Indy Racing League - Newsletter

Volume 2, Number 3                                     May 2, 1996

Future IRL Chassis Revealed
To Run In 1997

New chassis specifications for 1997 and three new car manufacturers were announced April 2 by the Indy Racing League with an innovative new concept combining cost controls, safety enhancement and competitive parity.

Dallara of Italy and G Force of Great Britain will build the 1997 IRL race cars in time for testing later this year. Their cars will begin competing in the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World on Jan. 25, 1997. Riley & Scott of Indianapolis will begin an IRL constructor program as of June 1, 1997.

All IRL racers must conform to the new specifications beginning in 1997 and the formula will remain in effect at least through 1999.

The targeted chassis price of $263,000 complete, combined with the engine programs of Oldsmobile and Nissan with caps of $75,000 each and a standard commissioned gearbox from Emco Gear drastically reduce costs. Teams will acquire cars directly from the factories.

"This will be a structurally superior, highly competitive race car at about half the cost of current equipment," said Jack Long, executive director of the IRL. "We have eliminated some huge costs associated with gearbox and aerodynamic development and we've also eliminated the middle step of the distribution process. That's where the savings are."

Safety will be enhanced with a wider monococque (driver compartment), which will allow more padding and anti-protrusion armor to protect the driver. A deformable composite honeycomb and carbon fiber "collar" around the gearbox will serve as a rear impact attenuator.

"This announcement gives us the opportunity to take control of our own destiny and achieve many of the goals we've set for ourselves," said Tony George, president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and founder of the IRL. "With the normally aspirated engine, the whole package hopefully will bring costs down from $300 a mile to $125 a mile to operate. A lot of savings and components are going to be less expensive because concentration on the oval discipline allows us to realize the cost-saving objective."

New Yard of Old Bricks
Indy Start-Finish Line Gets A Fresh Facelift

This carpenter's rule tells the tale -- Indy's new Yard of Bricks is an honest 36 inches across! -IMS Photo by Ron McQueeney

The Yard of Bricks that serves as the start-finish line at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is new...and old.

Along with the newly paved surface at the world's most famous 2½-mile race track came a face-lift for those reknowned bricks. Track resurfacing was completed last fall and the new set of bricks was installed in early March this spring.

The "new" bricks are originals from the 3.2 million paving bricks that made up the track's surface in 1909, most of which remain several inches underneath the track's modern asphalt surface.

To install the bricks, a slice of new asphalt 36-inches across and 12 inches deep was cut from the 50-foot width of the main straightaway. Into the resulting trench was poured seven inches of concrete, and then a one-inch sand leveling bed. The bricks were placed by hand and the joints were filled with a high-strength, non-shrink grout.

The new Yard of Bricks received a final touch-up grinding treatment and coat of sealant prior to opening day in May. The bricks from the old start-finish line were ground up in the milling process prior to repaving.

VIEWPOINT
By Jack Long
IRL Meeting Goals and Challenges...


"The 1997 package offers a bright future at the right time..."

Our series reached another significant milestone April 2 with the announcement that Dallara, G Force and Riley & Scott will build cars for the year 1997.

The announcement came after months of discussions, research and the formulating of ideas from a broad scope of our industry.

The goals of the talks were threefold: 1. To cut costs; 2. To improve safety, and; 3. To achieve competitive parity. We feel we've reached those goals and the package will be attractive and strong to ensure the future of the IRL and the Indianapolis 500 for many years to come.

With the three car manufacturers teaming with Nissan and Oldsmobile, plus Emco Gear, to produce the next generation of Indy cars, the League has encompassed an international cross-section of engineering and design talent and manufacturing expertise.

The cost savings -- $263,000 complete vs. more than $400,000 for today's cars -- will open the doors of Indianapolis and the League to far more entrants in the racing industry. Teamed with the engine price cap of $75,000, rules and financial stability should produce an attractive package for the League to prosper in the future.

Safety aspects of the rules package -- a wider and higher tub and enhanced features inside the cockpit to protect the driver -- represent the latest technology and thought in the racing world's ongoing efforts in that area.

And competitive parity should be achieved through the various design talents and engine programs as they combine with the creativity of our race teams. Contrary to the beliefs and questions of some, the IRL is not, and will never be, a "spec" series in any form.

The 1997 package offers a bright future at the right time as we head to the 80th running of the Indianapolis 500, which will showcase the talent of our veterans and young drivers on racing's biggest stage.

Enthusiasm for the package and building of programs for next year starts with this year's "500". To answer the shopworn questions that many have asked, I strongly predict we'll have 33 starters and the race will contain the same elements of competition, drama and historical significance that it's had for 79 previous runnings.

There will be the excitement of drivers like Buzz Calkins, Tony Stewart, Richie Hearn and Robbie Buhl going for their first "500" starts, Arie Luyendyk going for Win No. 2 and veterans like Scott Brayton and Roberto Guerrero trying to go from past pole winner to Victory Lane.

While we were earning our wings at Disney World, halfway through the race, a sportswriter turned to a friend and said, "it looks like an Indy car race to ME."

When the green flag drops on May 26, it will look like an Indianapolis 500 to me.



Phoenix Exit Poll Strong

Strong approval ratings and growing IRL driver identification were found in an exit poll following the Dura-Lube 200 IRL event at Phoenix International Raceway March 24.

Behavior Research Center of Phoenix, a widely recognized sports research firm, conducted 490 interviews as fans left the Desert Mile and compiled the following results:

Additionally, race fans are beginning to identify a number of the IRL newcomers as "favorites" along with some of the more established IRL drivers. Tony Stewart, Scott Sharp, Buzz Calkins, Robbie Buhl, Richie Hearn and Davey Hamilton all drew specific votes as fan favorites. So did veterans Arie Luyendyk, Lyn St. James, Roberto Guerrero, Scott Brayton and Eddie Cheever.

It's All Arie In The Desert ...Polesitter Luyendyk Wins at Phoenix

Arie Luyendyk drove the Jonathan Byrd/Treadway Racing entry to both the pole and the win in Phoenix.

Arie Luyendyk held back the A.J. Foyt tandem of Scott Sharp and Mike Groff to capture the Indy Racing League's second event, the Dura-Lube 200 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Luyendyk and the Jonathan Byrd/Treadway team took home $132,000 of the $1 million-plus purse.

The margin of victory was 8.896 seconds between Luyendyk and Sharp, with Groff third and Richie Hearn as the highest-finishing rookie in fourth.

Luyendyk, who also took the pole position, led 122 laps of the event and Sharp, Robbie Buhl, Tony Stewart and Hearn all took turns at the front.

Hearn became the only driver to qualify for the front row at each of the first two IRL events and Stewart and Buhl became the only drivers to lead both races.

Luyendyk and Hearn both broke the existing Phoenix track record in qualifying and Luyendyk had the fastest lap of the race by leading Lap 11 at 173.152 miles per hour.

PIT NOTES

  • During Phoenix week, back in Indianapolis, Eliseo Salazar climbed back into an Indy car at the Team Scandia shop. "They say I'll be walking with a cane in three weeks," Salazar said at the April 2 chassis announcement. "I'll be testing in two weeks. I have to see (Dr. Terry) Trammell at the end of the month. If everything is right, I should be walking by then." He tested at the Speedway Tuesday, April 16

  • Buddy Lazier, who suffered fractures in a vertebra and his pelvis in an accident during practice at Phoenix, is recovering at home in Vail, Colo

  • Stan Wattles, who suffered a concussion in an accident during practice at Phoenix, is also recovering at home in Stuart, Fla

  • Eddie Cheever was released from St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix and returned to the track during the weekend after his practice mishap

  • Gian Paolo Dallara, owner of the company which will manufacture IRL cars for 1997, exemplified the spirit of cooperation that will go into the new IRL package. "It's exciting because, for the first time in 30 years, I will try to make the fastest car and the safest car within a certain amount of money," he said. "We have to cooperate and exchange all information regarding safety and leave the competition to itself"

  • In testing at Indianapolis, four drivers logged lap-average practice speeds in excess of 235 miles per hour. Scott Brayton, the 1995 Indy polesitter, clocked a lap March 3 of 237.555 mph. Several drivers were clocked faster than 230 mph.