IndyCar: Lawsuit threatens NOLA event

The New Orleans Advocate reports that a lawsuit is threatening the future of the Verizon IndyCar Series event at NOLA Motorsports Park.

The Advocate reports that a subsidiary of Andretti Sports Marketing filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against NOLA Motorsports Park, the company owned by Laney Chouest that built the road course on which IndyCar raced for the first time in April. The Andretti group, which has contracted to organize an IndyCar race at the track through 2017, "claims it had gotten assurances from NOLA Motorsports that there would be enough state grant money to help compensate the company for its services. According to the Advocate, that turned out not to be the case, as the lawsuit "alleges that the nonprofit entity set up by NOLA Motorsports to collect the grant money is now 'nearly insolvent' and has prioritized paying off vendors who might be able to place liens on the track, rather than Andretti."

Joseph Bruno Sr., a lawyer representing the NOLA Motorsports Host Committee, the nonprofit entity referred to in the suit, told the Advocate that he did not anticipate that the dispute would not halt future races, and that another organizer could be contracted if necessary.

Andretti President John Lopes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Click here to read the full report from The New Orleans Advocate.