Chance for Newman-Haas to Revisit Its Salad Days

For nearly nine years, Carl Haas had refused to cross the line between CART, now Champ Car, and the Indianapolis 500. When he refused to allow Michael Andretti, his longtime driver, to run in the 500 several years ago, Andretti quit his team.

Actor Paul Newman, co-owner of Newman-Haas Racing, is one of the old group’s most outspoken opponents of the 500, or at least what it represents as the centerpiece of Tony George’s Indy Racing League.

One by one, Chip Ganassi, Roger Penske, Pat Patrick and Bobby Rahal, the powers of CART, entered the 500, leaving only Haas holding out.

This year the cigar-chewing businessman-promoter from Chicago decided to come back, bringing with him his Brazilian driver, Bruno Junqueira.

“I’ve never won the 500 and now we have another shot at it,” Haas said of his return.

Although a Newman-Haas driver has not been here since the CART-IRL split after the 1995 500, the team is not new to Indy, nor is Junqueira. Newman-Haas has entered 20 drivers in 13 Indy races; the best finishes were seconds for Mario Andretti in 1985 and Michael Andretti in 1991 and a third for Nigel Mansell in 1993.

Junqueira won the pole in 2002, driving for Ganassi, and led the first 32 laps, but finished 31st when gearbox problems sidelined him on Lap 87. He also drove in 2001, finishing fifth.

Sunday, he will start fourth, driving the No. 36 PacifiCare G Force-Honda.

One of the first things Haas did when he finally decided to return to Indy -- only two months ago -- was to call Jimmy McGee, his old friend and team manager when Mario Andretti and Mansell were winning races. McGee has a home in Indianapolis but at the time was relaxing in Palm Springs, out of a job and quite happy about it.

“[Engineer] Pete Gibbons had about talked Carl into taking a car to Indy sometime last year, but then Pete quit to join the Andretti-Green team and it looked like the idea had died,” McGee said. “So when Carl called me, it was kind of a surprise. Pat Patrick had closed shop on our Champ Car team in December, so I decided to take a little vacation.

“Carl is one of the few people in the world I would have done this for, but I said I would meet him in Chicago and that I would check around and see if any crewmen were available. I got my old secretary back and got Tim Wardrop as engineer. He had been with Arie Luyendyk when he won the 500.”

Remarkably, McGee put together a team of 11 veteran engineers and mechanics who had a combined 221 years of racing experience, including a number of Indy 500 wins. He called it the satellite crew because it was completely independent of the Newman-Haas Champ Car crew.

“Carl had a year-old G Force with a Toyota engine that Bruno had tested, but it had a 3.5-liter engine and we needed a new car with a new 3-liter. One of Carl’s best decisions was to go with Honda in a G Force. That seems to be the hot setup this year and Carl had it pegged.”

G Force Hondas are in five of the first nine spots in Sunday’s 33-car lineup.

“Considering we had to condense all of our testing into one week because Bruno had to drive in Mexico last Sunday, things have gone well,” McGee said “Nearly all of our work was aimed at race day, but he still qualified fourth. Bruno never ceases to surprise me.”

Junqueira finished second behind Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais, his Newman-Haas teammate, in the Champ Car race at Monterrey, Mexico.

“Another plus is that Bruno’s Champ Car crew will handle the pit stops Sunday. That will really help because they are familiar with the way he comes in.”

Junqueira, however, said there was a big difference between pitting his Champ Car and his Indy car.

“The Champ Car fuel tank is in the back and the IRL fuels from the side,” he said. “And the pit speed for Champ Car races is 50 to 55, while at Indy we come in at 80.”

There is also a handling difference.

“My Champ Car is stronger, with a more high-tech gear box, and it gets about 800 horsepower from a 2.6-liter turbocharged engine. The IRL car gets maybe 600 to 650 horsepower from the 3-liter engine, but it’s not turbocharged. The Honda seems to be powerful, reliable and economic and if it lasts 500 miles we should have as good a shot at winning as anyone.”

If he does, co-owner Newman will not be here to see it.

“I like to see cars turn right,” he said in a Speed Channel interview, explaining his stand against the 500 and the IRL. “I like to see them go uphill. I like to see them shift gears.

“With road racing, street racing and oval racing, if you win a championship that involves all of those disciplines, to me, it’s the most rounded and most demanding of all championships.

“There are a tremendous number of fans that support road races and street races. They’re loud and noisy and they’ve lived with disappointment and bad judgment and they still maintain their loyalty. I take my hat off to them. They are the reason I still pursue this.

“I did not want to stop Carl from taking that car [to Indy]. I’m not going to be there -- which would be funny if we won the thing.”

When asked if he wanted to have his name taken off the car, Newman smiled and said, “I didn’t think of it in time.”

Junqueira got a twinkle in his eye when discussing Newman’s comment, then said, “Wherever he is, you can be sure he’ll be watching.”

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Indianapolis 500

* When: Sunday (Channel 7, coverage begins at 8 a.m.).

* Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

* 2003 winner: Gil de Ferran.