Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation president Jeff Belskus said the guiding force behind the IndyCar Series will continue to support the open-wheel league despite a rough economy. One day after chief operating officer Joie Chitwood announced he was leaving, veteran coropration executive Belskus reassured race fans about the commitment to IndyCar in the wake of a major leadership shakeup. 'I want to assure you that we have a strong leadership team in place with many years of experience,' Belskus said. 'We have many challenges, but we also have many, many opportunities. Im quite excited about the future.' Belskus spoke Tuesday for the first time since taking over as chief executive of the company three weeks ago from Tony George, the IndyCar Series founder whose family members occupy key places on the board that runs the series and the famed 2 1/2-mile oval which celebrates its centennial this year. 'The Hulman-George family has made a huge investment in open-wheel racing, and they intend to continue to pursue that and continue to try and grow it,' Belskus said. The Indianapolis 500 staged annually at the 'Brickyard' is the major race of the IndyCar season and each needs the other to be financially sound. 'They are extremely important to one another and dependant on one another,' Belskus said. 'Were hopeful that the league can continue to grow and we can continue to develop it and that it will help us with the Indianapolis 500. 'Were all in this together.' Belskus said this week's US stock car race and next month's MotoGP event, which replaced Formula One at the speedway, are 'looking better than we thought they might a few months ago' and added, 'Things are contuing to improve.' The financial health of IndyCar race teams is a major concern given sponsor cutbacks and the high price of equipment, and Belskus said the series would not be immune to belt-tightening. 'We hope the race teams can stay strong. We need strong teams. We need committed sponsors,' he said. 'We need to manage our expenses and manage our costs and, again, doing so in a way that continues to provide the best show that we can.' One way to aid the teams would be to reduce the lengthy Indy 500 activities in May, where it takes more than three weeks to stage practice, qualifying and the race. Shortening the traditional Indy month is being studied. 'Thats something that we havent decided,' Belskus said. 'We need to continue to evaluate the situation.' 