 that he was retiring after this IRL IndyCarTM
Series season. He won the 87th Indianapolis 500 on May 25 in his Marlboro
Team Penske entry.

Ray Harroun was lured out of retirement to race in the inaugural
Indianapolis 500 in 1911 and then retired for good after winning the race.
Sam Hanks never made another Indy-style start after winning the 1957
Indianapolis 500, but he fulfilled a contract with Mercury to compete in
USAC stock-car races for the rest of the season.

Though de Ferran isn’t racing anymore, he is keeping busy. On Oct. 15, he
made an appearance in Indianapolis promoting the 2004 Indianapolis 500-Mile
Race theme, “Lights! Camera! Traction!” 

On Oct. 23, officials from the city of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where de
Ferran lives, will honor de Ferran. He will be presented with a key to the
city, and a brick with his name on it will be inserted into a very
prominent walkway near the Performing Arts Center. 

When de Ferran is not participating in events, he has found time to watch
some of the Major League Baseball playoffs. De Ferran wasn’t much of a
baseball fan when the season began, but he participated in a celebrity
softball game in July before the Kansas Indy 300 and sang “Take Me Out To
The Ballgame” in July at a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field.

De Ferran participated in pre-game activities in August with the St. Louis
Cardinals and threw out the first pitch in September at a Los Angeles
Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. 

“It's funny,” de Ferran said. “I was talking to a friend of mine today
about it, and I was watching the Red Sox and Yankees game, and he said
‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I'm watching the baseball game.’ He said,
‘You're doing what?!’

“I'm really getting into it. I started watching baseball more and more, and
I started following the Cubs more and more. I understand the game a lot
better, and believe it or not, I actually turn the TV on to watch the
games.”

***

SEMA Show: Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC (BFNT) is
bringing the Indy Racing Challenge to this year’s SEMA (Specialty Equipment
Market Association) Show. 

The SEMA Show, which takes place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is the
premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world. 

The Indy Racing Challenge is a high-performance mobile race simulator that
uses the league’s IndyCar Series video game that allows participants to sit
in an actual IndyCar Series car and compete against each other and their
favorite drivers on real IndyCar Series tracks. 

It will be set up in Silver Lot 2, just west of the Center Halls of the Las
Vegas Convention Center, from Nov. 4-7.

“The IRL offers some of today’s most exciting motorsports events, and we
are very excited to bring the Indy Racing Challenge to the SEMA Show this
year,” said Phil Pacsi, executive director, North American consumer tire
brand marketing, BFNT.  “The display promises to be a must-see stop on the
schedule of all show-goers.”

Firestone has been the official tire of the IRL since 1999. 

“Firestone and the IRL have enjoyed a long and successful working
relationship, and we are very happy to team with the company to bring the
IRL Indy Racing Challenge to this year’s SEMA Show,” said Bill Long, vice
president, marketing, IRL. “The SEMA Show is a great opportunity for the
IRL and Firestone to display the speed, excitement and color of the IndyCar
Series.”

***

Richmond upgrades: Richmond International Raceway is embarking on another
round of expansion and upgrades to the .75-mile oval. More than 1,400 seats
will be added for the 2004 season, bringing the track's capacity to
107,097.

The project includes new seats in the Veranda Grandstand in Turn 1,
development of 55 new acres of parking on the north side of the track’s
property and the addition of a second spectator care center outside of Turn
2 next to the amphitheater. The amphitheater, which is used on race
weekends as well as for concerts and special events on non-race weekends,
is being remodeled. Gravel roads also are being added to several parking
lots, which will help with traffic ingress and egress, especially during
inclement weather.

Including this round of projects, the track has spent more than $40 million
on improving the facility over the last few seasons, according to Richmond
President Doug Fritz. 

“The new seats offer a fantastic view of the great side-by-side racing fans
and drivers have come to expect at ‘The Action Track,’” said Fritz.
“Richmond International Raceway is committed to making our fans’ experience
the best in motorsports. We hope the other upgrades that are part of our
ongoing capital reinvestments to this great facility will help reinforce
our dedication to our loyal fans.”

The fourth IRL IndyCar Series SunTrust Indy Challenge will take place June
26, 2003 at Richmond. The event will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and the IMS
Radio Network. Tickets for the SunTrust Indy Challenge are available by
calling (804) 345-7223 or logging on to www.rir.com.




--- Internet Rex 2.29