New Group Puts Indy 500 Before CART

Tony George’s newly formed Indy Racing League fired its biggest gun yet at the established Championship Auto Racing Teams’ Indy car organization Monday when it announced new qualifying rules for the Indianapolis 500.

For next year’s 80th race, 25 of the 33 starting positions will be reserved for teams and drivers who compete in the IRL’s first two races--the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World on Jan. 27 in Orlando, Fla., and the Phoenix 200 on March 24 at Phoenix International Raceway.

The IRL will be an all-oval racing series with five races, of which the Indianapolis 500 on May 26 is the centerpiece. George is president and chief executive officer of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and founder of IRL.

Since most of the leading teams, such as Roger Penske’s, with Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi; Newman-Haas, with Michael Andretti and Paul Tracy; Rahal-Hogan, with Bobby Rahal; Peyton-Ganassi, with Jimmy Vasser and Bryan Herta; Walker Racing, with Robby Gordon, and Patrick Racing, with Scott Pruett, have said they have no intention of entering an IRL race--except the Indy 500--it could mean that all the big names will be racing for only eight spots in the 500.

The rest of the qualifying procedure, such as running for the pole on the first day of time trials, four days of qualifying over two weekends, and final-day bumping for the last spots in the field, will remain somewhat the same.

Although the Indy 500 has been part of the PPG Cup Indy Car World Series since 1983, it has never been a part of the CART schedule. When a group of car owners, headed by Penske and Pat Patrick, broke away from the U.S. Auto Club in 1978, the 500 remained with USAC.

Exactly which teams will choose to run with the IRL and which will stay with CART will probably not be known until after the current season ends in September. Of the 24 CART franchise owners, only A.J. Foyt has said he will run IRL races. John Menard, whose team had the two fastest qualifiers at this year’s 500, plans to run the IRL but he is not a CART franchise owner.

“Every team with an Indy car that meets the rules will be welcome,” George said. “The fastest car on the first day will still be on the pole and there will still be the drama of bumping on the final day of practice.”

However, no top-25 IRL team car--once it has been qualified--can be bumped. The bumping process will involve only at-large teams.

“IMS is happy with this entire format because it develops much-needed continuity with our event and the series,” George said.

The decision to reserve 25 positions for IRL competitors stemmed, in part, from a decision of CART officials to schedule races on dates opposite those previously announced by the IRL. On March 26, when the IRL is racing at Phoenix, CART teams will be traveling from a race March 17 in Brazil to one March 31 in Australia, and on Aug. 18, when the IRL will be at Loudon, N.H., CART will be at Elkhart Lake, Wis.

The final IRL race will be run Sept. 15, a week after the CART season ends, at a new track in Las Vegas.

“We want the Indy Racing League to be a unified series,” IRL Executive Director Jack Long said. “Cars will still have to show up and go fast. That’s what it’s all about.”

There is a possibility, however, that IRL teams will not be able to lock up their 25 Indianapolis reservations. To assure that there will be 33 fast cars in the 500, the minimum speed will be figured at a percentage of the fastest qualifier’s time. According to an IRL spokesman, if the pole car qualifies at 230 m.p.h., no car, including a top-25 IRL entrant, will be accepted unless it posts a speed of at least 219 m.p.h.

Long also announced that more than $12 million is expected to be distributed to competitors in the five 1996 races, and that all IRL races will be televised live by ABC.

CART officials were not available for comment.