Fontana canceled?

[jv#12]

http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories...725491,00.html
Race in question

With deadly wildefires raging just miles away, the future of CART's final race of the season the King Taco 500 at the California Speedway in Fontana scheduled for this weekend will be discussed today when track and San Bernardino County officials meet, speedway spokesman Dennis Bickmeier said.

"Bill Miller (speedway president) opened a dialogue with the county last week about the fires,' said Bickmeier. "At that time, he offered the speedway grounds to fire crews for whatever need they might have, from refilling the helicopters with water and/or fuel to our shower facilities.

"We'll discuss with the county today what kind of contingency plans we might have to make.'

The most pressing concern for Miller is the arrival of charter jets carrying cars and equipment for the CART Champ Car World Series. The jets departed Surfers Paradise after the completion of Sunday's race and are due today at San Bernardino Airport.

"Hopefully, they can get into San Bernardino. But if they can't get in, Southern California Logistics in Victorville could be the alternative site,' said Bickmeier.

"We're also concerned with our NASCAR Winston West teams getting in. A few are based in Southern California, but many will be on the road next Thursday and Friday.'

[gttouring]

well what is gonna happen then? there is no where in SoCal for them to land, maybe they will land in Las Vegas and truck it out to LA, but this is bad all over. the skies are even burning here.

[Flatspot]

Maybe you hit on something GT. What about moving the race to Vegas. There are NHRA drags on Sat. & Sun. morning and World of Outlaws Sat. night but the Superspeedway is open. They could make all the tickets interchangable. I realize its a little far fetched but if the NFL can move a game...

[camcartfan]

And I was supposed to be at the Chargers game tonight. Tempe, AZ is a little too far to drive on last notice.

[Dov]

Originally posted by Flatspot
Maybe you hit on something GT. What about moving the race to Vegas. There are NHRA drags on Sat. & Sun. morning and World of Outlaws Sat. night but the Superspeedway is open. They could make all the tickets interchangable. I realize its a little far fetched but if the NFL can move a game...

Doesn't OWRS and Bruton Smith (I think that's his name?) still have to come to some final agreement first? If they do I think it would be a grrrrreat idea! That being said, it would be almost impossible for fans who already have tickets to the Fontana race to make other arrangements!?

[Flatspot]

First I want to say I hope Fontana is not cancelled.

Like I said the idea is little far fetched but, if the only alternative were to cancel Fontana all together then the fans with tickets (I include myself here) could either use them in Vegas or obtain a refund.

Bruton Smith is looking for a track rental deal (for next year but maybe he's willing to play this year to help out.) Major events like this are usually insured against cancellations of this sort. They may be able to use the money to rent LVMS this weekend.

The ticket interchange idea may help to fill the stands with fans by replacing those who can't come from California with motorheads who will already be on the premises for other types of racing.

Just a little food for thought.

[racerkeke]

Taking it to Vegas ain't gonna do much for me, coming all the way from Vancouver BC for this, Flatspot.

I'm worried about the air quality, but I suspect it's not going to be much worse than the first event there, when the tail end of a hurricane clamped the smog down tight over the track. It wasn't until 1998 that we realized there were mountains on all sides -- couldn't see 'em at all in '97. And at least they've cleaned up the slag piles so we won't be breathing old steel.

Times like this I wish we still had MIS...

keke

[Tenoch]

Where is FOntana located in reference to LA and San Diego and where are these fores Raging.

[gttouring]

fontana is east of mid-LA 40 minutes and north east of San diego about 1 hour.
so it is surrounded by flames to the south and west of it, and since no one lives east of there except lizards and cactus...

[GTRMagic]

Cant be any worse than the racing in Australia at the weekend

[blueflagger]

Those fires were already pretty close to the track Sunday. Having just flown out of there at 1 am last night, my guess is there won't be anything around the track left to burn by Thursday or Friday. I expect the race could go on if the track is not needed for a firefighting staging area. However, the smoke and ash could cause problems for a while yet.

Good luck to the fire fighters, they are facing an incredibly daunting task.

Keke, I hope it all goes well for you and Grace's trip. Keep the others in line for me.

[racerkeke]

Blueflagger, you got it. We will duck early and often.

[macdaddy]

Bill Miller, as quoted on CART.com...

"We continue to monitor the fire situation in San Bernardino County and throughout Southern California. We are in contact with local officials on a number of items that may or may not effect the staging of this weekend's event, including the proximity of the fire, the air quality and transportation issues as many freeways are closed or are experiencing delays, as well as delays at numerours airports in the area. We have offered the use of the speedway to the county if needed to support the fire fighting effort or to assist as a shelter for families displaced by the fire. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been impacted by this tragedy, including many people associated with the speedway either as full-time staff, volunteers or ticket holders."

[f1manoz]

One would hope the race isn't cancelled, but since the championship is now decided, and the focus on the fires is far more important, perhaps they could just move the race if possible...