Ray

For Kelley Racing it's out with an IRL champion and in with a two-time Indy 500 winner. As first reported on RPM.espn.com, Greg Ray has been released from Kelley Racing before he ever turned a wheel in competition.

Jim Freudenberg, general manager at Kelly Racing confirmed Wednesday that two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr., will team with Scott Sharp for the 2002 IRL season.

"We will make the announcement on Thursday," Freudenberg said. "Greg is out looking for a ride."

Even if Ray is able to secure promised sponsorship funding, Kelley will not field a car for the 1999 IRL champ.

"It's too late to do that," Freudenberg said.

The naming of Unser ends a three-month search by the third-year IRL driver who left CART at the end of 1999 to drive for his former owner, Rick Galles, in the IRL. In his third IRL event, Unser took the top honors at Las Vegas after starting 21st. Last season, he captured the third-to-last event of the year, outside St. Louis at Gateway International Raceway.

Unser and Galles thought Budweiser was set to sponsor the team, only to learn in late December that the brewing giant would not join their team. Galles failed in his attempts to find other funding and put his operation on hiatus.

Unser thought he had a possible ride with Eddie Cheever's team, but found himself on the outside when Cheever selected second-generation driver Tomas Scheckter as his teammate.

An off-season conditioning program has put Unser in the best shape of his career.

"I have lost a ton of weight and have really worked hard this winter," Unser said.

Ray signed a three-year contract with Kelley Racing three months ago and was fifth quickest in weekend testing at Homestead, Fla., where the IRL kicks off its season a week from Saturday.

Sharp, who finished second in this year's Rolex 24 at Daytona and races with Unser in this year's IROC series, thinks the decision is a financial one.

"I know that the team is going to work as hard as it can to make sure that our second car is fully funded," Sharp said. "Mark Dismore would still be my teammate if running an under-funded car was an option."

Setting up a team with the aspirations Tom Kelley has is not easy.

"I think I enter this season with a lot more confidence," Sharp said.

Ray's failure to provide promised sponsorship has been rumored as the reason for the late switch. But, Unser reportedly has a $3 million a year personal services contract with the IRL, signed when he defected from CART in 2000.

This has led some to speculate the league persuaded Kelley to hire Unser in Ray's place. IRL spokesman Ron Green said the league has not pressured any team to hire Unser.

"The IRL wants to see stability among all its teams," Green said. "We never would force a team into this kind of situation. Al Unser is a two-time Indy 500 winner, but Greg Ray is a former IRL champion and one of our most successful drivers over the last five seasons. We want to see both those drivers competing in 2002."