Volume 2, Number 4 July 22, 1996
Basketball great Larry Bird, who played 12 seasons with the Boston Celtics, is coming back to New England Aug. 18 as grand marshal for the True Value 200 Indy Racing League event at New Hampshire International Speedway. Bird, a native Hoosier who played college ball at Indiana State University, has an active interest in auto racing and regularly attends the Indianapolis 500.
To help promote the opening event of the 1996-97 IRL season, Bird cut radio and TV spots to be aired throughout the Northeast in late July. "This race (the True Value 200) brings the stars of the Indianapolis 500 to an area that has so many great memories for me," Bird said. "I'm looking forward to the race and I hope fans from Boston and all over New England will join me."
A $1 million championship fund for the first Indy Racing League season was awarded July 12 to the series' top 20 drivers and entrants.
"A million-dollar end-of-season prize payout for a first year, three race series is a really strong indication of the health of the League," said Jack Long, IRL executive director.
Top payouts went to AJ Foyt Enterprises, $162,671; Team Menard, Inc., $139,750; and Team Scandia, $131,120. Hemelgarn Racing, Inc., with Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Lazier, earned a $95,000 payout. Bradley Motorsports, which fielded Buzz Calkins to win the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World, collects $61,000 and completes the top five.
Buzz Calkins of Bradley Motorsports and Scott Sharp of AJ Foyt Enterprises finished in a tie for the drivers' title and earned $31,000 each.
The No. 11 Conseco Lola Ford Cosworth of AJ Foyt Enterprises, piloted by Mike Groff in the first race at Disney and Sharp at Phoenix and Indy, won the entrant title and earned $32,000.
The $1 million IRL prize fund is a portion of the more than $10,200,000 in prize purses paid for the League's three-race inaugural season.
Buzz Calkins left and Scott Sharp tied for the IRL's first season driver's championship with 246 points each.
Below the #11 Conseco Lola Ford Cosworth entered by AJ Foyt Enterprises won the entrant championship. It was driven by Mike Groff at Disney and Sharp at Phoenix and Indy.
Tony Stewart made history at 7:47 a.m. June 25, when he wheeled a Team Menard machine on to the new 1 1/2-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval for the first race-car lap at the dynamic new facility.
Stewart started three days of IRL testing that featured a Media Day attracting more than 400 media representatives, dignitaries and guests. On the third day, Richie Hearn posted a lap of 222.359 miles per hour by Richie Hearn, the fastest lap ever turned on a track of its length.
Richie Clyne, president of the speedway, said the week was "more than I expected. The track is a lot faster than anticipated. I'm extremely happy with the turnout and I was pleased with the favorable comments, from not only the drivers, but team members about the extra amenities we built into motorsports."
In all, 1,591 laps were logged during the test, with 20 drivers participating in 14 cars.
Eliseo Salazar was second fastest to Hearn's run at 219.673 miles per hour, followed by Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier at 219.601.
Indy veteran Roberto Guerrero, who turned a lap at 218.703 miles per hour (24.691 seconds), wheels his race car through Turn 1 at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway during open testing June 25-27. The state-of-the-art race track, still under construction, features 107,000 seats with breathtaking views of not only the track action but also the Las Vegas skyline to the southwest.
For Indianapolis 500 winning car owner Ron Hemelgarn and driver Buddy Lazier, the True Value 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway will act like a "home" game.
There are strong connections between the Hemelgarn team and the New England area. And it'll be the first time the Hemelgarn team has competed on the 1.058-mile oval superspeedway.
For one, Lazier graduated from Curry College just outside of Boston.
"I'd say it's definitely one (a home game) for Buddy," Hemelgarn said. "Going to school up there, he's going to have a lot of friends rooting for him."
Hemelgarn, as part of his group of businesses, has three large Super Fitness facilities in the area -- one each in Quincy, Watertown and Malden in Massachusetts.
"Obviously we have thousands and thousands of members in the Boston area and they're going to get to see the team that won the Indianapolis 500 on their home track," Hemelgarn said.
For Delta Faucet, one of Hemelgarn's longtime sponsors, it'll also be a special visit.
"They have distributors throughout the New England area," Hemelgarn said, "plus all the plumbers. They've been bringing people into Indy for the last six years now from up there. This time, we'll bring the Delta Faucet car to them."
The True Value 200 starts the 1996-97 Indy Racing League season on the weekend of Aug. 18. An IRL open test, including Hemelgarn, will be July 23-24-25.
One car which won't race at New Hampshire, however, is the 1995 Reynard Ford Cosworth Lazier drove to victory in the Indianapolis 500.
"It's not going to race again," Hemelgarn said. "It's just too precious to risk crashing it. Basically, we're going to tour with it and let the museum use it at the Speedway. It'll be at the Super Fitness facilities (near Boston), and we're going to work with the IRL on different promotions up there."
If you called Buddy Lazier's cellular phone almost any time since he won the Indianapolis 500, you'd find that his "mailbox" was full. As he prepared to return to Colorado to rest and continue his recovery from pre-Indy back injuries, Buddy found himself on a whirl in the wake of his stirring victory.
"It hasn't sunk in yet," Lazier said in his post-race press conference. "It's probably gonna take some time. It's just awesome. The trophy? Awesome. The paycheck? Really awesome."
From there, it was a blitz of appearances and interviews. There was Late Night with Conan O'Brien on NBC, then Live with Regis and Kathy Lee on national syndication. There were radio interviews and sports call-in shows from Philadelphia to Sacramento, from Chicago to San Diego.
It's all part of being an Indianapolis 500 winner.
Buddy Lazier's victory in the Indianapolis 500 climaxed a month of achievements and record-breaking. Some notable marks from the month of May, 1996:
PPG Industries has renamed its pole position posting for the Indianapolis 500 to the "PPG Pole Award in Memory of Scott Brayton," honoring the driver with an accomplishment that he treasured. Brayton, who died in an accident at the Speedway May 17, won the award in both 1995 and 1996.
A trust fund has been established for Scott's daughter. Contributions may be sent to Carly Brayton Memorial Trust, c/o Bank One, 14801 U.S. 31 North, Carmel, IN 46032.
"The 33 fastest cars formed the starting lineup and Race Day evolved into a stirring victory for Buddy Lazier and Hemelgarn Racing."
The 80th Indianapolis 500 is now in the record books, and the month of May has come to a close for another year.
The elements of tradition and history at the "500" are the race's cornerstone. As we have said for a year during the formation of the Indy Racing League, those elements will forever remain.
This year's "500" provided new highlights, new faces and new twists in the same traditional format, with record-setting practice speeds, a spirited duel for the pole position and an interesting Bubble Day scenario. The 33 fastest cars formed the starting lineup and Race Day evolved into a stirring victory for Buddy Lazier and Hemelgarn Racing.
For the IRL, the end of one season becomes the start of the next, and preparations for the 1996-97 season-opening True Value 200 in New Hampshire and the Las Vegas race in Nevada are well under way.
Our office has had inquiries from many entities about joining the League since the successful conclusion of the "500". Current teams are already making choices on cars and engines for the 1997 part of the second IRL season, which ends with the 81st Indianapolis 500.
The "Road to Indy," though, starts with New Hampshire, a traditional mile track in a rural New England setting. The League's point system, based on performance and participation multipliers, and its qualifying procedures remain in effect and provide continuity in our program.
With that consistency, both new and current teams can begin to accumulate equity in the system as we transition from the 1995 chassis/engine configuration to the new machines of tomorrow.
The current package, though, will provide fans at both New Hampshire and Las Vegas with a unique opportunity to see the cars and drivers that made history as the fastest ever to run at Indianapolis. It's a distinction that figures to last because speeds will be reduced by the new car/engine specifications for 1997.
The fans will also get to see the IRL's first No. 1.
A.J. Foyt Enterprises, by virtue of its championship in the entrant point standings, is entitled to the option of fielding a car carrying the coveted number for 1996-97.
The number "1" will be a fine sight at New Hampshire as we move into our first full season of at least five races and continue our mission to create opportunities and develop a strong oval-track series.
A revolutionary plan to enhance the accessibility of financial resources for potential IRL competitors was announced at the Las Vegas test by the League and National City Bank of Indiana.
The National City IRL Team Loan Program (LP) could help finance up to 75 percent of the cost of a complete 1997 IRL vehicle setup (including complete chassis at $263,000 and engines at $75,000 each).
The loan will be repaid over 24 months, with an option to pay interest only for six months at a low floating rate and then convert to a duly amortized term loan at either a low fixed or floating rate. Specific terms and conditions will be tailored to individual applicants.
"This loan program will be very helpful and very important to the continued growth of the IRL," said Jack Long, the League's executive director.