IRL: Dover's Monster Mile will provide quite a challenge for IRL drivers
24 July 1999
DOVER, Del. - There is no shorter race than the MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200 on the Pep Boys Indy Racing League schedule, but there may be no tougher event, either.This event, Aug. 1 at Dover Downs International Speedway, is unlike any other on the Indy Racing schedule, for many reasons. First, drivers are subjected to tremendous g-forces while whirling around the 1-mile oval due to the 24-degree banking in the turns of the "Monster Mile."
Drivers also must display keen concentration at all times, as they will turn 1-mile laps in around 20 seconds. In fact, last year's PPG Pole speed was an astonishing 185.204 mph. Few mistakes are tolerated at such a torrid pace.
That speed also creates superb, side-by-side racing. No driver can afford to use conservative tactics, as the short race distance and short track length reward aggression. It's easy to fall a lap down at Dover but very tough to recover that lap.
Dover Downs also is the only all-concrete track on the surface, which poses challenges to drivers and teams accustomed to competing and setting up a car for asphalt surfaces.
Quite simply: The meek may inherit the earth, but they won't win an Indy Racing event at Dover.
Despite the tough reputation of the "Monster Mile," there are plenty of competitors capable of winning in the Pep Boys Indy Racing League's second trip to Dover.
Start with the defending champion, Scott Sharp. He edged Buddy Lazier to the checkered flag by just .689 of a second in the closest finish of the 1998 season.
Sharp enters Dover this year on a roll. He earned his first victory of the season at the last event, the Kobalt Mechanics Tools 500 presented by MCI WorldCom on July 17 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The win in the Delphi Automotive Systems Dallara/Aurora/Goodyear vaulted Sharp from a tie for fifth to second in the season point standings, just 21 behind Scott Goodyear.
Three of Sharp's four career Indy Racing victories have come on 1-mile ovals, more bad news for his competitors. Sharp is one of only three drivers this season to post top-10 finishes on the two previous events on 1-mile tracks - the others are Jeff Ward and Sam Schmidt -- with eighth-place showings in March at Phoenix and last month at Pikes Peak.
This also is Sharp's home track among circuits on the Pep Boys Indy Racing League schedule, as he was born and raised in Connecticut. Points leader Goodyear also is a contender for victory. The first of his league-leading two victories this season came on a tricky 1-mile oval at Phoenix International Raceway. He also finished a solid sixth in this event last year in the Pennzoil Panther G Force/Aurora/Goodyear.
Plus Goodyear has shown remarkable resiliency since taking the points lead after winning the Longhorn 500 presented by MCI WorldCom on June 12 at Texas Motor Speedway. His last two races, at Pikes Peak and Atlanta, have been sub-par by his standards, with finishes of 12th and 16th, respectively. But the Panther Pack has done more than enough to keep its man at the front of the points.
The recent tough stretch is the first time this season that Goodyear has posted consecutive finishes outside of the top 10. So he's due for an upswing at Dover.
Ward and Schmidt also must receive strong consideration for the winner's circle, as they join Sharp as masters of the mile this season. Ward finished second at Phoenix and ninth at Pikes Peak in the Yahoo!-MerchantOnline.com Dallara/Aurora/Goodyear, while Schmidt finished ninth at Phoenix and second at Pikes Peak in the Sprint PCS G Force/Aurora/Firestone.
Ward also has the added incentive of staying close in the hunt for the Pep Boys Million awarded to the season champion. He is third in the standings with 153 points, just six behind Sharp and 27 behind leader Goodyear.
Eddie Cheever Jr. also has the same motivation in The Children's Beverage Group-Team Cheever Dallara/Infiniti/Goodyear, as he is fourth in points with 149.
Greg Ray won the most recent Indy Racing event on a mile, last month at Pikes Peak, so he must be considered a strong candidate for victory in the Glidden-Menards Dallara/Aurora/Firestone.
If lineage is any indication of victory, Davey Hamilton is a solid pick. Hamilton cut his racing teeth on tough dirt and asphalt bullrings in the Northwest, so the "Monster Mile" suits his style. He finished fourth at this event last year and a season-best second on the mile at Pikes Peak last month.
Bobby Unser won the pole for the first Indy Racing event at Dover in 1969, and don't be surprised if his son, Robby, takes success a step further on Race Day. Robby Unser has quietly climbed from 24th to seventh in the point standings with four consecutive top-10 finishes in the PetroMoly-Team Pelfrey Dallara/Aurora/Firestone, including a career-best second on July 17 at Atlanta.
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