Despite the Name, Burdens Are Heavy

By SHAV GLICK

Sept. 24, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

The PPG-Firestone Indy Lights championship, which will be determined Saturday during the Marlboro 500 PPG CART World Series weekend at California Speedway, has become a direct line for drivers hoping to get a ride with a CART team. It is called CART’s “official development series.”

“Indy Lights is important because it gives teams an opportunity to get a line on young drivers, driving on the same tracks as CART,” said former Indy car champion Rick Mears, whose son Clint and nephew Casey Mears are among the Indy Lights entries. “Because it is a spec series, with everyone driving the same Lola chassis with the same V-6 engine, and all on Firestone Firehawk tires, it gives everyone an equal chance to show off their abilities.

“The drivers aren’t the only ones who benefit from Indy Lights. It is also good training for engineers, crew chiefs, mechanics, everyone connected with our style of racing. It even gives prospective sponsors an opportunity to test the waters before committing themselves to the CART program.”

Among Indy Lights graduates are Bryan Herta, Paul Tracy, Greg Moore, Andre Ribeiro and Adrian Fernandez, all of whom figure to be in Sunday’s 500-mile race.

“The Indy Lights series might be one of the toughest in the world,” said Bobby Rahal, who indicated he might form a team in the future to develop a driver to take his seat when he retires. “There are a lot of excellent young drivers, from all over the world, who will be making names for themselves in the future.

“Driving in the Indy Lights series does two important things--it indicates if a driver has the talent to win, and then it shows if he has sufficient desire to make the commitment it takes to drive in the PPG CART series.”

The Indy Lights race, 50 laps on the two-mile oval, will be run Saturday at 2:45 p.m., immediately after CART qualifying.

The race, last of a 13-race schedule, will determine the championship. Tasman Motorsports teammates Tony Kanaan and Helio Castro-Neves, both 22-year-old Brazilians, are the two remaining contenders. Kanaan leads Castro-Neves by 11 points. Whichever driver wins the title, it will be the third in the last five years for Steve Horne’s Tasman team. Herta won in 1993 and Englishman Steve Robertson in 1994.

Rookie Cristiano de Matta, yet another Brazilian, comes into the Fontana race having won the last events, at Vancouver and Laguna Seca. He also won at Nazareth, Pa., and has clinched the $15,000 rookie-of-the-year bonus.

Seven drivers have been winners in the first 12 races. The others include Forsythe Racing teammates David Empringham, last year’s Indy Lights champion, and Lee Bentham; Clint Mears, who led all 90 laps on the Milwaukee mile oval, and Japan’s Hideki Noda.

Series veteran Jeff Ward, who finished third in the Indianapolis 500 and was named rookie of the year, has returned to Indy Lights after failing to get another ride in the Indy Racing League series, and will be driving for Stefan Johansson Motorsports.

In the only other Indy Lights race run on a superspeedway since 1989, Empringham won at Michigan Speedway last year during the U.S. 500 weekend.

Indy Lights cars will practice Thursday and qualify Friday.

Indy Lights at a Glance

POINTS LEADERS

NO./DRIVER/PTS.

1. Tony Kanaan, Brazil: 152

2. Helio Castro-Neves, Brazil:141

3. Cristiano de Matta, Brazil: 129

4. David Empringham, Canada: 107

5. Lee Bentham, Canada: 74

6. Chris Simmons, Indianapolis: 72

Mark Hotchkis, Pasadena: 72