Wildcat Race Cars Face a Test of Time

Industry testing on the new Buick Wildcat race cars has come to a close, but the work is just beginning for crews and drivers.

One of those drivers is Mike Groff of Northridge. Groff, who was named co-rookie of the year in the 1985 Sports Car Club of America Super Vee Cup series, is working with his three-man crew preparing one of the new cars for its first race on the one-mile oval at Phoenix International Raceway.

The race is scheduled for April 6, which doesn’t appear to leave Groff much time. He plans to take the car to Phoenix for testing Friday, but he’s confident that his team will have a top-notch race car within a week.

“I think we’ll be OK,” Groff said. “We’ll have plenty of time. We pretty much know which way to go on the chassis, and all we need is a day to test it.”

The American Racing Series circuit was designed by the SCCA in conjunction with Buick, March Industries and Indy car owner Pat Patrick. Groff will drive on Patrick’s newly formed ARS team.

The Wildcats, powered by V-6 Buick engines, are open-wheel cars built by March Industries. The engines are the same as those powering Indy cars but run without the turbocharger and at about half the horsepower. The new circuit was created to further prepare young drivers for the high-speed rigors of Indy-car racing.

Before this year, the closest a driver in the U.S. could get to an Indy car was the Super Vee--an open-wheeled racer powered by a 190-horsepower Volkswagen engine. Drivers in the new circuit should gain more credibility in the eyes of Indy-car team owners. Groff plans to race both circuits in the upcoming season.

Changes in Groff’s crew have given him added confidence as the start of the new circuit approaches. Groff brought in mechanic Rick Smisek from New Zealand toward the end of the 1985 Super Vee season and race results improved.

Said Groff: “He likes to experiment with chassis dynamics, and that’s how we started getting good results last year. That’s what we’re hoping for in ARS. He knows his stuff, so we should have good results this year.”