Northern Light IRL: Field takes aim at Hornish at Unique Nashville oval
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
July 13, 2001
LEBANON, Tenn. - On the surface, it appears that it will be tough for any Indy Racing competitor to catch Northern Light Series points leader Sam Hornish Jr. this season.
But of the remaining five races in the season, the Harrah's Indy 200 on July 21 at Nashville Superspeedway could be the wild card that helps the field gain ground on Hornish - because of the surface.
The 1.33-mile oval at Nashville is paved with concrete, one of only three concrete ovals in the United States that play host to major motorsports events. The Harrah's Indy 200 is only the third event in Indy Racing League history contested on a concrete track, as events took place in 1998 and 1999 at Dover Downs International Speedway in Dover, Del.
Racing on concrete will provide quite a challenge to Indy Racing teams, which know nearly all of the secrets of speed when competing on customary asphalt oval tracks.
Concrete tracks have an advantage over asphalt ovals because the temperature remains consistent despite the amount of cloud cover or sunshine. But concrete tracks also have different adhesion and ride qualities, which make tire and suspension setup more difficult. So this race - the debut of the Indy Racing Northern Light Series in Tennessee and the last of four night races in the series this season - could provide the sort of X factor that might be needed to find any weakness in Hornish and Pennzoil Panther Racing.
And that's becoming one of the hardest tasks in motorsports this year. Hornish and Panther have been nearly perfect.
Hornish started his inaugural season with Panther Racing by winning the first two events of the Indy Racing season, in March at Phoenix International Raceway and in April at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He has recorded four top-three finishes in six starts since then in the No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone, including three consecutive runner-up finishes entering this event.
That kind of consistency is uncommon in a 22-year-old driver in just his second season of Indy Racing. It's also delivered Hornish a 309-249 lead over second-place Buddy Lazier, the defending series champion, in the Northern Light Cup standings.
But there are a host of drivers ready to pounce if Hornish and Panther slip at Nashville, starting with Lazier.
Lazier and Hemelgarn Racing came to grips with the concrete track at Dover in 1998 and 1999 better than any driver-team combination in Indy Racing. Lazier finished second at both of those events.
1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Lazier also has the momentum of consecutive victories in June at Pikes Peak International Raceway and Richmond International Raceway that propelled him from fifth to second in the standings in the No. 91 Tae-Bo/Coors Light/Delta Faucet Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone.
Rookie Felipe Giaffone is another driver ready to strike. Like Hornish, consistency has moved Giaffone into a tie for third in the series standings with Eliseo Salazar with 217 points, 92 behind Hornish.
Giaffone has finished in the top 10 in seven of eight races this season in the No. 21 Hollywood G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone, with no wins. A breakthrough first career victory at Nashville would drive him closer to the top of the standings.
Salazar also is a threat for victory in the No. 14 Harrah's A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone. His only two finishes outside the top 10 have occurred in the last three races, so a victory or podium finish would be a big boost for Salazar.
1996 Indy Racing co-champion Scott Sharp is another driver to watch on the concrete at Nashville. Sharp won the inaugural concrete race in 1998 at Dover. He is fifth in the points in the No. 8 Delphi Automotive Systems Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone, with a victory at Texas.
1999 Indy Racing champion Greg Ray is another driver with a concrete record of success. He won the Dover race in 1999 for Team Menard and will drive the team's No. 2 Johns Manville/Menards Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone at Nashville in search of his second victory of the season.
Ray was the quickest driver during private testing July 10 at Nashville, turning a lap time of 23.65 seconds.
Eddie Cheever Jr. may be seventh in the series point standings, but he is the driver that the leaders might fear most. The Infiniti Indy 35A engine has matured into a race-winning powerplant after Cheever's victory in the Ameristar Casino Indy 200 at Kansas Speedway, and Cheever has been among the fastest cars on the track since the Indianapolis 500.
Versatility also has been a strong suit for Cheever. Since May, the Indy Racing Northern Light Series has competed on a 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis, a 1.5-mile, high-banked oval at Texas, a 1-mile oval at altitude at Pikes Peak, a ¾-mile oval at Richmond, Va., and a 1.5-mile oval at Kansas. Cheever and his Cheever Indy Racing team have adapted quickly to each track in the #51 Cheever Indy Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone and have been fast everywhere.
Text provided by Paul Kelly
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