Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. (NYSE: MPH) and Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE: TRK) announced today they have reached a settlement regarding the litigation surrounding the April 29 CART FedEx Championship Series event at Texas Motor Speedway.
The announcement was made by Joseph F. Heitzler, chairman and CEO of CART, and Speedway Motorsports Chairman and CEO Bruton Smith.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Additionally, a condition of the agreement is that neither side comment on the settlement publicly beyond the formal announcement.
CART brought its Champ Car series to Texas Motor Speedway in April to conduct a 600-kilometer race on the 1.5-mile oval with 24-degree banking in the circuit’s corners. As drivers lapped the track at average speeds in excess of 235 miles per hour, they began to experience lightheadedness and were becoming disoriented.
As CART evaluated the situation, it determined that the safety of the drivers and fans was the top priority and that it was most prudent to postpone the race. With the settlement, the race is officially cancelled.
‘We have reached a favorable agreement and are glad to have this behind us,’ said Smith. ‘We’re very happy for this to be concluded.’
‘We are pleased to have reached a settlement on this matter so both sides can now move on with our business,’ said Heitzler. ‘We were disappointed to not be able to showcase our racing to all the fans who came out at Texas Motor Speedway and we again apologize to our fans for any inconvenience caused by our decision to not race. However, under the circumstances, we believe it was absolutely the proper choice.’
Speedway Motorsports is a leading marketer & promoter of motorsports entertainment in the United States. The Company owns and operates the following premier facilities: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Sears Point Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.
Speedway Motorsports provides food, beverage, and souvenir merchandising service though its Finish Line Events subsidiary, and manufactures and distributes smaller-scale, modified racing cars through its 600 Racing subsidiary. The company also owns Performance Racing Network, which broadcasts syndicated motorsports programming to over 500 stations nationwide.
Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. (NYSE: MPH) owns, operates and markets the FedEx Championship Series. Series champions Gil de Ferran, Jimmy Vasser and Michael Andretti are among the drivers who battle for the FedEx Championship Series title on oval circuits as well as temporary and permanent road courses. CART also owns and operates its development series, the Dayton Indy Lights Championship and the Toyota Atlantic Championship. Learn more about CART’s open-wheel racing series at www.cart.com.
For further information please contact:
Ron Richards
Vice President, Communications
Championship Auto Racing Teams
Tel: +1 248 362 8800
Fax:+1 248 362 8810