IROC: Cheever joins Gordon, Labonte, Stewart in elite IROC field
14 January 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
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Also named to the field were NASCAR Winston Cup standouts Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart, 1996-97 Indy Racing League champion. Mark Dismore, a fellow competitor of Cheevers in the Indy Racing League, was selected for the IROC series in December. The seven remaining drivers in the field will be named shortly.
Cheever, from Orlando, Fla., earned his first IROC invitation in 1999. He finished seventh overall in the four-race series, with a strong third-place finish in the finale in August at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"I am delighted to be asked back," Cheever said. "It is a great honor to be recognized by IROC. I so enjoyed working with (series administrators Jay, Barbara and George) Signores last year. Having the chance to once again compete against the best in oval racing is an experience that cant be beat!
"Last year, I let all the talk of how the NASCAR guys always gang up against the open-wheel drivers get to me so much so that for the first two races I drove every lap like I had to defend myself from a hungry pack of wolves. What I came to realize was that the IROC series was a championship of the best oval racers in the world. Even though I was racing the NASCAR drivers on their own turf and in their style cars, it was still possible to win. "It was more fun than I ever imagined it could ever be."
The 2000 True Value IROC series starts Feb. 18 at Daytona International Speedway. The final round of the four-race series is Aug. 4 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Cheever will start his Indy Racing League season Jan. 29 in the Delphi Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla. He is the defending champion of the event.
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