THE SPLIT CONTINUES.(Open Wheel Racing Series L.L.C. takes over CART [Championship Auto Racing Teams].)

IRL boss Tony George described himself as "disappointed'' after a federal judge rejected his higher cash bid for some of bankrupt CART's assets in favor of the offer from the original bidder, Open Wheel Racing Series LLC.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner said he felt helpless even before the judge issued his ruling.

Ultimately, judge Frank J. Otte favored the OWRS bid of $3.3 million cash over George's $13.5 million offer because OWRS accepted nearly all of CART's existing contracts, including its race commitments and the potential liabilities that go with them. George's original offer only went after CART's Long Beach Grand Prix, though he later added up to five more dates in his bid.

George claims he and his IRL associates were surprised at how much weight was given to a $62 million debt the CART operating unit (the focus of the bankruptcy proceedings) owes its parent company-publicly held Championship Auto Racing Teams. The parent company agreed to forgive the racing organization's debt if the OWRS bid was accepted.

At the court hearing Jan. 28, George watched a procession of track promoters testify on potential losses if their CART races weren't staged. The IRL founder doesn't buy their figures, and he noted that under cross-examination some of the promoters admitted they didn't make any money from their CART races in 2003.

The IRL can't go road racing in 2004, and George has neither the time nor desire to accommodate all of CART's promoters. But he says it was clear to him, well before the hearing ended, that the decision wasn't going to be based on how much money he had.

"It didn't matter how much we offered,'' George said. "It would have taken an insane amount of money to prevail.''