| | LONG BEACH, Calif. -- CART's answer to criticism that it doesn't have enough American drivers might be in its own back yard. One step removed from the main show is the Indy Lights developmental series, where a record nine Americans are competing.
So former CART champions Michael Andretti and Jimmy Vasser don't figure to be alone much longer as the only Americans with regular Champ Car rides.
|  | | Casey Mears, center, finished second to Oriol Servia in the 1999 Indy Lights championship. |
"There is really no shortage of American talent when you look at our series," said Indy Lights president Roger Bailey. "The key will be determining who has what it takes to step up to Champ Cars."
Among the American drivers are two former Lights race winners, second-generation open-wheeler Casey Mears and three promising rookies. The group includes American Indian Cory Witherill, who starts his second full season in Indy Lights when the green flag waves Sunday.
The driver with the best chance to move up is 22-year-old Mears, whose father, Roger, raced in CART but was an off-road champion. Casey's uncle, Rick, won the Indianapolis 500 four times and the CART title three times.
The younger Mears finished second in the Lights standings last year. The winner was Dorricott Racing teammate Oriol Servia of Spain, who moved up to the big cars.
Four of the last five Lights champions -- Servia, the late Greg Moore of Canada, and Brazilians Tony Kanaan and Cristiano da Matta -- have made the jump.
Last year, Mears became only the fourth driver in Lights history to complete every race lap in a season. But he knows consistency alone might not be enough.
"The key for me is to win races," said Mears, seeking his first victory in his 37th start. "That is what it will take for me to get the attention of Champ Car owners."
One driver who has won a race is Tony Renna, who competes for PacWest. The 23-year-old Floridian won from the pole in Michigan as a Lights rookie in 1998.
The other American who has won in Indy Lights is 30-year-old Geoff Boss from Rhode Island. Boss, who teams with younger brother Andy with Lucas Motorsports, won from the pole last year in Toronto.
The rookie of the year competition shapes up as a fight among Jeff Simmons, Todd Snyder and Townsend Bell, who combined for 14 victories in the Barber Dodge Pro Series the last two years and swept the top-three spots in its championship in 1999.
The title was a record second straight for Simmons. The 23-year-old driver for Barry Green teams with returning Irishman Jonny Kane.
Alaskan Snyder won seven times, one more than Simmons over the last two Lights seasons. The 32-year-old Snyder drives for Brian Stewart.
Bell, a 24-year-old Californian who teams with Mears, won a Barber Dodge race last year at Lime Rock Park, in Connecticut, and finished third in the points.
Returning to Indy Lights is Chris Menninga, a 25-year-old driver from Iowa who had two sixth-place finishes as a rookie with Conquest Racing.
Witherill brings not only a unique heritage to Lights but also one of the most diverse racing backgrounds. The 25-year-old driver has combined his Lights racing the last two years with stadium off-road racing competition and this year adds sprint cars to his resume.
He has won off-road championships in a dune buggy and has been
racing in various stadium classes for more than a decade after
beginning in motocross in 1987.
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