Indy Racing has retained Creative Artists Agency.

The Indy Racing League announced March 14 that it has retained Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the world's leading talent and literary agency, to maximise awareness of the motorsports series in mainstream culture and drive race attendance and television viewership.

The Indy Racing League, providing the most exciting action in motorsports, stages the premier open-wheel, oval track car racing series in the United States. Entering its seventh year, the series has recently expanded to 15 races in markets which now include Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, Phoenix, Dallas and Indianapolis.

"CAA is ideally suited to help the Indy Racing League explode into the mainstream," said Tony George, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, parent of the Indy Racing League. "We look to CAA to help expand our fan base, leveraging the agency's influence in the entertainment world, its foresight into pop cultural tastes and its entertainment marketing experts who know how to build brands and connect with consumers."

George created the Indy Racing League in 1994, centred around the world-famous Indianapolis 500. All Indy Racing League races will be broadcast live on ABC/ESPN through 2007; the next race will be staged at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, March 17.

"The Indy Racing League has the best elements of so many great entertainment properties - action, suspense and colourful personalities," said Richard Lovett, president of CAA. "CAA will build upon these tremendous attributes to grow the appeal of Indy Racing to a much broader audience of sports and entertainment fans."

Utilising its access to creative talent and executives in the television, film and music businesses, and its experience building brands, "CAA will elevate the profiles of Indy Racing League's top drivers beyond the sports world," added Roger Fishman, head of CAA's consulting division. In addition, the agency will look to develop promotional sponsorship packages that drive race attendance and create other strategic programs to garner mainstream popularity for Indy Racing.

The Indy Racing League joins Coca-Cola and Motorola in looking to CAA for strategic counsel founded upon CAA's integrated approach to marketing through entertainment.

In celebration of the relationship, Indy Racing League champion Sam Hornish Jr.'s methanol-powered race car will be on display in CAA's Beverly Hills, Calif., atrium from March 17-24.

The Indy Racing League is America's premier open-wheel, oval-track auto racing series, with headquarters in Indianapolis. It was founded in 1994 based on the rich traditions of the Indianapolis 500, with its first race in 1996. The league has a 15-race schedule in 2002, with events in major markets from coast to coast.

Creative Artists Agency is a talent and literary agency with offices in Beverly Hills and Nashville, Tenn. CAA represents many of the most creative and successful artists working in film, television, music and new media, and also provides a range of strategic consulting services to corporate clients. The agency serves as the access point through which artists, consumers and global brands intersect to create, acquire and sell entertainment properties, and to influence popular culture through information and relationships. Additionally, CAA has an equity relationship with Shepardson Stern + Kaminsky (SS+K), a leading communications consulting firm based in New York City.