WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Tony George said Sunday that the size of the Indianapolis 500 crowd grew for at least the second consecutive year, but he said the chances of unifying open-wheel racing have not changed.

The chief executive officer of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League met Wednesday with Champ Car World Series leader Kevin Kalkhoven in Indianapolis, part of their ongoing discussions. While George still feels unification is a 50-50 proposition, he said time is running out for there to be one series in place for 2007.Essentially, the deadline is July 1, and George said there are still too many issues to resolve.

“We continue to make progress, but certainly they are not giant strides,” George said at Watkins Glen International, where the IRL raced Sunday. “I continue to be encouraged that there’s some chance of possibly getting together . . . but I don’t see any positive signs that (50-50) has changed.

“It’s not likely it will happen for 2007; it’s obviously late. We’re finalizing a schedule; they’re finalizing a schedule. With each passing day it seems unlikely that it will get done (for next year).”

George and Kalkhoven have no plans to meet the rest of the month, although George said they will be in contact.
As for the 500, George wouldn’t reveal crowd figures, but he said they were “definitely up” from the 2005 race, which was higher than the year before.

“And the enthusiasm supports that,” George said. “All the story lines that started the month were in play in those last 20 laps. It was certainly an unpredictable finish.”

IndyStar