Indy 500 Reclaims Standing; Some Drivers May Be Next

The future of the Indy Racing League may still be in question, and the likelihood of a compromise between the IRL and CART seems remote but the Indianapolis 500 is once again “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Last Sunday’s race was one of the best, but more than that, the atmosphere was much as it was in the years before Tony George formed the IRL and CART president Andrew Craig led his troupe in a different direction.

The campgrounds along Georgetown Road, next to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, were filled again, and the hustlers with their “Need Tickets” signs were lined up along 16th Street, two indications that the 500, which had suffered the last three years, was back in style.

If CART drivers, particularly Michael Andretti and Al Unser Jr., want to run in the Indy 500 again, they had better prepare to run under George’s rules. Unser, a two-time winner, has apparently already made that decision.

“Al told me in St. Louis [at last Saturday’s race at Gateway Raceway] that this was the last time he was going to miss the Indy 500,” said CART driver Robby Gordon, who crossed the barrier to drive--and almost won--at Indianapolis.

Gordon and Winston Cup driver Tony Stewart showed that drivers who were not IRL regulars could drive competitive cars. Gordon, despite having to stop for fuel on the next-to-last lap, finished fourth. Stewart was ninth.

Andretti, while not as definite as Unser, said he hoped that CART would change the Gateway date next year, instead of running the day before Indy, so that he might be able to return to Indy.

Michael won the Motorola 300 on the 30th anniversary of his father Mario’s only Indy 500 win, and the irony was not lost on him.

“I wish we were there,” he said. “I hope we are next year. It’s the place to be on Memorial Day.”

Who would have thought that a race in CART’s foreign-dominated series would have an American driver in an American-built car winning, while the IRL’s American-oriented oval series would have a Swedish driver winning in an Italian-built car.

Andretti was driving a Swift, built in San Clemente. Kenny Brack, the 500 winner, was driving a Dallara built in Parma, Italy.

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Overlooked somewhat in the excitement of the Brack-Gordon duel at Indy was the second-place finish of Jeff Ward, the former motocross champion from San Juan Capistrano.

It gave Ward the IRL points lead after three races, remarkable in that he switched teams after the first race. He finished third, driving for ISM Racing, in the opener at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.

When ISM’s funding for the rest of the season fell short, Ward joined Pagan Racing for the Indy 500. However, after his strong finish at Disney World, he wanted to race at Phoenix to stay in the points race.

“I told Allen [Pagan] that we should put something together and race Phoenix,” Ward said. “I ended up driving a car I’d never raced and finished second. That motivated everyone and got them focused on the championship.

“Then we got Yahoo! for a sponsor and the chairman of the board was there for his first Indy, and we nearly won the thing after we fell a lap down. . . . Now we’re heading for Texas and the Longhorn 300 with the lead, and sponsorship in place.”

The Longhorn 300 is a night race June 12 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Ward has 115 points to 86 for Scott Goodyear. Brack is seventh with 66.

Ward was second, behind Gordon, with 15 laps to go last Sunday.

“I knew Robby had to pit for fuel some time,” Ward said Thursday. “I was just going to wait him out. My biggest concern was keeping ahead of [Brack].

“Those last 20 laps seemed longer than the previous 180. Kenny got by me [on Lap 188] when I had to brake for a lapped car and lost my momentum. Once he got by, I knew it would be an uphill battle, unless he ran into a situation like I did. Instead, it happened to me again. I got stuck behind Tyce Carlson and had to hang on for second.”

Ward, 38, who raced 14 years as a professional motocross rider, is hoping for 10 more in the IRL.

“I think the IRL can survive on its own,” he said. “If some of those CART drivers want to be at Indy, I don’t see why they don’t come. Robby broke the ice for them.

“We’ve got a great series. I think what fans saw at Indy will give them a good idea of what we’re all about.”

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Only four times in the previous 82 Indy 500s had the lead changed hands with three or fewer laps left.

In 1912, Ralph DePalma broke down with two laps left and gave the victory to Joe Dawson. In 1961, A.J. Foyt took over from Eddie Sachs when Sachs pitted with a worn tire. In 1986, Kevin Cogan lost the lead to Bobby Rahal on a restart. And in 1989, Al Unser Jr. was leading when he touched wheels with Emerson Fittipaldi on Lap 199. Unser crashed and Fittipaldi won.

DRAG RACING

News that former National Hot Rod Assn. funny car champion Cruz Pedregon and team owner Joe Gibbs had parted company stunned the drag racing world last week. Speculation in the pits has the popular Pedregon either forming his own team, or joining John Force to drive Force’s new top-fuel car. Pedregon’s brother, Tony, drives for Force.

Randy Anderson will replace Pedregon this weekend in Chicago, but Tommy Johnson Jr. will be Gibbs’ new driver, starting June 13 in Columbus, Ohio. Johnson, who has not driven in the NHRA since July 1997, had a commitment this week that prevented him from driving Gibbs’ Pontiac funny car.

FORMULA ONE

Two viewpoints on last Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, won by Mika Hakkinen:

“It was such a dull race that I wish I’d had my stereo in the car to keep me amused,” McLaren driver Eddie Irvine said after finishing fourth.

The Times of London called it a race among “technological hypochondriacs.”

BAJA 500

If it’s time for the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, it must be Ivan Stewart’s birthday.

The Iron Man turns 54 today and Saturday will climb in his Tundra Racing Toyota pickup in search of yet another Baja 500 win. Stewart, the overall winner the last two years, has won six of the last eight Trophy Truck division races. Also in a Trophy Truck for the 30th annual 500 will be Larry Roeseler, a nine-time motorcycle winner in a Chevrolet K1500.

Among the unlimited Class 1 drivers will be two-time winner Bob Gordon of Orange, father of champ car’s Robby Gordon, co-driving a Toyota-powered Chenowth with Ryan Arciero.

LAST LAPS

Sprint Car Racing Assn. fans will have their last opportunity to see Rip Williams, Richard Griffin & Co. for a month when they race Saturday night in a 30-lap main event at Perris Auto Speedway. After the race, SCRA president Ron Shuman is taking his gang to the Midwest for a series of races against U.S. Auto Club drivers.

USAC open-wheel racing returns to Irwindale Speedway this weekend with sprint cars and three-quarter midgets on Saturday night’s program. Bud Kaeding of Campbell, Calif., who has won both USAC sprint car races at Irwindale, will drive in the 40-lap main event. The TQs will run 30 laps. . . . USAC’s Western Division full midgets will be at Bakersfield Speedway in Oildale on Saturday night.

NECROLOGY

Harry Melling, owner of Bill Elliott’s Winston Cup car when he won 11 races in 1985 and the championship in 1988, died of a heart attack last Saturday at his home in Gaylord, Mich. He was 54.

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This Week’s Races

WINSTON CUP, MBNA Platinum 400

* When: Today, first-round qualifying, 12:30 p.m.; Saturday, second-round qualifying, 8:30 a.m.; Sunday, race (TNN, 9:30 a.m.)

* Where: Dover Downs International Speedway (oval, 1-mile, 24 degrees banking in turns), Dover, Del.

* Race distance: 400 miles, 400 laps.

* Defending champion: Dale Jarrett.

* Last race: Jeff Burton ended Gordon’s two-race winning streak in the Coca-Cola 600 by outlasting pole-sitter Bobby Labonte for the victory.

* Next race: Kmart 400, June 13, Brooklyn, Mich.

BUSCH GRAND NATIONAL, MBNA Platinum 200

* When: Today, qualifying, 11 a.m.; Saturday, race (TNN, 10 a.m.)

* Where: Dover Downs International Speedway (oval, 1-mile, 24 degrees banking in turns), Dover, Del.

* Race distance: 200 miles, 200 laps.

* Defending champion: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

* Last race: Mark Martin won the Carquest Auto Parts 300 in Concord, N.C.

* Next race: South Boston 200, June 12, South Boston, Va.

CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS, Loadhandler 250

* When: Today, qualifying, 1 p.m.; Saturday, race (ESPN2, 6:30 p.m.)

* Where: Bristol Motor Speedway (oval, .533 miles, 36 degrees banking in turns), Bristol, Tenn.

* Race distance: 106.6 miles, 200 laps.

* Two-time defending champion: Ron Hornaday.

* Last race: Sprague held off Dennis Setzer to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 200 in Odessa, Mo., for his first victory of 1999.

* Next race: Pronto Auto Parts 400, June 11, Fort Worth.

CART, Miller Lite 200

* When: Saturday, qualifying 11:15 a.m. (ESPN2, 10 p.m.); Sunday, race (ABC, 3 p.m.)

* Where: The Milwaukee Mile (oval 1.032 miles, 9 degrees banking in turns), West Allis, Wis.

* Race distance: 206.4 miles, 200 laps.

* Defending champion: Jimmy Vasser.

* Last race: Michael Andretti finished just 0.329 seconds, about 1 1/2 car-lengths, ahead of Castro-Neves to win the Motorola 300 in Madison, Ill.

* Next race: Budweiser-G.I. Joe’s 200, June 20, Portland, Ore.

NHRA, Fram Route 66 Nationals

* When: Today, first-round qualifying, 12:45 p.m.; Saturday, second-round qualifying, 9 a.m. (ESPN2, 4:30 p.m.); Sunday, final eliminations, 9 a.m. (ESPN2, 4 p.m.)

* Where: Route 66 Raceway, Joliet, Ill.

* Defending champions: Top Fuel--Kenny Bernstein. Funny Car--Whit Bazemore.

* Last race: John Force scored his sixth Funny Car victory of the season and 76th of his career, beating Cruz Pedregon in the rain-delayed Mopar Parts Nationals in Englishtown, N.J. Joe Amato won Top Fuel and Richie Stevens won Pro Stock.

* Next race: Pontiac Excitement Nationals, June 10-13, Columbus, Ohio.