Scheckter

	Cheever Jr.

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Auto racing has always bred many fast feuds: Foyt vs. Andretti, Pearson vs. Petty, Senna vs. Prost, Chevy vs. Ford and roadsters vs. rear-engined cars. And now we've got a new one in the Indy Racing League.

Cheever vs. Scheckter.

In what is rapidly becoming a weekly soap opera/sitcom, Eddie Cheever stars as the father and Tomas Scheckter as his rebellious son. Think of Eddie Haskell in both roles and call it Leave it to Cheever.

Scheckter is a precocious 21-year-old throttle psycho with monstrous talent who has a propensity for leading races, crashing cars and leaving Cheever seething.

Cheever is an eclectic 44-year-old veteran with a storied career who has a well-oiled team, a shop full of wrecked racers and a great vocabulary but is often left speechless when it comes to Scheckter.

This snit is as entertaining as it is newsworthy because not only are these two teammates, Cheever is also Scheckter's boss.

And, on a couple of occasions this season, they've tangled on the track as well as off it.

"I've spent about $2 million on wrecked cars so far this year but I remain committed to Tomas' growth pattern," said Cheever on Saturday after Scheckter won the pole position for Sunday's Michigan Indy 400.

	Buddy Rice, left, and Tomas Scheckter, right, find themselves teammates at Cheever Racing.

"It's not been a very good season and Red Bull is spending a lot of money for us to win races. We haven't done that yet but I'm a very optimistic person. I know Tomas has the ability to win, he just hasn't shown it yet."

Scheckter's stats for 2002 mirror the overall frustration of Team Cheever. He's led 321 laps and earned three poles but has only one top five finish and no wins. He's crashed six times, including the season opener when he bumped the boss into the wall on Lap 3, and been in position for at least trips to victory lane.

He was long gone at Indy before running too high in Turn 4 and smacking the wall with 28 laps left. Tomas also had large leads at Texas and Kansas City before losing an engine and cutting a tire.

"I look at Indianapolis as a squandered opportunity, not a great drive," said Cheever, who won the May classic in 1998. "This team should have two Indy wins."

Last Saturday night he was running second at Nashville and lapping Cheever when he drifted high and into the wall.

That triggered the latest chapter of Driver Psychology 101 from Cheever. He hinted Tomas might be replaced and then hired former Toyota Atlantic champ Buddy Rice to drive a third car here at Michigan International Speedway this weekend -- also giving Scheckter's crew to Rice.

"It's either the stupidest or smartest thing I've ever done," said Cheever, breaking into a grin. "But so far the experiment is working."

Scheckter edged Rice for the pole and Cheever snagged third to give the Red Bull team a Roger Penske-like performance in qualifying. But the atmosphere was rather chilly in the press room, let alone the Team Cheever motor coach.

"It was has been a tough week for me and there's been a lot of things said in the press that hurt me and my team as well," said Scheckter. "You get used to working with your engineers, mechanics, everybody and you build a good relationship.

"For that to get taken away from me was a big knock. Not only was my crew taken away, a lot of the parts on the car that we found to have an advantage are not on my car. They went on Buddy's.

"To be honest, it's not the best atmosphere but if it puts me on the pole every time, I'll keep doing it."

The son of the 1979 Formula One champion, Jody, is one of those talented kids with a European education whose mindset is to go wide open at all times. He's one of those anomalies -- good for racing but tough on the budget.

"You have to understand where Tomas came from, his family history," said Cheever, who spent 10 years in F1 before coming to CART. "He's the son of an F1 champion so I have to treat him differently than I do Buddy. I have two, very good young drivers who are diametrically opposed.

"Tomas has got to accept that he makes mistakes and stop being a child. This is not a kindergarten and this is not a video game. Kids nowadays are used to things being disposable.

"Having said that, Tomas is a talented driver who we are trying to develop into a winner. But, like with any child, you try a variety of approaches to get through to them."

Scheckter says the boss hasn't spoken to him in a week, other than their engineering sessions here Friday and Saturday, while Cheever claims to have a running dialogue with Tomas' agent.

	“	Tomas has got to accept that he makes mistakes and stop being a child. This is not a kindergarten and this is not a video game. Kids nowadays are used to things being disposable. ”
		— Eddie Cheever

"I'd expect my team owner to be the one to call me and speak to me about it, to be the mature one," said Scheckter. "I'm willing to sit down and speak to him but that phone call hasn't come.

"I'm not as talkative or as in detail as I used to be in our meetings but we all sit down and, at the end of the day, I'm a professional. I'm going to do the best job I can for Red Bull, Infiniti and Team Cheever."

Cheever, whose luck with sponsors has been abominable, finally hit a winner this year with Red Bull. He knows the pressure is on to deliver a winner because in today's economy if you have a sponsor you'd damn sure better hang on.

"I did not hire Tomas for his ability to communicate a message or I'd have made changes a long time ago," he said. "He cannot keep crashing and I will continue making changes in the team until we start achieving the results we have to deliver for Red Bull.

"But he's pretty galvanized right now and I'm convinced that Tomas will be a winner when that light comes on. And I'll be the first to shake his hand."

Cheever claims Scheckter has one year remaining on his contract but a couple CART owners are interested in the former F1 test driver for Jaguar and he admits F1 is his eventual goal.

"I'm not sure what my future holds," he exclaimed. "I'm taking it race-by-race with him (Cheever). It depends on what he says in the press tomorrow or the next day.

"Maybe he'll get rid of me that way. Fire me in the press."

The owner of Team Turmoil shakes his head and says it's more of a learning curve than a feud. The irony of this situation is that Cheever has always been considered an overly-aggressive driver who often sees the "red mist" at speed. When asked about his younger, wilder days, he admits there are some similarities.

"But I was married, I had bills to pay and I had to bring home a check and finish races," said Cheever. "I understand Tomas' frustration and I know there's a lot of pent-up determination.

"And the greatest way to prove his point is to win the race."