Andretti

FORT WORTH, Texas -- There will be a heavy dose of irony involved in Michael Andretti's appearance as an Indy Racing League team owner Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.

Two years ago when he was a member of CART, Andretti was involved in the ill-fated Firestone Firehawk 600 -- an event that was canceled when teams pulled out of the garage area hours before the race was slated to start.

Many of the drivers in that April 2001 race said they suffered vertigo as the CART cars posted speeds that made their heads spin, running laps exceeding 235 miles per hour.

Tomas Scheckter's pole-winning speed for Saturday night's IRL race was a more reasonable 219.3 miles per hour.

Andretti was one of the drivers who were in favor of pulling out of the CART race, but said racing at TMS had nothing to do with why he made the Indianapolis 500 his last race.

"I don't look at it that way, I never did," Andretti said. "I'm glad I'm not driving. I'm looking forward to my new challenge. It had nothing to do with this race track. The whole CART issue was apples and oranges. It's a different formula with the IRL, a proven formula. They can control the speeds a lot better than what CART could do when they were here. You can't compare the two."

Slower speeds and a tighter control over the rules have helped the IRL create a successful formula at TMS, which featured two of the three closest races in IndyCar history last season. It's a formula that works well at the 1.5-mile oval, while the turbo-charged CART engines with less downforce was a recipe for mayhem two years ago.

Andretti was tabbed as one of the whiners, which he believes was unfair.

"If the IRL finds they are going too fast, they can make a quick adjustment and slow them down very easily," Andretti said of the race officials. "They didn't do that in CART. I felt bad for the fans. I'm sorry I was marked as one of the bad guys. It was a question of safety."

Andretti blames the CART organization, and its lack of coherent direction, with the fiasco in April 2001.

"I think the whole problem that went back before that April was something that should have been seen well in advance," Andretti said. "I saw it well in advance. I complained about it. Our cars shouldn't have been here. To blame the race track was wrong. It wasn't the race track's fault; it was the formula's fault.

"That is what bothers me about the whole thing. It comes out I was one of the guys who tried to stop the race. I didn't want anybody to get hurt. They just did it wrong.

Eddie Gossage is the executive vice president and general manager at Texas Motor Speedway. When CART left town without staging the race, the track filed a lawsuit against the organization, which was later settled out of court.

He is glad Andretti's team is part of the IRL and said he never harbored any ill-feelings toward the former driver.

"I don't know what was said in the drivers' meeting," Gossage said. "I don't know who blamed Michael. It was certainly not anybody from the speedway. I defy you to find a quote from me that said Michael has anything to do with it. We didn't sue Michael Andretti, we sued CART. I wish he were racing here. He would sell tickets in Texas. "Andretti is a household name in auto racing and it would have helped us a lot. I don't have a bone to pick with Michael."

Andretti said he found the vertigo excuse rather curious because CART gave a specific number of drivers who complained of dizziness and vertigo, but when each driver was polled individually, the numbers never added up.

"The newspaper stories all said 21 of the 24 drivers suffered from vertigo," Gossage said. "But none of them suffered it when you asked them directly. I personally don't believe any driver suffered from vertigo or symptoms like that. I think it was a race track they didn't want to be on.

"They were uncomfortable, but as far as some scientific barrier that was crossed, it was a joke. I don't believe a scientific barrier was crossed. Nobody from the speedway ever suggested they get in those cars if they were uncomfortable."

TMS officials realized the CART cars were approaching ridiculous speeds at the track well in advance of the race and tried to get CART officials to make changes to the cars in time to stage a successful race.

"In letters dating almost a year prior to that weekend, we were asking CART to take action to slow the cars down, to change different parts and pieces on the car that had us concerned," Gossage said. "CART said they would do that and they never really did that. But that's a different CART than exists today, so that is water under the bridge."

Ironically, one of the drivers that weekend who admitted he was dizzy is Tony Kanaan, who is a prime contender to win Saturday night's race when he starts fourth in an Andretti Green Dallara/Honda.

"The IRL adds downforce to the car so they go slower," Kanaan said. "The CART cars were too fast. I felt dizzy and I didn't like the feeling when I was in the car. They made the right call.

"The IRL is different than what we had in CART. We have more downforce because the IRL has set the standards in terms of safety. We have less power. It's going to be really exciting. Every race the IRL has had here has been exciting. The difference here is the G load about the corner, which will be less and that will make it easier to drive."

So does Kanaan or any of the other Andretti Green drivers feel trepidation and anxiety about finally racing at Texas Motor Speedway two years later?

"I'm excited," Kanaan said. "I think close racing like this will be awesome."

It will be a new experience for the IndyCar series driver who retired after dropping out of the Indianapolis 500 two weeks ago. Now that Andretti has climbed out of a competitive race car, he has to adjust to his new role as team owner, which is why he doesn't know how to react when the race starts at 8 p.m. EDT.

The big question is, will Andretti be a backseat driver to his three drivers in Saturday night's race?

"We'll find out," Andretti said with a laugh. "You'll have to ask them. It's going to be a lot of new stuff and I'm going to see how I fall into place and how I'm going to fit in the race, what I'm going to do. But everything else, I've been doing for almost a year. Now, I don't have the driving on my mind and I can spend more time on the team.

"I think my nerves will be worse from the sidelines watching it. I have three cars out there."

Andretti's three cars are driven by Kanaan, who will start fourth; Bryan Herta, starting ninth as a replacement for the injured Dario Franchitti; and rookie Dan Wheldon, who hopes to keep all four wheels on the ground when he starts 13th.

All three drivers will compete in Dallara/Hondas in the 200-lap, 300-mile race under the lights at the 1½-mile oval.

Kanaan gave Andretti his first victory as a team owner in the Purex/Dial Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway in March. That was a race where Andretti -- the driver -- crashed with Gil de Ferran late in the race. But Kanaan's victory allowed Andretti -- the owner -- to go into victory lane.

"Michael is a big plus for the team," Kanaan said. "If he wants to be in my back seat, I don't mind it. I hope he will help the team a lot."