CART agreement puts future of Chicago event on track

CHICAGO -- The CART race in Chicago is back on.

Nearly a month after Chicago Motor Speedway suspended its auto racing schedule, CART said Monday it will lease the track and hold the Grand Prix of Chicago on June 30 as originally scheduled.

"The announcement the race was going to go away was disappointing for me because Chicago is such a great town and such a great racing town," driver Jimmy Vasser said. "It's great to have it back on the schedule."

This is the first time CART is promoting one of its own races. CART will lease the track from the speedway and have use of all of the facilities at Sportsman's Park, but it will provide all of the people to organize and run the race.

That means CART will be responsible for all aspects of the race, from ticket sales and sponsorship deals to track operations.

CART wouldn't disclose how much it will take to put on the race, saying only that it will take "several million dollars."

"We felt in the long-term, CART would like a future in Chicago," said Rena Shanaman, who as CART's vice president of joint venture operations will oversee the Chicago race. "So in the short-term, we're taking over."

CART's deal with the Chicago Motor Speedway is for one year, with an option for an additional two years. Ideally, CART would get the race back on solid footing and then turn it over to another promoter, Shanaman said.

For now, though, CART is more concerned with building an identity in Chicago. Not to mention getting a race organized in just 3 1/2 months.

The Chicago Motor Speedway opened in 1999, the first track built in the city in more than half a century.