True Value 500:
Big Show In Texas
FORT WORTH: Everything is big in Texas. The production put on by the cars of the Indy Racing League was big too. The race starved state of Texas and the newly formed IRL are a good match.
In a qualifying twist, the IRL put on a show for the 10,000 fans at the new Fort Worth facility. The league normally has two or four lap qualifying efforts, with the fastest cars starting the race up front. Not so in Texas. The qualifying here is a total team effort. The cars take to the track for two laps and then enter the pits for service. Three team members jump over the wall after the car has come to a complete stop. The crew lifts the car on it's onboard jacks and changes the two right side tires. With the clock still running, the driver screams to the start/finish line. The clock stops. The qualifying run is over.
This new qualifying format is great for the fans. It also showcases the teamwork required to succeed at this high-tech racing business. This "teamwork" sometimes goes unnoticed in a "standard" qualifying run.
The new format has also placed some very fast cars back in the field. Davey Hamilton, driving for Power Team/A.J. Foyt Enterprises, had a slow (18 seconds) stop that placed the car ninth on the grid. His teammate, Billy Boat, driving the Conseco sponsored car will start from the 21st position. Boat overshot his pit, wiping out his on track laps of 210 and 212 mph. Eliseo Salazar ran one lap of 210 mph and came into the pits for his stop (one lap early). He said "I misinterpreted when they gave me the green flag and I thought I was supposed to get in". Fast cars sprinkled throughout the field will make for some exciting passing early in the race.
Billy Boat overshot his pit and will start from the back.
The fastest car may be long gone by the time those other "fast cars" make it through traffic. Tony Stewart, driving for Team Menard/Glidden, had a flawless night. Stewart lapped the new track at over 216 mph on both qualifying laps. The Menard crew had Stewart moving again after spending only 12.9 seconds in the pits. Stewart will start from the pole for the third time in four races. Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk will start the race from the eleventh position. Stewart and Luyendyk battled for nearly 500 miles two weeks ago in the 81st Indianapolis 500.
The green flag for the inaugural True Value 500 will drop at 8:00 PM (EDT) on Saturday, June 7. The race will be broadcast (tape delay) on ESPN2 at 9:30 PM (EDT).
Terry Callahan -- The Auto Channel
| 
