Phoenix International Raceway

An answer to Phoenix International Raceway's quest for a second NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race could be delivered Friday at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

PIR, which is owned by International Speedway Corp., is believed to be on course to receive a second race at the expense of another ISC track, possibly Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

Although there has been no acknowledgement from NASCAR or PIR officials, a SPEED Channel spokesman said Wednesday that the cable network plans to interrupt regular programming Friday morning for a "live NASCAR press conference."

PIR President Bryan Sperber couldn't be reached for comment. A NASCAR spokesman said the sanctioning body had no comment.

For several weeks, there has been strong speculation NASCAR would divulge partial news of its 2005 schedule by the end of May, and much of the talk has centered on second race dates being awarded to PIR and Texas Motor Speedway.

The second Texas race date is expected to come as part of a reported out-of-court settlement involving two shareholders in Speedway Motorsports Inc. , which owns the Texas track. The shareholders sued NASCAR and International Speedway Corp., which are owned by the Bill France family, alleging that NASCAR favors ISC over SMI in awarding race dates.

NASCAR announced in February 2003 a "realignment" plan to schedule more races in larger media markets, and Phoenix fits heavily into those plans. A year ago, NASCAR yanked a race from North Carolina Speedway and shifted it to California Speedway near Los Angeles. But NASCAR executive Brian France later indicated strongly that PIR is a viable venue for a future second race.

If PIR gets its second race, it is likely to be scheduled in the spring and under a permanent lighting system that will be installed once the race is officially rewarded.