It was a year ago this month that Tony George’s personal vision for the future of Indy car racing took wing at "The Mickyard," an intriguing if slightly rollercoaster-like one- mile track erected at Walt Disney World. That historic first Indy Racing League event, contested by twenty starters (among which only three had won an Indy car race - Luyendyk, Guerrero, and John Paul Jr.) in one-, two-, and three-year old racecars, was won by there-to-fore unheralded Buzz Calkins. The 25-year old Calkins, whose highest previous racing achievements had been third-place finishes in two 1995 Indy Lights events, would DNF at Indy, then finish sixth at Phoenix to end up co-winner, with Scott Sharp, of the inaugural (three-race) IRL championship.
Now, two races into the second IRL season, Tony George is on the eve of another milestone, once again, at the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World. Saturday will mark the first occasion on which cars built to the new IRL formula will race. No more hand-me-down CART chassis; no more leased turbocharged motors. And best of all, no more of the temperamental and almost universally detested popoff valves. Instead, IRL drivers will line up in specially-made flat-bottom G Force and Dallara mid-engine racers powered by four-liter production-based Oldsmobile Aurora or Nissan Infinity four-cam V8 engines. Indeed, just the sight and sound of these new cars should inject some pizzazz into the IRL after a difficult first year.
Other than Pennzoil and, of course, the General Motors and Nissan engine programs, major sponsors have so far been reluctant to sign on with the IRL. Similarly, established teams have by and large chosen to remain with the rival PPG CART series. A.J. Foyt and Galles and, with a foot in both camps, Walker made the move, but the often rumored defection of major players, including big-name drivers, simply never happened. This in spite of the IRL’s ABC network television contract and its centerpiece Indianapolis 500, undoubtedly the most famous race in the world.
Admittedly, in terms of overall quality and depth, IRL driver lineups were thin in year- one compared to those in races put on by the more established CART series. No surprise, as the PPG CART championship has, in the opinion of many, developed into arguably the most competitive and entertaining open-wheel racing series in the world. Without CART’s more experienced and better-known drivers on board and without an adequate number of races and importantly, due to CART’s wagon-circling tactics, enough competitive racecars to develop new talent, IRL fields suffered. But the new sanctioning body’s first year was not without bright spots. Certainly, the raw speed and prodigious talent shown in all five races to date by Indy car rookie Tony Stewart not only thrilled spectators, but validated a central IRL premise - that good drivers from traditional American oval racing, given the opportunity, can compete in Indy cars, particularly if they are run primarily on oval tracks.
The fact is, 24-year old Stewart, who in 1995 became the first driver to win USAC national championships in midgets, sprint cars, and Silver Crown cars in the same year, would probably be successful in any kind of racing. To the dismay of IRL supporters, like Jeff Gordon, circle-track racing’s last prodigy, Stewart is considering a move to NASCAR. Not so for the Indy Racing League’s other standout, Buddy Lazier, although his presence at CART events must’ve worried some. Never able to get a competitive mount in CART races, Lazier was from the inaugural IRL race, one of the fastest. In fact, he still holds the lap record at The Mickyard. But at Phoenix, Lazier crashed in practice, suffering 16 fractures in his back and pelvis. He was still in pain at the Speedway in May and able to complete only 125 laps of practice. But come raceday, Lazier drove a gutty, masterful race, starting fifth to lead on five occasions. He moved past Davy Jones into first for good just seven laps from the finish to win the Indianapolis 500 by .695 of a second and become a genuine IRL hero.
Not surprisingly, Tony Stewart and Buddy Lazier are commanding the lion’s share of attention again at Walt Disney World. Stewart, in a Menard G Force-Oldsmobile Aurora, put in a lap of 169.795 mph last week, the fastest speed yet in one of the new cars. Because the Nissan Infinity motor program has been behind, Lazier just got his racecar and like others who will use Infinity power Saturday, has had very little time to sort out his new car and engine. Regardless, today, the last day of IRL winter testing, Lazier was only .11 of a second slower than Stewart, with ‘96 Le Mans winner Davy Jones’ G Force- Olds just .04 of a second behind him.
Will the Nissan motors be anywhere near competitive with little or no testing? Will as many as four of them even be delivered and ready to race by Saturday? Will the Auroras go all the way without teething troubles in their first race? Will any of the new cars go a full race distance at speed? The same questions, of course, can be asked before any race, but this Indy 200 at Disney World is different. As new IRL headman Leo Mehl remarked, it’ll be the first Indy car race in which every car and every engine is brand new. For Tony George, it couldn’t have come soon enough.
