You may recall the old, cranky schedule import format. It's a bit saner now. As long as you use standard column names, the columns can be in any order you like.
Multi-day events still require an entry for each day with the exact same name, and the system will create the "parent" event. Example:
7/12 Cascade Classic
7/13 Cascade Classic
7/14 Cascade Classic
Creates three "Cascade Classic" single day events with a parent "Cascade Classic" multi-day event from 7/12-7/14.
See http://trac.butlerpress.com/racing_on_rails/wiki/SampleImportFiles for details and examples.
Scott