 Four days before the race , the September 11 attacks took place , causing most major American sporting events scheduled on the same weekend as the German 500 to be postponed , including National Football League ( NFL ) and Major League Baseball games , and a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race , the New Hampshire 300 , at New Hampshire Motor Speedway . The Italian Grand Prix , a Formula One race , was held that weekend . According to Ronald Richards , the vice president of CART , the series decided to continue with the race prior to the cancellation of that week 's NFL games , a decision followed by other American leagues . Richards acknowledged that " We wish we would have had the input regarding the NFL 's decision prior to making our decision . " 
