IRL Tests at Walt Disney World (Day 1)
11 December 1997
Lake Buena Vista, FL--Hard to believe it, but the IRL (Indy Racing League) opener is just five weeks away (Jan.22-24, 1998). In preparation for the league opener, ten IRL teams arrived to "The Mickyard" on Tuesday (Dec.9) for three days of testing. Tuesday's testing was led by Billy Boat of AJ Foyt Enterprises with a best-lap time of 21.664 for a speed of 166.174. Boat's spectacular lap was two-tenth's of a second quicker than Tony Stewart's pole speed (166.013) from last year's race. Obviously, the updated Dallara chassis is going in the right direction. This test session was created for teams to test the new enhancements for the Dallara, G-Force, and Riley & Scott chassis. Of the ten teams testing seven drivers (Billy Boat, Jimmy Kite, Greg Ray, Buddy Lazier, Kenny Brack, Roberto Guerrero and Dr.Jack Miller) utilize the Dallara chassis. Tony Stewart and Jeff Ward carry the G-Force banner and Stan Wattles is the only driver in a Riley and Scott. Nine of the teams are utilizing the Oldsmobile Aurora engine while Dr.Jack Miller is the lone driver using the Nissan Infiniti package. Jeff Sinden (co-owner with Dr. Jack Miller of the AMS Crest Racing) commenting on the new Infiniti powerplant "They're getting better all the time. We've made big gains in the way [the engine] it pulls the RPM's. The torque band has increased." Frank Honsowetz (Nissan Manager of Motorsports) commented "We're getting miles on our hardware. All the dyno testing at home says we're gaining. This is the first generation of Phase 2 stuff. Since Vegas, it's 20 pounds lighter and has 20 more horsepower. If we haven't caught up yet, we're close to catching up." Earlier in the month (Dec.5-6) Scott Goodyear, testing with the new Panther Racing team, turned an unofficial lap of 21.21 seconds for a speed of 169.651 mph. Goodyear was the first driver to test the 1998 G-Force chassis. Goodyear will miss this current test session to undergo sinus surgery. The Panther team will travel to Phoenix for testing December 18th. Billy Boat commenting on his quick lap "This car seems to be balanced better. We used to fight a pushing condition in Turns 1 and 2. That's greatly improved. We've made it better in the slow corners and maintained the stability in the high-speed corners." TOP SPEEDS OF THE DAY FROM IRL TIMING AND SCORING (Dec.9) DRIVER TEAM CAR/ENGINE LAPS TIME SPEED Billy Boat AJ Foyt Enterp. D/A 64 21.664 166.174 Jimmy Kite(33T) Team Scandia D/A 31 22.213 162.067 Tony Stewart(1) Team Menard G-Force/A 13 22.279 161.587 Greg Ray Thomas Knapp D/A 66 22.282 161.565 Jimmy Kite(33) Team Scandia D/A 76 22.283 161.558 Buddy Lazier Hemelgarn Race D/A 25 22.552 159.631 Kenny Brack AJ Foyt Enterp. D/A 75 22.566 159.532 Jeff Ward ISM Racing G-Force/A 108 22.689 158.667 Roberto GuerreroPagan Racing D/A 41 23.058 156.128 Stan Wattles Metro Racing R&S/A 79 23.322 154.361 Jack Miller AMS/Crest Race D/I 89 24.627 146.181 Tony Stewart(1T)Team Menard G-Force/A 14 25.706 140.045 NOTE:CAR/Engine Abbreviation D=Dallara, R&S=Riley & Scott, A=Aurora, I=Infiniti David Treffer--The Auto Channel