The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 29

Sports TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2003 D3 CART drops Road America Sanctioning body cancels August race at Wisconsin road course in contract dispute. ByCurtCavin curtcavinSindystar.com CART didn't just drop a race from its 2003 schedule on Monday. It dropped a marquee event The Indianapolis-based sanctioning body ended a 21-year association with the Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, due to an unsettled contract. CART, in a lawsuit filed last month, said Road America had not made its final payment for the 2002 race nor its first for this year's Aug. 3 race.

The latter payment, valued at $262,500 when the contract was signed in 1999, was due Jan. 1. However, a track spokesperson insisted Monday a payment was made last week. "We thought we had this (conflict) worked out," said communications director Cheryl Barnes. Road America is arguably the "We thought we had this (conflict) worked out." really look forward to going there as a driver," said Mario Andretti, a Formula One and CART champion who won three races at Elkhart Lake.

"This is just really sad and too bad." The loss of Road America drops CART's schedule to 18 events, 10 in the United States. Series officials previously announced the elimination of the race in Chicago and the addition of a road course race in England and at EuroSpeedway in Germany. Call Star reporter Curt Cavin at 1-317-444-6409. Cheryl Barnes, Road America official most popular and picturesque venue in CART. Its 4-mile, 14-turn layout includes elevation changes and scenic viewpoints that draw fans from across the Midwest.

The drivers enjoy it more. "It's one of the best road courses anywhere, and I used to THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR WWW.INDYSTAR.COM 1 GEL 1'-TV i' is J.j3ii Firebirds sustain 3rd loss in a row iana Flower Patio SkowSM Crumplex Theater Expo Hall y- Staff Report Jose Davis resuscitated the Indiana Firebirds' offense for a while. A practice squad quarterback to open the 1 p.m. Dick Crum and Pat Sullivan 2 p.m. Central Indiana Garden Group 3 p.m.

Butterfly Gardening, Garden Club of Ind. 4 p.m. Richard Whitten 6 p.m. Dick Crum and Pat Sullivan ORLANDO FIREBIRDS 48 38 season, Davis replaced Craig Whelihan on the Firebirds' fourth possession and helped turn a 16-point deficit into a lead Next game: vs. Los Angeles, noon Sunday, WXLW-950 AM, FM Green Thumb Theater West Pavilion 12:30 p.m.

Pam VanNamen, floral design "This is one of the biggest reasons I stayed here after (training) camp, to learn the game." Whelihan, making his second start in place of injured starter Raymond Philyaw, was pulled after directing three drives that reached inside the Orlando 15 but came up scoreless. The first ended in a Whelihan fumble, the second in a Leroy Thompson fumble and the third in a missed field goal. That ran the streak of scoreless drives under Whelihan to five, going back to last week's loss to Colorado. Dailey said he would wait to pick a starting quarterback for next week's home game against Los Angeles until later this week. "I'm not going to jump and make that decision 15 minutes after the game ended," Dailey said.

Orlando 46 Firebirds 38 BP 1:30 p.m. Treeboy 2:30 p.m. Master Gardener Every fan needs a little bit of luck to stay healthy all season. Getting shamrocked is just part of the game in arena football. See if you can make it through this week.

Great seats start at $1 0. Call (317) 239-5151, stop by the Conseco Fieldhouse Box Office or any Ticketmaster location or go to firebirds.com for tickets. 3:30 p.m. Treeboy 6:30 p.m. Master Gardener Indiana State Fairgrounds noon to 9 p.m.

today Admission children 12 and under FREE NEXT VICTIM THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR LOS ANGELES AVENGERS mar 16 12pm INDYSTAR.COM I SEE WHAT HAPPENS 0 7 10 21 31 lit 7 20 46 Firebirds Orlando with just under five minutes to play. But Davis was intercepted and lost a fumble in the end zone as unbeaten Orlando scored 20 points in the final 3:25 for a 46-38 victory Monday night in front of 11,802 at the TD Waterhouse Centre. The Firebirds (3-3) have lost three in a row, committing late turnovers in all three while driving for potential winning touchdowns. "I was proud of Jose and proud of our team, but we are still in the business of winning," Firebirds coach Mike Dailey said. "We have to find a way to win.

There is no asterisk next to a loss." Davis, making his first appearance in the Arena Football League, led the Firebirds on five consecutive scoring drives after entering the game in the second quarter. He finished 16-for-21 passing for 166 yards and two touchdowns against one interception. Davis also ran for a touchdown. "I've been dreaming about a chance like this," said Davis, who set Mid-American Conference passing records at Kent State. Scoring T.

Davis 35 pass from Maynor (kick failed) Hamilton 1 run (Schmitz kick) FG Schmitz 7 J. Davis 3 run (Rush kick) FG Schmitz 42 Thompson 1 run (Rush kick) FG Rush 18 Maynor 2 run (Schmitz kick) Blackwell 25 pass from J. Davis (Rush kick) Caldwell 6 run (pass failed) McGriff 35 pass from Maynor (Schmitz kick) McGriff 14 pass from Maynor (kick failed) Sweeney 0 fumble recovery (Schmitz kick) Jones 2 pass from J. Davis (Jones pass from J.Davis) 1 1 1 ilETS Orl 13 5-4 178 14-28-0 0-0 8-45 Team statistics md First downs 23 Rushes-yards 14-47 Passing 221 Comp-Att-Int 23-32-1 Fumbles-Lost 3-3 Penalties-Yards 5-29 TUESDAY AT 7 P.M. Rushing Firebirds, Thompson 6-21, J.

Davis 6-17, Caldwell 1-6. Young 1-3. Orlando, Hamilton 3-3, Maynor 1-2, Pettijohn l-(minus-l). Passing Firebirds, J. Davis 16-21-166-2-1, Whelihan 7-11-69-0-0, Team 0-0-(minus-14)-0-0.

Orlando, Maynor 14-28-183-3-0, Team 0-0-(minus-5)-0-0. Receiving Firebirds, Blackwell 7-65, Brown 6-68, Jones 4-22. Caldwell 3-40, 0'Conner McGriff 6-96. T. Davis 5-65, Fleming 2-20, Burt 1-2.

Art 1112. SiW Colts, Smith's agent work on new deal for punter THE BEST iITi SEEHI LIU have a contract waiting when he gets home," Mills said. The Colts' priority in the offseason was to retain as many of their players as possible. They have re-signed center Jeff Saturday, defensive lineman Brad Scioli and fullback Detron Smith. Free-agent linebacker Mike Peterson has visited several teams and is expected to secure a lucrative contract Also, defensive lineman Chukie Nwokorie has visited the New York Giants and Green Bay, and drawn additional interest from New Orleans, Seattle and Denver.

The team recently added wide receiverkick returner Joey Geth-erall, a former Notre Dame standout, off waivers from Miami. Call Star reporter Mike Chappell at 1-317-444-6830. By Mike Chappell mike.chappelliSindystar.com The Indianapolis Colts' latest attempt at retaining players likely will lead to a new contract for Hunter Smith. While the team's veteran punter continues to enjoy an extended honeymoon in Bora Bora, his agent, Tom Mills, is working on a multiyear package that will keep Smith with the Colts. "We're getting very close," Mills said Monday afternoon.

"We still aren't there yet on the dollars, but we're getting close enough to where it looks as if it will get done." Mills said he and the team could agree on a new contract for Smith this week. Smith is due back in town Friday. "It would be nice for him to Get your tickets and push your Pacers over the top as it all comes down to the wire for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. UPCOMING GAMES MAR. 11 11 VS.

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tMTBH CELTICS 7 P.M. mar. 21 vs. Memphis Grizzlies 7 p.m. 239-51 51 my 3 i TICKETS START AS LOW AS Debt Get HIS Into The I I Gamel Hi Call for tickets, stop by the Conseco Fieldhouse Box Office or any Ticketmaster location, or print your own through TicketFastatticketmaster.com.

Call 917-2S00 for groups of 20 or more. Doors open it least 60 minutes before game time. Arrive early all persons and carried items are subject to inspection. No passouts available. www.ConsecoFieldhouse.com www.pacers.com You Get Only, ticketmaster $30,000 ....4170 $40,000 4227.

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