Tracy

	Castroneves

INDIANAPOLIS -- Texas race promoter Eddie Gossage sees nothing wrong with a little controversy.

Two days after the Indianapolis 500 ended and a little less than two weeks before his IRL race in Fort Worth, Texas, the local newspapers were still running stories about Sunday's disputed finish between Helio Castroneves and Paul Tracy. It was still fodder for ESPN and talk radio, and fans were still debating it.

For a sport looking to build interest, the contested ending to the Indy 500 may be the perfect remedy.

"I don't think there's any question some controversy can be your friend, if it's not contrived,'' said Gossage, vice president of Texas Motor Speedway. "This controversy is because of competition and it's caused people to think about it. It's become a water-cooler topic.''

That's been a rarity since the IRL split from CART in 1996. Since then, TV ratings have dwindled for both series and much of the talk centered around the survival of the two rival leagues.

Now, the attention has shifted to two drivers -- Castroneves and Tracy -- and who should have been celebrating in Victory Circle at open wheel racing's premier event.

Brian Barnhart, IRL vice president of operations, ruled Tracy passed Castroneves on lap 199 after the yellow flag was shown, giving the Brazilian the win. Barnhart then upheld his initial decision Monday after Tracy's team owner, Barry Green, protested the result.

Green, whose team competes in CART, must decide by June 3 whether to appeal that verdict to Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IRL president Tony George.

But the debate has at least paid some dividends already -- in piquing interest.

"I've had more inquiries this week about how we handle things,'' said Adam Saal, CART's vice president of communications. "I don't think you should plan things like this, but if you react in the best way possible, it can be good.''

Others disagree.

"We all hate it,'' said four-time Indy champ Al Unser.

In fact, though, racing circuits seem to thrive on controversy.

Saal recalled working with IMSA in the late 1980s when a flagman inadvertently showed the checkered flag four laps early. Realizing the mistake, he pulled the flag back and the race continued with two different drivers claiming victory. That led to a protest that wasn't settled for months.

The next year, IMSA promoted the race by using photos of the two disputed winners and the flagman with a line that read, "Two of these men are looking forward to this year's race.''

Controversy also has helped other circuits.

Gossage, whose track plays host to races for the IRL, NASCAR, Busch and Craftsman Truck series, believes the best days at Indianapolis were the early to mid-1980s. That was immediately after a five-month battle in 1981 that ended with Bobby Unser being declared the race winner over Mario Andretti.

But whether it's Tony Stewart confronting a race official or A.J. Foyt hitting Arie Luyendyk, as he did following the IRL's 1997 Texas race, some in racing have come to believe there is no such thing as bad publicity.

"One of the defining moments of the IRL was when A.J. hit Arie,'' Gossage said. "I had never seen anything like it and I thought it was bad, but as soon as I saw the cameras start flashing, I thought, 'This may not be so bad.'''

Gossage is hoping the controversy from the Indianapolis 500 will help create more interest in his race June 8.

Already ticket sales have increased, although Gossage attributes that more to the usual trend that follows the Indy 500 than the Castroneves-Tracy controversy. What's different is the perception.

"I don't think you'd throw this into the category that all publicity is good publicity,'' Saal said. "But it doesn't hurt.''