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Show Dia _The Salt Lake Tribune AUTO RACING Friday, May 28, 1999 IRL Hopes Cables on Cars Will Save Lives THE ASSOCIATED PRESS INDIANAPOLIS — The Indy Racing League doesn’t know how well its new wheel tethers will work in a crash. The drivers, naturally, hopethey never find out. It’s probably the appropriate Teaction to the things that have happened. But I don’t wantto be the first to test it,” Buzz Calkins Said after the final practice for Sunday's Indianapolis 500. Thecars are nowfitted with ca- bles designed to keep the wheels and suspension parts from flying into the crowd during a wreck Debris killed three fans and injured eight others at an Indy Rac ing League event in Concord N.C., on May 1. The wheel tethers were used for the first time during the Car- buretion Day practice Thurs ‘There wereno crashes. “Anything we can do to make the fanssafer, I’m all in favor of that,” said Tony Stewart, whowill race at Indy and in SCAR's Coca-Cola 600 in Concord on Sun ay. After practice, IRL president Tony George soughtto quell spec- ulation of a possible end to the feud with CART. which has kept most of the top open-wheel drivers away from Indy since 1995. George met last week with An- drew Craig, CART’s chief execu tive officer, but no deal was reached. “As long as we havedifferent philosophies, we're nevergoing to strike any kind of accord Georgesaid. “I can't s couraged by anything wetalked about.” The IRL moved forward with its plans to improvesafety beyond Sunday's race, announcing a change in enginerules beginning with the June 12 event at Starting with this Sunday's Indy 500 race, indy cars will use a new system of cables to keep wheel assemblies attachedto the chassis in a crash. Texas Motor Speedway Engines must operate at no more than 10,000 rpms after the Indy 500, a reduction from the current limit of 10.300. The change will reduce the cars horsepower and should slow speeds by at least 5 mph “After the incident at Char lotte, we needto try to contain the speeds as much as we can.” said IRL executive director Leo Meh! Roberto Guerrero knows all too well the dangersof flying debris He was seriously injured in 1987 wreck during fall testing at India- THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS said media speculation about an Indy-racing reconciliation is pre mature. “I've tried to make myself available for meetings because it’s important to engagein dia logue,” George said. “But I think I've gone above and beyondthe call of duty in scheduling meet ings at my busiest time of year It's because I'm interestedin try ing to grow open-wheel motor some- thing that needs to be done,” he As it was, the spectators were too much at risk. We're paid to take a risk, they're not. Cables Connect rear hubs and front hubsito chassis The rival Championship Auto Racing Teamsis using a similar safety system and soon do the same. A: {installationtiie: 2 hours ‘AR might Formula One began using the cables on wheels crashed twice during practice and a third time on a warmup lapbe- fore qualifications. In oneof his crashes, a wheel broke loose and bouncedhigh into the air but did not go over the 19-foot-8 catch fence The cables connect the front and rear hubs and areattached to the farthest points fromthe driv er on the car ame. CART also tested its tethers for the first time Thursday in practice for the Motorola 300at Madison, Il, on Saturday Three spectators also were One struck by a tire anapolis in 19) spectator was and killed at Indi ou can’t hurt people. Bottom line you can't.” more. said Mark Dis- who also crashed during practice last week. “There'sstill a risk there, regardless, but we've got to do this. You're still going to see some thing: me detached. but they're not going to come de- tached at 230 mph Sam Schmidt. Arie Luyendyk’s ammate, was the fastest in Thursday's practice at 222.458 mph We certainly didn't go out FASTESTIN PRACTICE The final two-hour Carburetion Day practice was completed with out incident The fastest practice speeds were “We sat down and talked about product of our previous meet ing,” George said of his meeting with Craig. “I don't think any thing substantive was addressed There'sstill a very big gap in our philosophies." o MAY WHINE IRL executive director Mehl also addressed the subject of Indy-car reunification andsaid CART participants. homesick for the Indianapolis 500, are fueling the speculation. it “] call it the May whine — every year,” Mehl said owners “They're CART drivers. ee. over there lounging in their whine cellars, watching 50 hours of Indy 500 of live TV coverage and qualifying and they pressure fromtheir & oe becuse at Indianapolis 3 Turn ’s more people in two races oat see in their May during the month of ent on to say that the to fa eran is structured the the elite teams, while op and Rs rules allow access portunity to everyone con teams are very thatif they came back the same engine as to got the ee and they wt everybody else same chassis 45doors blown off their beet “phat's my thinking 4 hobby weekend mM rie is for the pro: at Gateway International Raceway nearSt. Louis and IRL’s Knight Ridder Tribune happened I had a clear lap and was solid.” ‘The only starter who did not practice was Robby Gordon, who was in Madison practicing for the CARTrace. Greg Ray, his Menard teammateanda front-row starter between Luyendyk and Boat, was in the 23-year history of the com- petition. Danny Sullivan’s crew won in 11.742 secondsin 1985 — the same year Sullivan won the race. Brack’s crew, from A.J. Racing,finished in 14.560. Foyt “These guys are great, they never give up,” said Hamilton, who will start in the fourth row second-fastest at 221.822 mph in Sunday. “I hope this race comes down to the last pit stop because 221.790 in Gordon's car. Luyendyk, the two-time cham- Galles Racing has won the con- his own car and third-fastest at pion whowill retire after Sun- day's race, was the fourth-quickest at 221.380, followed by Hideshi Matsuda at 221.185, Tyce Carlson at 221.114 and Tony Stewart at 221.098. Everybody did a pretty good job tod: Schmidt didn't see said. “I any bonehead moves out there. a HAMILTON CREW WINS Whenit comes to changingtires and putting fuel in the tank, no- body does it better than Davey Hamilton's guys they'll win it for me.” It’s the sixth time a crew from test, tying Team Penske for most victories in the competition. The team also won in 1989, 1990, 1993, 1996 and 1997. The team won $37,500, and Hamilton and chief mechanic Darren Russell said the money will be donated to Spinal Conquest, a foundationto cure paralysis. The foundation is the team’s primary sponsor. Carburetion Day is a longtime tradition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, even though carbu- retors haven't been used at Indy The Galles Racing pit crew for years. Drivers get two hours to test their cars and practice in traf- changedfour tires and simulated a refueling in 12.680 seconds The cars don't go back on the Thursday, beating Kenny Brack’s teamin the Carburetion Day pit stop contest at the Indianapolis 500 That’s the second-fastest time fic with full loadsoffuel track until they are wheeled out of Gasoline Alley on Sunday morningto lineup for the start of the race. It’s a chance he couldn't pass up, even while most of his CART brethren are missing the sport’s premier event for a fourth consecutive year because of the philosophical differences between the twoseries’ leadership. “It's unfortunate to see what's happened to the 500,” Gordon said. “I think it’s time for everybody to get back together and have 50 or 70 cars show up to qualify for the 500 like it used to be. [IRL founder] Tony George has some good ideas. CART has some good ideas. It would be greatif they could workit out between them. Hasthe racefallen a little bit? Yeah. It’s definitely nothing like it was in '95."" Gordon, 30, of Orange, Calif., is a capable and versatile driver whohas had a rocky racing career. The zenith was a fifth-place finish in the 1995 CART stand- ings, with wins at Phoenix and Detroit. The dungeon was a disas- trous season in Winston Cup driving for Felix Sabates. Gordon andSabates clashed almost from the start and spent muchof the year sniping at each other until Gordon finally was fired. team with Menardspecifically for Indianapolis. Butafterfailing to getto get his blue G-Force upto speed in qualifying last weekend, Gordon was given one of Ray's neon-limegreen Dallaras. Gordon put the car on the inside of the second row with a speedof 223.066 mph The car was the one that Ray, who led posted the fastest practice speeds throughout the month, planned to drive in the 500. Through an oversight, the car didn’t pass pre-qualifying tech inspection, and Ray was forced to qualify his second-choice car. A heavy favorite to win the pole, Ray finished second to Arie Luyendykwith a speed of 225.073 mph. Now Rayfinds himself having to race in the 500 against a car that he and his long-time crew chief, current Team Menard team manager Thomas Knapp, spent the month working to get perfect. “It's difficult to just hand him mypackage and say, ‘Here, this is our blood, sweat and tears from the last three years,’ Ray said Thursday. “It’s like fighting somebody with your own weapon. “That was the car I was sup- posedto qualify with; the car that should've, would've, could've been on the pole.” Surely, Gordon is capable in the fast car. He finished fifth in the ‘94 and “95 Indianapolis 500s, whenall of the open-whee!stars were participating. He came back in ‘97 in a car owned by Sabates and was passing Luyendyk for second early in the race when the car caught fire. This time, Gordon will drive what may be the best car in the field. Even after Gordon’s dismissal, Sabates didn’t let up. “He drove for some of the greatest owners ,”” Sabates said of Gordon last year. “T believe we have a very, very, very. very good package for the and got fired. He drove for A.J the IRL and CARTto make up. “He drove for Derrick Walker Indy 500,” Gordonsaid. That's whyhe isn't waiting for THE POLARIS PICK YOUR PACKAGE PROGRAM. posted 2 and 221.790) and pole-sitter Luyendyk (221,380), a two-time winner ‘Tony Stewart, commuting be Gateway International Raceway some ideas that werereally a by day Plano’s Greg Ray drives. Addi- tionally, Gordon formed an IRL Schmidt (222.458 mph) Greg Ray lower costs, NASCAR-type parity and racing exclusively on ovals and that the differences with CARTthat led to thesplit remain there to have the fastest time of the day,” Schmidt said. “It just so killed in a CART race at Michigan last year. CART’s Motorola 300 on Satur- the 500. SOURCES. Indy Racing League. KRT News In Motion popped off a good one. The car In the past two we are competing in both of this weekend's Indy-car events, don, though a long shot at Gateway becauseof his chassis-engine combination (Swift-Toyota), has an excellent chance of winning fails or not is probably not theis disconnectedfrom thecar. high-powered IRL team for which Moreno isn't given much of a Hub best solution,” IRL driver Billy Boat said. “Whether the cable sue. Regardless, it’s still going to absorb energy. and it’s going to slow that wheel if it does come with John Menard, who owns the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday Cables Gordon formed his own CART team this year, in partnership the tworival Indy-earfactions re- chance in either race. But Gor- this season. before the deaths in North Carolina Manufacturers have done a sports.” George said he remains com mitted to the IRL’s philosophy of eee aa suspension pieces — whic cause the most trouble — from flying off; tires maystill fly off in a severe crash Foyt and got fired. He drove for Chip Ganassi and got fired. He drove for me and got fired. The record speaksforitself.” solve their differences soon. Count him among the two driyers who are not waiting idly for a reunification. Gordon and Roberto Moreno said tween Indianapolis and Concord. so he can compete in both 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600, turned a lap at 221.098. That t of ing numberofdrivers who hope It makes mealittle wary, but at the sametime. I knowit’s s dent AndrewCraig last week, but INDIANAPOLIS — Count Robby Gordon among the grow- lift $ tons He has mixedfeelings about the tethers because the wheels could now bounceback andhit drivers during crashes INDY NOTEBOOK IRL founder Tony BY TONYFABRIZIO THE DALLAS MORND EWS: tougWfiberthat can napolis To Settle Their Differences Chassis Cables Made 6f Zylon, a when a wheel hit his head in a Reconciliation With CART Premature, Says IRL Founder firmed he met with ( ETS a tremendous job in examining the problem and coming up with the at Indianapolis Motor Speedw: Gordon Wants CART, IRL Reducing Danger at Speedways was seventh-fa' est MONTOYA FASTEST When Juan Montoya tested at earlier this month at Madison, Il] he proclaimed the track one of his favorites on the CART FedEx Championship Series Montoyass love for the track grew Thursday, as he posted the fastest time during practice for Saturday's third-annual Motorola 400 Winner of the past three races on the CART circuit, Montoya turned a 181.768- mph Jap inhis Honda-Reynard around the 1.27 mile egg-shaped oval during the afternoon practice session I likethe oval.” Montoyasaid It's a bit different than the other ones I've been at. 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