Indy 500 Buzz Builds Despite CART Boycott

The second qualifying race for this year’s Indianapolis 500 will be run Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway in the Indy Racing League.

Qualifying rules for the Indianapolis race May 26, as laid down by IRL founder Tony George and president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, mandate that 25 of the 33 starters will be drivers who competed at Phoenix and the IRL inaugural Jan. 27 at Walt Disney World in Florida.

Buzz Calkins, 24, a rookie from Denver, won the opener in a down-to-the-wire finish with Tony Stewart, the U.S. Auto Club’s triple champion but also a rookie in Indy cars.

“The Phoenix track appears to be similar to the one at Orlando, but when we tested there we found that our [chassis] set-ups weren’t even close,” Calkins said. “Both tracks are a mile, and the first and second turns seem similar, but speeds are faster at Phoenix.”

Qualifying for the Dura-Lube 200 is set for Saturday.

Calkins joined the IRL after three undistinguished years in the Indy Lights series, but his victory at Orlando in a year-old Reynard-Cosworth did wonders for his confidence.

“I really didn’t know what to expect in that first race,” he said. “The result was 10 times better than I ever anticipated. . . . What really surprised me was that as the race went along, I found that the Indy car suited my driving style more than the Indy Lights, and I began to feel more comfortable. I can’t wait to get to Phoenix.”

Calkins’ Reynard, bought from CART team owner Derek Walker after the 1995 season, is owned by his father, Brad, and sponsored by the family-owned Bradley Foodmart, a convenience-store chain in the Rocky Mountains.

“I actually got into racing by mistake,” Buzz said. “I wanted a kart for my 15th birthday to mess around with on dirt, but Dad bought me a racing kart so we could spend more time together because he was racing too. When I won the junior championship in Colorado in my second year, I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted to do.”

Calkins moved into Formula Fords in 1989 and won the Sports Car Club of America’s Rocky Mountain division in 1990. In 1994 he went to New Zealand for the Tasman Series and won the Formula Atlantic series championship.

In three Indy Lights seasons, Calkins’ best finish was a pair of thirds last year at Phoenix and Milwaukee.

Even though he is driving in the IRL series, he says he has felt no animosity from CART drivers, whose teams are boycotting the Indy race to run instead in the U.S. 500 at Brooklyn, Mich., on the same day.

“The drivers are only pawns in this struggle,” he said. “All the decisions are made by the team owners. . . .

“Obviously, I would get more satisfaction from driving the Indy 500 if all the guys I’d read about all my life were there, but I don’t have any say about it.”

Motor Racing Notes

BUTTONWILLOW--California’s newest race track, Buttonwillow Raceway Park, will conduct its inaugural event this weekend, a California Sports Car Club regional championship. Drivers will test the road course today, with sanctioned events Saturday and Sunday. Formal dedication of the track, built by the Cal Club, will start at 11 a.m. Sunday. Buttonwillow is 126 miles north of downtown Los Angeles and 28 miles west of Bakersfield--half a mile west of Interstate 5 on Lerdo Highway.

OBSERVED TRIALS--The Schreiber Cup, opening round of the national championships series, and the El Trial de Espana, premier event of the American Trials Assn. season, are scheduled this weekend in the Lucerne Valley off-road vehicle area, about 30 miles east of Victorville. The Schreiber Cup is Saturday, the El Trial on Sunday. National champion Geoff Aaron will compete.

MISCELLANY--Ventura Raceway will open its stock car season tonight with street and pony stocks, 1-4 modifieds and IMCA modifieds. . . . The Vintage Auto Racing Assn. will hold its annual Ford-Chevrolet Challenge this weekend at Willow Springs Raceway. Also featured will be a 30th anniversary Can-Am Reunion. . . . The Northern Auto Racing Club will open its Budweiser Shoot-Out Series for winged sprint cars Saturday night at Kings Speedway in Hanford.