F1 won’t return to Indianapolis in 2008

U.S. Grand Prix had been held for eight years, but contract not renewed

INDIANAPOLIS - Formula One’s U.S. Grand Prix won’t return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next year. The race will not be held at Indy in 2008 after eight years at the track, spokesman Ron Green said Thursday. He declined to give other details, but said speedway CEO Tony George would speak later in the day.

George had set Thursday as the deadline for reaching an agreement to extend the contract with F1. George, who met with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone last month during U.S. Grand Prix weekend in Indianapolis, had said he was confident a new deal would be reached.But Ecclestone had repeatedly said F1 did not need to race in the United States. He mention the possibility of moving the U.S. Grand Prix to New York or Las Vegas.

Indianapolis, the only American race on the F1 schedule, draws one of the biggest crowds on the circuit. Attendance figures are not released at Indianapolis, but estimates have been around 125,000 each of the past six years. The inaugural race in 2000 drew more than 200,000