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Sunday, May 27  CART dominates IRL event By Robin Miller ESPN.com INDIANAPOLIS - It was Little Big Horn, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and England vs. The Falkland Islands rolled into 500 miles. It was a statement that should remind people what racing at this level requires. And it was Tony George's worst nightmare. The 85th Indianapolis 500 turned into a beach party for Championship Auto Racing Teams as five of its drivers and three of its teams kicked sand in the face of the Indy Racing League in front of 300,000 people and a worldwide television audience. Helio Castroneves followed Juan Montoya's footsteps and became the second straight rookie from CART to claim this May classic as Roger Penske's cars ran 1-2 and gave The Captain his 11th Indy triumph. How encompassing was CART's first semi-serious assault on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1995? Only six of Sunday's 33 starters were CART regulars yet Castroneves flashed under the checkered flag pursued by teammate Gil de Ferran. Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser and Bruno Junqueira. NASCAR star Tony Stewart, driving one of Chip Ganassi's four cars, wound up sixth as nobody from George's all-oval series finished on the lead lap despite 56 laps of caution. From Lap 103 on, only CART drivers or teams were out in front. In only its fourth IRL event, Ilmor Engineering hit victory lane. On the flip side, several of the IRL's big guns wound up eating concrete or crow. Polesitter Scott Sharp missed the first turn of the first lap and walloped the outside wall. IRL poster girl Sarah Fisher crashed into Scott Goodyear, who suffered a fracture in his back. IRL point leader Sam Hornish spun out on Lap 18 and put Al Unser Jr. in the fence and out of competition. Greg Ray, being pressured for the lead by Andretti, glanced off the wall and limped home 17th. And Robbie Buhl, the IRL's lone hope during the final 50 laps, lost control while running second and chasing Castroneves on Lap 166. He recovered to finish 15th. Only Mark Dismore and Robby Gordon seemed to have anything for the CART boys and both were waylaid by mechanical gremlins. "I lift my hat to Roger Penske but I think we could have done a lot except for our gearbox problem," said Dismore, who led 29 laps. "But I think everyone is part the IRL/CART thing, it's just a bunch of guys who want to win the Indy 500." It's true that this IRL/CART war is not about the drivers, they're just hired guns who race where they're told. But, ever since George divided open wheel racing in '96, the quality of teams and drivers at Indy has been on the decline. It made a small comeback last year with former CART champs Montoya and Vasser but really got upgraded this month. Yes, the field was only separated by less than four mph in qualifying and some "experts" were predicting as many as 20 drivers had a chance to victory. But the contenders and pretenders are weeded out quickly on race day and Sunday was no exception. Castroneves, Junqueira and Nicolas Minassian were classified as rookies but what a misnomer. Castroneves' had three years of seasoning in CART, while Bruno doubled as Frank Williams test driver in Formula One and the F3000 champion in 2000. Minassian ran second to Junqueira in F3000 and now teams with him in CART. De Ferran only completed one lap in his initial Indy start in '95 before being KO'd by debris from an accident and he watched the race until this May. Chip Ganassi's defending champs qualified four cars, Penske put his two near the front and Barry Green acquiesced to Andretti's wishes and partnered with Panther Racing of the IRL to give the 38-year-old veteran another shot. It's no exaggeration to say few, if any IRL teams, could walk into CART, use their equipment and instantly be competitive in the most challenging series in the world. It ain't happening. But Penske, Ganassi and Green can crossover because they've got the depth, experience, budget and ability to play by George's rules. And rule. Castroneves' win wasn't dominating like Montoya's, but between himself, de Ferran, Andretti and Stewart, they led 108 of the 200 laps. Their pit stops, execution and driving were the difference in a series that prides itself on "equal playing fields." By taking the top six spots and more than a third of the $9 million purse, CART put a major hurt on the IRL's woefully-underfunded teams who depend on Indy for their budgets. And, next year, expect more CART teams to be here in May. The repercussions of this romp could be the IRL clamoring for a return to George's amateurish 25/8 qualifying rule of '96 (25 of the 33 starting spots at Indy were guaranteed for IRL point leaders). That would be a sad step backwards for a race that won back some credibility (and hopefully fans) this year. But 25/8 wouldn't have made any difference Sunday afternoon. CART ran the table and left the IRL punch drunk with only a six pack.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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