IRL: Close race taking shape for Colorado Indy 200 at Pikes Peak

18 August 1999

FOUNTAIN, Colo- The race will be on at the Colorado Indy 200, in more ways than one.

A classic battle for the Pep Boys Indy Racing League championship is taking shape, and the results of this event Aug. 29 at Pikes Peak International Raceway could go a long way toward deciding who will win the Pep Boys Million as the season champ. The 200-lap race, the second Indy Racing event of the season at PPIR, starts at 2 p.m. (MDT) and will be televised live on FOX Sports Net.

Scott Goodyear and Greg Ray are locked in a tight race for the championship this season, as Goodyear leads second-place Ray in the points, 193-191, after seven of 10 races.

Their battle is starting to have the ebbs and flows of all classic confrontations.

Goodyear has led the points since winning the Longhorn 500 presented by MCI WorldCom on June 12 at Texas Motor Speedway in the Pennzoil Panther G Force/Aurora/Goodyear. Since then, Goodyear has three consecutive finishes outside the top 10. Meanwhile, Ray earned victories at the Radisson 200 on June 27 at PPIR and the MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200 on Aug. 1 at Dover, Del., the last event before this race.

Ray's past record at this track and recent run of success make him a favorite to win the race and take the points lead in the Glidden-Menards Dallara/Aurora/Firestone. But Goodyear has shown an uncanny ability to cling to the top spot despite adversity.

It has the makings of a fascinating match-up. And that match-up could easily have more players in a hurry.

In fact, the next 12 drivers in the standings after Goodyear are within 55 points - or one race - of the leader.

1999 Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack is looming large in the rearview mirrors of Goodyear and Ray. He has finished seventh or better in his last three races to climb from seventh into third in the season point standings in the A.J. Foyt Power Team Racing Dallara/Aurora/Goodyear with 179 points. For Brack's competitors, it's a streak eerily similar to the one that helped Brack win the season title in 1998.

Brack also knows how to win at the 5,357-foot altitude of PPIR, as he won the 1998 Radisson 200.

Jeff Ward continues to stay near the top of the standings in the Yahoo!-MerchantOnline.com Dallara/Aurora/Goodyear. He is fourth in the standings with 170 points. Consistency has been Ward's formula for success, as he is the only member of the top five in points without a victory in 1999.

Scott Sharp is fifth with 169 points in the Delphi Automotive Systems Dallara/Aurora/Goodyear. His up-and-down season hit a high point with a victory in the Kobalt Mechanics Tools 500 presented by MCI WorldCom on July 17, but he'll look to rebound at PPIR from a 22nd-place finish at Dover.

While the season championship race is capturing most of the attention in Indy Racing, an interesting chase for another honor also is raging.

Four talented rookies are zeroing in on the Sprint PCS Rookie of the Year Award, worth $50,000 to the winner at the end of the season.

Scott Harrington leads the rookie standings with 93 points in The CertainTeed Building Products Special Dallara/Aurora/Firestone, but John Hollansworth Jr. is right behind at 91 in the CompuCom-Lycos-TeamXtreme Dallara/Aurora/Firestone. Robby McGehee is third at 84 in the Energizer Advanced Formula Dallara/Aurora/Firestone. Jaques Lazier, from nearby Vail, Colo., is fourth at 74 in the Warner Bros. Studio Stores-Truscelli Team Racing G Force/Aurora/Goodyear.

Another rookie will join the series at this event. Bobby Regester, from Florissant, Colo., will make his debut as a teammate to Jaques Lazier with Truscelli Team Racing, based in Colorado Springs. Regester is a Pikes Peak International Hill Climb veteran and has competed in the American IndyCar Series.

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot photos and racing art, please visit The Racing Image Galleries and The Visions of Speed Art Gallery