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Friday, April 27
Kite will be a spectator at Atlanta
Associated Press

HAMPTON, Ga. – Jimmy Kite lives about 15 miles from Atlanta Motor Speedway. He'll probably feel a million miles away Saturday night.


	Jimmy Kite is still searching for a ride.

Kite hasn't landed a ride this year in the Indy Racing League and will watch the zMax 500 from the sidelines.

Still, he's not bitter about missing out on a chance to race at his home track.

"I've had so much fun getting to do what I've done, I'm not going to sit here and argue with God," the 25-year-old Kite said. "When it's my time, I'll get back in the race car. There's a lot of fun times ahead."

Kite has 22 starts in his IRL career -- usually with low-budget teams -- and has yet to crack the top five. He has shown the ability to go fast, qualifying the last three years for the Indianapolis 500.

Kite considers himself a victim of the slowing economy, which caused many potential sponsors to shy away from the sport.

The high-tech slump hit the IRL especially hard. Last year, the circuit relied heavily on Internet companies for financial backing, but many of those firms have either gone out of business or don't have extra money to spend on racing.

"The IRL is going through some growing pains," he said. "I would say 80 percent of the drivers had to bring their own (sponsorship) money to the car. With the economy the way it is, that's a bad thing."

Kite worked the garage before the last race at Homestead, Fla., talking with virtually every car owner in hopes of lining up a deal.

"Most of them answered, 'Jimmy, I'd love to have you in the car. How much money do you have?"' Kite recalled.

He expects to line up a ride for the Indy 500 next month, hooking on with one of the teams that has entered a car in the race without listing a driver.

"I know how to get a car in that race," Kite said. "I can jump in, get a day or two of practice and get right in."

Support series
The Indy Racing League is planning to start an open-wheel support series that will hold its first race by 2003.

Brian Barnhart, the IRL's vice president of operations, said the organization sent its requirements to seven chassis manufacturers on April 3.

Barnhart and his staff will begin sorting through the proposals when they return to Indianapolis after this weekend's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"This has been a very important part of our business plan for the last several years," Barnhart said Friday. "We've improved our TV package. We lured another engine manufacturer (Toyota). We've expanded our racing schedule. This is the next logical step."

The IRL will decide after studying the proposals whether to begin the new series in June 2002 or at the beginning of the 2003 season.

Races will be held in conjunction with all IRL races except the Indianapolis 500. Barnhart said having an extra race will help track operators boost attendance and give fans another race to watch during the weekend.

"It's something that will improve the event atmosphere," he said.

The new series will have one chassis and engine manufacturer, providing a low-cost way for drivers, car owners, sponsors and mechanics to advance to the IRL.

The smaller Indy-style cars will have approximately 450 horsepower and cost about $750,000 to field for a season. That is about 200 fewer horsepower and one-third the cost of current IRL cars.

Grand marshal
The grand marshal for Saturday's race is U.S. Navy Lt. Regina Kauffman, navigator on the American spy plane that was forced to make an emergency landing in China.

Kauffman mapped the aircraft's location and helped the pilot determine a landing site on Hainan Island after a Chinese fighter jet collided with the U.S. plane.

The Chinese held the 24-member crew for 11 days but have yet to return the plane, straining relations between the countries.

Pioneer driver
Cory Witherill, a Navajo Indian who hopes to race at Indianapolis next month, is making his IRL debut at Atlanta.

Witherill has already passed his rookie orientation at Indy and will use the zMax 500 as a warm-up for his qualifying run at the Brickyard.

"I'm still learning the track," Witherill said after his first practice session at the 1.54-mile oval. "There is a lot of banking, and I haven't been on such high banking in a long time."

Witherill, 29, is a regular on the CART Indy Lights series. He will attempt to become the first American Indian to race at Indy since Joie Chitwood, a Cherokee, in the 1940s and '50s.

Lugnuts

Tri Star Motorsports withdrew its second entry from the race before practice. Rookie Jon Herb drove the team's main entry, the No. 6 Dallara Oldsmobile.

Billy Boat blew an engine in the second practice session, coasting to a stop in turn one.

Two-time winner Sam Hornish and Eliseo Salazar are the only drivers to complete all 400 laps through the first two IRL races. Rookie Felipe Giaffone, Scott Sharp and Jeff Ward have finished all but two laps.

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