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Wednesday, March 14
Series boasts competitive racing
ESPN.com news services
PHOENIX -- One thing that has made the Indy Racing League so interesting is its unpredictability, dating all the way back to the concept of the Indy car series in March of 1994.
That's when Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George created a new series that would include the Indianapolis 500 as its cornerstone event.
|  | | Al Unser Jr.'s win last year at Las Vegas was his first since taking the checkered flag in the Vancouver CART race in 1995.
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At that time, teams in CART viewed the Indianapolis 500 as their event, even though the world's most famous race had never been sanctioned by CART. George was tired of seeing Indy car racing venture away from its oval-track heritage and wanted to slow the down speeds and try to keep costs from spiraling out of site.
When the IRL was announced, the skeptics predicted it would never turn a wheel. When the IRL became a reality in 1996, CART teams announced they would not compete in the Indianapolis 500, leading the skeptics to say the race couldn't survive without the recognizable names that had competed there in the past.
Six years later, not only is the IRL still in business, but it continues to be one of the most unpredictable racing series in the world. It has created an extremely competitive and entertaining brand of racing which at times has been very unpredictable. And, the Indianapolis 500 has not only survived without CART, teams from the rival series are coming back, although not en masse.
As the IRL begins its sixth season, the all-oval, open-wheel series has its most ambitious schedule with the hopes of finally distancing itself from the criticism that has plagued George's league since its creation.
The IRL begins its 13-rade season Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway in the Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200.
One team that is sure to get plenty of attention is Penske Racing and its two drivers -- defending CART champion Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves. This will be the first-ever IRL race for Roger Penske's team, which is the winningest team in Indianapolis 500 history with 10 victories.
Penske Racing is using the Copper World Indy 200 as a tuneup for its return to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since it failed to make the Indy 500 in 1995. De Ferran and Castroneves will compete in Dallara/Oldsmobile Aurora Indy cars, minus the familiar Marlboro sponsorship. Because of U.S. tobacco laws, cigarette companies can compete in only one racing series so Penske's cars will carry the Penske Auto Centers sponsorship this weekend.
Al Unser Jr. welcomes Penske's participation in Sunday's IRL event and in the 85th Indianapolis 500. Unser won the 1994 Indianapolis 500 driving for Penske Racing and the CART title that season. After such a fast start with his new team owner, Unser and Penske struggled with a variety of problems, including uncompetitive equipment, before the driver left for he IRL at the end of the 1999 season.
When Unser won at Las Vegas last April, it was his first win since taking the checkered flag in the Vancouver CART race in 1995.
"I can't wait until this weekend at Phoenix," Unser said. "I think this is going to be an unbelievable year of competition in the Indy Racing Northern Light Series, and this weekend is kicking off everything. Our team has grown and we are excited to get our entire program to the track.
"Last year I came into the IRL, and the equipment was all-new to me. This year, I have a season of driving these cars under my belt, and I can read the cars better. I also know the competition a little better, and I truly enjoy racing in this series. With more races and a tighter schedule, I think the race fans in this country are going to have a blast with our series in 2001."
Unser leads a three-car effort at Galles Racing which also includes rookies Didier Andre of France and Casey Mears of Bakersfield, Calif. Mears is the latest member of the famous racing family to compete in Indy cars. His father, Roger, raced in two Indianapolis 500s in the 1980s and his uncle, Rick, is a four-time winner of the Indy 500.
Mears is a former Indy Lights driver who finished fourth in his only CART appearance in last November's Marlboro 500 at California Speedway.
"I am really looking forward to this race, as it marks the first of what I hope will be a full-season ride with Galles Racing; and to be participating in the Northern Light Indy Car Series is a tremendous step up in my career," Mears said. "I've always admired the competitiveness of this series, and with the guys running in it this year, I believe it's going to be more competitive than ever.
"As far as Phoenix International Raceway goes, I am really looking forward to racing here. In addition to our testing here with Galles, I've tested here in the past with Indy Lights, and it's a good handling track. It's always been a good track for my uncle (Rick), and I believe it will be for me too."
|  | | Buddy Lazier wants a return trip to the Indy 500 winner's circle along with another IRL title. |
Buddy Lazier is the IRL's defending champion. Lazier was the first driver ever to win a pole for an IRL race when he was the fastest qualifier at Disney World in 1996. He was also the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 in the IRL era when he won in 1996 just eight weeks after suffering a broken back in a crash at Phoenix.
After struggling in CART with some of the worst race cars in the field, Lazier was finally able to prove his talent with one of the IRL's better-funded teams at Hemelgarn Racing. Lazier is a hard-charging race driver who has displayed his fearless driving ability on the oval tracks of the Indy car series.
"We feel like it's been a really productive offseason," Lazier said. "We've learned a lot. The program, the race car, everything has progressed. And we've gained speed. We know the entire field has gained speed and progressed and we feel like we've kept pace. The long offseason has been very busy for me and the race team. We believe we are prepared for our schedule. With the new schedule, organization is more crucial than it's ever been. We feel confident at the stage."
Eddie Cheever, the 1998 Indianapolis 500 winner and a former Formula One driver, is perhaps the IRL's most articulate spokesman. The "American from Rome," as he was called in his European racing days, has experienced a rebirth in the IRL and is the lead driver for the Nissan Infiniti Indy effort. Cheever is another fearless driver who can find his way to the front in rapid fashion, which is why he is a threat from no matter how far back in the field that he starts.
"Phoenix is the first race after a long winter break, and everybody has been sharpening their tools," Cheever said. "Over the winter, we changed all of our data management systems and the whole way that we analyze data from the car. We've taken advantage of the offseason to improve our ability to understand what the numbers mean. We're more efficient, and hopefully our pit stops will be quicker and our race strategy has improved.
"I think the expanded schedule is good. I think the good teams will come out ahead in the middle of the season when it gets very tight. Management of human resources and hard assets will be essential. I think after Indy, we're really going to see who is well organized and who is isn't."
Greg Ray had a miserable season after winning the 1999 IRL championship. Ray got off to a slow start, but won the pole for the 84th Indianapolis 500 when he knocked Juan Montoya out of the top starting position. He led the first 26 laps of the Indy 500, before he crashed not once, but twice, in the same turn in last year's race.
Ray won at Atlanta in July, but team owner John Menard fired his team manager, Thomas Knapp, a few laps later. Knapp's replacement, Mitch Davis, was fired at the end of the year so Ray is attempting to regain his status as a top driver in the series with new leadership -- Darrell Soppe -- at Team Menard. Ray came to the IRL after a season as Barry Green's driver in the Indy Lights series.
"We have a great group of mechanics and engineers," Ray said. "My desire is as big as ever, certainly, having the year we had last year. I drive race cars to win, and we didn't do enough of that last year. You have to focus on what you're doing and come race day, show what you've got. This isn't a media statement, on
any given weekend, one of 15 guys could win and win in dominant fashion."
Perhaps the most popular driver in the IRL is 19-year-old Sarah Fisher, who was very impressive with her speed and racing savvy last year in her rookie season.
"This is the year for me to produce the results," Fisher said. "I think with the right people in line, we will have a team very capable of doing that. Consistency and patience are my two virtues for this season, which hopefully will allow me to come away with a win and to end up in the top 10 in points.
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Last year this time, the series had some challenges. I mean 2000 was our breakthrough year, but we had some definite challenges. Our schedule was only nine races. In 2001, we have 13 races. This is our growth year. If 2000 was our break out year, a watershed year, then 2001 is about growth, and the way we measure growth is in terms of customer service.” |
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—IRL VP Bob Reif |
"Phoenix was my first race last year, and also my first with Walker Racing. I had put a lot of pressure on myself that race, and it affected the way I handled things. This year is completely different. I have confidence in my team and they in me. We have jelled into a 'family' over the last year, and we are ready, as a team, to take on the season."
The 2001 IRL schedule includes 13 races with the Indy cars racing at new speedways in Kansas City, Kan., Joliet, Ill., and Nashville, Tenn. The IRL will also compete at Richmond, Va.,, one of the premier tracks under one mile on the Winston Cup schedule and will replace the CART FedEx Championship Series at Homestead, Fla., and St. Louis.
The series will also return to its most popular venue outside of the Midwest at Texas, and will make a second appearance at Kentucky, where it raced in front of a sellout crowd of 62,000 fans last September. It will also make return visits to Atlanta and Pikes Peak.
But, of course, the mainstay to the IRL is the Indianapolis 500, which has regained some of its luster and stature as teams from the rival CART FedEx Championship Series are once again realizing that it's perhaps the biggest race in the world. Last year, Montoya gave Target/Chip Ganassi Racing a victory for CART in the Indianapolis 500. Ganassi returns with his two new drivers -- Bruno Junqueira of Brazil and Nicolas Minassian of France -- but he will be joined by the winningest team owner in Indy 500 history -- Roger Penske.
New venues, along with some new drivers with proven race cars that have put on some outstanding racing has given the IRL hopes of making its mark on the motorsports landscape.
The man responsible for the rapid growth in the IRL's schedule is Bob Reif, the senior vice president of sales and marketing for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IRL. He negotiated deals that gave the IRL six races within 500 miles of Indianapolis, where the series has the majority of its fans.
"Last year this time, the series had some challenges," Reif said. "I mean 2000 was our breakthrough year, but we had some definite challenges. Our schedule was only nine races. In 2001, we have 13 races. This is our growth year. If 2000 was our break out year, a watershed year, then 2001 is about growth, and the way we measure growth is in terms of customer service."
Reif is also setting the message straight that the IRL is ready to grow on its own merits and is not about to compromise its principles by aligning itself with the rival CART series.
"There are no discussions with CART," Reif said. "That is not on our table. It will not be on our table. We are going straightforward."
George and Reif would like to have a series that includes 14 two-car team owners, which would give it a core of 28 entries for every race. However, the major obstacle for the IRL to achieve substantial growth is convincing sponsors that it is truly a major league of auto racing. Sponsors in the United States have viewed the IRL as the Indianapolis 500 and little else.
That continues to be the IRL's biggest challenge. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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