"We went up there every year. Dad would be extremely proud NASCAR is involved in running there. He had a good relationship with Tony's grandfather and family long before either one of us was around."
While France was busy building NASCAR into the powerhouse it is today, Indy car racing was thriving under the auspices of the United States Auto Club, founded by Hulman in 1955. Indy cars ruled until the mid-'80s when NASCAR caught and passed them for dominance in American motorsports. While the Indianapolis 500 is regarded as the biggest race in the world, the Daytona 500 is considered by some to be the biggest race in the United States.
Bridging the gap A relationship between the two leaders in auto racing was one day believed to be unthinkable, but it has become a reality.
"Things have changed and business changes," George says. "You are either moving forward or you are falling behind. Nothing ever really stays the same for very long. The current business environment dictates we look at all the opportunities out there. I'm sure ISC and NASCAR look at all the opportunities out there for them. It's just the way the sport and the business of racing has evolved.
"It probably developed as a result of getting to know one another and understanding how each other does business or would like to do business. The development of the Indy Racing League, I believe, is an interesting revelation in the last few years. We are focused on open-wheel racing at permanent oval facilities, which ISC happens to have a large interest in. They are looking for viable events.
"It's just been a matter of getting to know each other better and understanding how we like to do business and the compatibility in our approach to business. I don't know that my grandfather or Bill France would have ever thought 25 years ago we'd be doing as much business between our respective family businesses as we are today."
The genesis of this relationship actually began when Jim France's brother, NASCAR President and CEO Bill France Jr., and George decided to bring NASCAR Winston Cup racing to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the Inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994. That relationship has continued to grow and evolve.
"We've been involved with Tony for a long period of time getting the Chicago track going," Jim France says. "When we bought Phoenix, they had an IRL race and we got involved in that promotion. Building Chicago and Kansas City, we were looking for some major events we could put in there. We talked to Tony George early on. Then, when we got Richmond, it was a great racetrack, but we didn't know if the cars would be compatible there. They came down and ran a test, and we were really excited about that.
"When the CART folks decided not to renew the event at Miami, we went to Tony and his staff and asked them if they would be interested in adding that to the series. At some point, the folks at CART have indicated they are not interested in coming back at Nazareth, so Tony and the IRL were more than happy to add Nazareth to their schedule."
Michigan Added, Too In addition to adding Nazareth to the 2002 schedule, the IRL has also replaced CART at Michigan International Speedway, which has been hosting Indy car races since 1968.
There is also a biting irony in the IRL replacing CART at the two-mile Michigan oval. In 1996, the track staged the U.S. 500 in direct competition to the Indianapolis 500 that year in the height of the CART/IRL civil war. In just five years, the IRL has replaced CART at what was once a major battleground for power in open-wheel racing.