Dan's Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Racing News - August 2001

  • (8/31) - You've all heard of Indy Lights - the smaller, less powerful race cars that help train some future Indycar drivers. CART runs that series, so naturally its having trouble staying in business. The IRL offered to buy it, but CART declined.

    So, the IRL is starting their own support series, to be called the Indy Racing Infiniti Pro Series, to debut next year. Here is the formula:

    • ENGINES:
      • Name: Infiniti Q45
      • Size: 3.5 liter 90-degree V8
      • Power: 450 horsepower at 8100 rpm
    • CHASSIS
      • Name: Dallara
      • Type: Single-seat winged chassis
      • Minimum Weight: 1,430 pounds
      • Fuel: Gasoline, 25-gallon tank
      • Wheelbase: 120 inches
      • Track: Front: 67 inches Rear 64 inches
      • Aerodynamic Specifications: Ground-effect stepped plane
      • Pi Data Acquisition System - Measures steering angle, shock travel, wheel speed, throttle and one spare sensor
    • TRANSMISSION
      • Manufacturer: Ricardo
      • Configuration: Six-speed sequential with gears mounted forward of the differential
    • SAFETY
      • Cockpit: 19 inches wide with Indy Racing League-approved headrest construction Collapsible steering column
    • Approved SWEMS on wheels and rear-wing assembly
    • COST: Est. $800k to run a full season (12 races) for a single-car team.


    They will be schedule to run at 12 IRL events next year. And no, they won't be running at Indianapolis. The Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400 have no support races.

    This will be cheaper than running Indy Lights. I noticed that the next Indy Lights race has been canceled due to lack of cars, so you might see these Indy Lights teams join the IRIPS next year. I wonder how this will effect the existing series that have offered support races to the IRL in the past.

  • (8/31) - As reported in May, Texas Motor Speedway sued CART, seeking millions of dollars lost because CART cancelled the race the morning of the race and then did not refund the money TMS had paid in prize money, etc. CART still has not refunded their money and has asked the court to either throw the case our or move it out of Texas.

    The court has denied Cart either of these requests today.

  • (8/31) - Ack! I just had a thought. As you know, Kenny Brack won the Indy 500 and the IRL championship a few years ago and then moved to CART. So, I've wished him well. Although he's always been strong, he always seems to end up in 5th place. That is until this year.

    This has been Brack's break-out year in Cart, as he has been winning races and leading the Cart points most of the year. Now what is the reason for this? Anyone notice that the year things start going right for the team, the team owner has been away in England running the Jaguar F1 team all year?

    Well as we all know, Bobby Rahal has returned to the states as he was fired from the Jaguar team before the year was out. Does he have time to screw up Brack's bid for the championship?? I say definately! At least it will be won by some Indy 500 winner.

  • (8/29) - Look for two new IRL teams appearing at the sold-out Chicagoland race this weekend. Racing Professionals and Conquest Racing will make their Indy Racing League debuts on the new 1.5-mile oval with rookies Jon Herb and Laurent Redon, respectively, behind the wheel.
  • (8/29) - Well someone told me this last week but I didnt' believe it: Jordan, on the heels of firing Heinz-Harald Frentzen, is losing their other driver! Jarno Trulli is switching seats with Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella!
  • (8/28) - The IRL has fined Scott Sharp for defensive driving (blocking) during the Kentucky Race. I didn't notice it while I was there, nor did Brian Barnhart. But after studying tapes of the race, he decided to fine Scott the biggest fine in IRL history (over $20k)!
  • (8/26) - The IRL ran their first race at Gateway Raceway infront of a good crowd. Sam Hornish pitted a few laps from the end while leading, Little Al took his chances and stayed out and went on to win his first race of the year! This was probably an important race to win for Unser as Budweiser and Coors Light are both thinking about sponsoring him. Buddy Lazier had engine trouble all day that kept him out of the chase and probably ended his chances at winning back-to-back IRL championships. All 3 rookies that started did not finish. Jacques Lazier started his first race for Menards, and had a great race, running up front all day untill his car suffered mechanical difficulties.

    What I'd like to know is why wasn't Robbie Buhl penalized? On lap 42, he came jumping out of the pits while two cars were side by side going down the tight pit lane already. He forced Alex Barron up into Buzz Calkins, crashing both their cars and putting them out of the race. Buhl was not penalized, infact he went on to lead the race at one point and finished 5th! Barron should have just kept going straight and let Buhl fend for himself instead of running into Calkins. I talked to Calkins about it and he said, "That's two weeks in a row that his pit guy has let him go early. Must work because he has almost won the last two races. So goes racing."

  • (8/25) - Ken Tyrell died today of cancer, he was 77. Ken was famous for running a Formula One Team. In fact, he ran one longer than anyone else, from 1968 - 1988, when he sold his team to BAR. Ken discovered many talented drivers including Jackie Stewart, Michele Alboreto, Martin Brundle, Jean Alesi and Mika Salo.
  • (8/25) - The IRL will tackle the 1.25 mile oval at Gateway International Raceway for the first time today at 2 pm. This race is the 11th of 13 races in 2001 Indy Racing Northern Light Series season. The race is for 250 miles/200 laps with more than $1 million in prizes.

    Due to rainy weather canceling qualifying Saturday, the starting lineup is based on the current point standings. Consequently, Sam Hornish and Buddy Lazier will start the inaugural event from the front row.

    Be sure and look for Robby McGehee's car. The St. Louis native is having a special "baseball" paintjob put on his car in honor of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.

  • (8/24) - It came as no surprise to me when the Jaguar F1 Team announced today that they had fired American Bobby Rahal during his first year. They replaced him with Niki Lauda who was already working for them and in charge of "motorsports". I assume Rahal will return to the states to continue on with running his CART team. If you recall, he was also the acting president of Cart before his exit to Europe. I wonder if Cart might not put him back in that position.
  • (8/24) - Last year, the U.S. Grand Prix was only televised on the cable channel Speedvision, which has the rights to all F1 races in the United States. This year, ABC is trying to get the rights to broadcast our home race live to the whole nation!! Unfortunately, ABC probably will not be able to televise the race here in Indianapolis.
  • (8/24) - Davey Hamilton had another surgery on his feet this week. The doctors suspect he'll be able to walk in early 2002.
  • (8/24) - Walker Racing has bought a Menard engine for Sarah Fisher.
  • (8/23) - Sam Schmidt Motorsports announced they have hired CART driver Alex Barron to fill the seat vacated by Jacques Lazier.
  • (8/23) - A new IRL team and driver will appear for the last two races of 2001. The driver is a 28 y/o Frenchman named Laurent Redon. He was a F1 test driver for Benneton in '99 and for Minardi in '98. The team, Conquest Racing, has been competing in Indy Lights in recent years. Two-time Indianapolis 500 starter Eric Bachelart is their CEO.
  • (8/23) - The Jordan F1 team has signed Giancarlo Fisichella to a 3-year deal beginning next year.
  • (8/21) - Nascar spent a lot of money investigating why Dale Earnhardt died last winter on the last lap of the Daytona 500. Their results were released today and are the same as the initial diagnosis before all the hoopla.
  • (8/21) - Brayton Racing (Lee and Todd Brayton) is trying to generate funding to race full-time in the Indy Racing Northern Light Series in 2002, and it has created a unique sponsorship program to help achieve its goal. The team wants to field a car sponsored by its fans after receiving so many well wishes from fans during this year's Indianapolis 500. Fans can go to the team's web site for information on how to contribute to the effort.
  • (8/21) - Robby McGehee has gotten some new sponsorship for the IRL race at Gateway this weekend. Robby is a St Louis native and is having a special St. Louis Cardinals baseball paint scheme applied.
  • (8/19) - Michael Schumacher lead the Hungary Grand Prix from start to finish and wrapped up the World Driver Championship with 4 races yet to go. This was Schumey's 4th F1 Championship. Ferrari also clinched the 2001 Constructors Championship. Michael tied Prost for the most F1 wins at 51. He also surpassed Senna's record for the most laps lead.

    Barrichello finished 2nd in Hungary and did not wear his #2 hat in the post-race interview this time. However he did comment that Ferrari hadn't won the constructor's championship until HE arrived. We could feel sorry for any driver in the shadow of Schumacher, but Rubens sounds is obviously a pompous ass.

  • (8/19) - Speedvision announced that they would broadcast the CART races next year.
  • (8/18) - I was just telling someone yesterday that Menards should have hired Kenny Brack and gotten the 1999 Indy 500 champion back in the IRL. Today I hear that Kenny is leaving Team Rahal and joining Target/Chip Ganassi Racing for 2002.

    This means that Brack will be back in Indy this May!!!

    Only he'll still be in CART...

    At least he's not driving the VIAGRA car. Poor Mark Martin...

  • (8/16) - Jacques Lazier is replacing Greg Ray at Team Menard.

    Rookie Anthony Lazzarro may be sitting in Jacques old ride at Sam Schmidt Motorsports in St Louis in two weeks.

  • (8/15) - ESPN and ABC has dropped CART from its lineup for 2002. Mike Soltys, ESPN's director of communications stated "We're going to put our resources behind the IRL because we feel it has greater growth potential." CART has been picked up by CBS for 2002.
  • (8/13) - Heritage Motorsports brought two drivers interested in being a Indycar driver to the Kentucky race. Former Formula One driver, Johnny Herbert and 19 y/o Danica Patrick. Herbert competed in over 100 grand prixs, winning 3 over his 12-year F1 career. He is going to test drive an IRL car today at the Kentucky Speedway. He raced in a CART race in England this year. His goal is to be in the Indy 500.

    Danica finished 2nd in the highly competitive European Formula Ford series last year. This was the highest finish for a female ever. She was also the first American to finish that high since Danny Sullivan in 1974.

  • (8/12) - Well the resurfacing of Kentucky Speedway worked. There was only one spin all day. Buddy Lazier won the race for his 8th IRL win.
  • (8/9) - After a year of settling in, the new Kentucky Speedway's surface was so uneven that the IRL cars could not run at speed on it in last Friday's test. Calkins spun five laps into his test session. Series points leader Sam Hornish Jr. spun twice in his Panther Racing car, once while running 30 mph off the pace. Neither driver was injured.

    "The track was a mess, the worst I've seen in racing since I got involved in 1968," said Panther co-owner/team manager John Barnes. "You could see where they had done the grinding. There were 3/8-inch dips. It launched the tires right off the ground."

    IRL director Brian Barnhart hopes a sealant applied to Kentucky Speedway this week will return the oval track to its racy self. The IRL could also dial in more downforce to keep the cars stuck to the track, but this would slow the cars about a half second a lap. After practice this Friday, it will be determined if the race will be held or not. Most likely it will be held and the IRL drivers will be in for a bumpy ride.

  • (8/8) - Jean Alesi, a 12-year veteran of Formula One, was able to get released from his contract with the Prost Team to join the Jordan Team, who had fired their driver, Heinz-Harald Frentzen last month. H-H has been picked up by the Prost team. Ricardo Zonta, after filling in for H-H racing at Hockenheim, reverts back to test driver.
  • Gordon wins Brickyard (8/5) - Jeff Gordon won the 8th Brickyard 400. He started the race from the 27th position! This was Jeff's 3rd win at Indy. In the post race interview, Jeff said that he didn't know who Louis Meyer was. Doh!
  • (8/4) - Bobby Labonte won the IROC race and the IROC 2001 Championship.




2001 BRICKYARD 400 NEWS

Indiana native Gordon wins third NASCAR Brickyard 400

By Bruce Martin

Jeff Gordon's victory in Sunday's NASCAR Brickyard 400 moved him from greatness to immortality.

Gordon won the Winston Cup glamour event for the third time, storming from 27th place, using a brilliant pit strategy and holding off Sterling Marlin by just under a second to give himself a belated birthday present.

Gordon became the first three-time winner of the Brickyard 400 in just eight tries. By contrast, the Indianapolis 500 was 25 years old before it had its first three-time winner in Louis Meyer in 1936.

One day after his 30th birthday, the native of nearby Pittsboro scored his 56th career victory, won $428,452 and was hailed by the sellout crowd of 340,000 that basked in the Hoosier sunshine.

"This has been an amazing week for me," Gordon said. "It's the best way to celebrate my 30th birthday. It's been a phenomenal day. It's absolutely amazing. To have all these people still here cheering us on, I was choked up in the car. I love Indianapolis and I love the state of Indiana. It's been so good to me."

Driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Gordon finished 0.943 seconds in front of Marlin's Dodge Intrepid. Johnny Benson Jr. was third, followed by Rusty Wallace and rookie Kurt Busch.

Gordon's starting position was the deepest of any Brickyard 400 winner, breaking Dale Jarrett's mark of 24th in 1996.

"It's really special because we started so bad today and we kept working and working," crew chief Robbie Loomis said. "When you get in a situation like we were in today, you have to count your blessings. This is the greatest race team with the greatest driver."

"I don't race for statistics; I race to win, and that's what we did today," Gordon said.

About the only thing Gordon could not do right was a burnout on the frontstretch after he won the race.

It was Gordon's fourth Winston Cup win of the season. His crew made the race-winning move when Gordon made his final pit stop during a caution period that began on lap 131 for debris.

Gordon was among several drivers who opted for two tires rather than four. That put him behind Marlin, who decided not to pit.

"Lately, we haven't had any pit strategy things go for us, and that was the key," Gordon said. "At the end of the race, we took two tires on our last pit stop and that was the decision. Robbie Loomis makes all the calls in the pits. We were between two tires and no tires and I thought we needed two."

When the green flag waved on lap 135, Gordon drove to the inside of Marlin in the first turn to take the lead.

"We took a gamble here by not pitting," Marlin said. "We got caught in slow traffic and lapped traffic and the car pushed. (Team manager) Tony Glover made the call not to pit. He wanted me to make the decision, and I told him that's why he made the big bucks so he could make the decision. Our car was pretty good, but we weren't good on new tires. We decided to stay out and take the gamble."

Gordon was driving away from the field before teammate Jerry Nadeau crashed in the third turn of lap 138 to bring out the final caution.

The green flag waved on lap 143 and Gordon once again drove away from the field.

"For some reason on our car, we have a lot of trouble on restarts," Marlin said. "I wanted to get close enough to him to put more pressure on him and make him hit the wall. He hit it one time in (turns) 3 and 4, but I really couldn't get close enough to him to make him make a mistake and get him a little loose. I just couldn't get close enough."

Seventeen laps later, Gordon drove into auto racing history.

There were 18 lead changes among 12 drivers. Gordon averaged 130.790 miles per hour.

After a series of early cautions, Marlin overtook rookie Kevin Harvick -- who won Saturday night's Busch series event at nearby Indianapolis Raceway Park -- and grabbed the lead on lap 45.

Pit stops began again on the 62nd lap as Steve Park, Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte and Ward Burton traded the lead before the yellow waved for debris on the 75th lap. That was when most of the leaders pitted, except for Tony Stewart.

Park passed Stewart's Pontiac Grand Prix for the lead on the 80th lap midway point, taking an inside route on the third and fourth turns.

Stewart, who decided not to pit under caution when the rest of the leaders made pit stops on the 76th lap, was unable to hold the low line on the track to fend off Park's Chevrolet, which had pitted for new tires and fuel.

Meanwhile, Gordon was not a factor.

"We started the race with a lot of doubt in my mind," Gordon said. "It was amazing starting back there where we were at, just how much air was moving around and the car was buffeting and I couldn't do anything I wanted to do. I thought I was in serious trouble at that point. We made some adjustments, made the car better, but still was not a threat.

"But we kept our chins up. We worked hard on it, and there was one time that I said to Robbie Loomis that we just need to get out in clean air. When the caution fell just after we came out of the pits, that's when the race really changed for us. That's when we became a top-five car."

By becoming the first three-time winner of the Brickyard 400, Gordon has elevated his status to a legend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"It tells you how prestigious an event is when they start really highlighting a two-time or three-time winner," Gordon said. "It's just like the Daytona 500. I think Richard Petty won it seven times so the big events are obviously very important races.

"I think with this race still being young in our community and to the NASCAR fans, it's something that is very prestigious just to be a part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I never dreamed I would win one Brickyard 400, so this is overwhelming to me, really."


              2001 BRICKYARD 400 RACE RESULTS:

Pos  St No Driver                Make  Pts Bonus Laps Status
------------------------------------------------------------
 1.  27 24 Jeff Gordon            Chv  180  5   160  Running
 2.   8 40 Sterling Marlin        Dge  175  5   160  Running
 3.  26 10 Johnny Benson          Pon  165  0   160  Running
 4.  37  2 Rusty Wallace          Frd  160  0   160  Running
 5.  34 97 Kurt Busch             Frd  160  5   160  Running

 6.  19 22 Ward Burton            Dge  150  0   160  Running
 7.  13  1 Steve Park             Chv  156 10   160  Running
 8.   2  9 Bill Elliott           Dge  147  5   160  Running
 9.   7 32 Ricky Craven           Frd  138  0   160  Running
10.  36  8 Dale Earnhardt, Jr     Chv  139  5   160  Running
11.  11 29 Kevin Harvick          Chv  135  5   160  Running
12.   6 88 Dale Jarrett           Frd  127  0   160  Running
13.   1 26 Jimmy Spencer          Frd  129  5   160  Running
14.  30 43 John Andretti          Dge  121  0   160  Running
15.  15 18 Bobby Labonte          Pon  123  5   160  Running
16.  22 99 Jeff Burton            Frd  120  5   160  Running
17.   9 20 Tony Stewart           Pon  117  5   160  Running
18.  16 12 Jeremy Mayfield        Frd  109  0   160  Running
19.  35  5 Terry Labonte          Chv  106  0   160  Running
20.  20 33 Joe Nemechek           Chv  103  0   160  Running
21.  31 30 Jeff Green             Chv  100  0   160  Running
22.  25  6 Mark Martin            Frd   97  0   160  Running
23.  38 21 Elliott Sadler         Frd   94  0   160  Running
24.  10 66 Todd Bodine            Frd   91  0   159  Running
25.  14 15 Michael Waltrip        Chv   88  0   159  Running
26.  29 01 Jason Leffler          Dge   85  0   159  Running
27.  39 55 Bobby Hamilton         Chv   82  0   159  Running
28.  40 36 Ken Schrader           Pon   79  0   159  Running
29.  32 90 Hut Stricklin          Frd   76  0   159  Running
30.  42 31 Robby Gordon           Chv   73  0   159  Running
31.   5 02 Ryan Newman            Frd   75  5   159  Running
32.  17 50 Rich Bickle            Chv   67  0   159  Running
33.  33 92 Stacy Compton          Dge   64  0   159  Running
34.  28 14 Ron Hornaday           Pon   61  0   158  Running
35.  21 77 Robert Pressley        Frd   58  0   158  Running
36.  43 44 Buckshot Jones         Dge   55  0   158  Running
37.  18 11 Brett Bodine           Frd   52  0   158  Running
38.  41 25 Jerry Nadeau           Chv   49  0   135  Out
39.   4 28 Ricky Rudd             Frd   46  0   107  Running
40.  24 93 Dave Blaney            Dge   43  0   100  Out
41.   3 19 Casey Atwood           Dge   40  0    38  Out
42.  23 17 Matt Kenseth           Frd   37  0     2  Out
43.  12 96 Andy Houston           Frd   34  0     1  Out


NEWS brought to you from WIBC - 1070 on your AM dial :

Results from Saturday's qualifying for the Brickyard 400 at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
1. (26) Jimmy Spencer, Ford, 179.666.
2. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 179.565.
3. (19) Casey Atwood, Dodge, 179.361.
4. (28) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 179.233.
5. (02) Ryan Newman, Ford, 179.037.
6. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 178.848.
7. (32) Ricky Craven, Ford, 178.444.
8. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 178.207.
9. (20) Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 178.042.
10. (66) Todd Bodine, Ford, 177.711.
11. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 177.459.
12. (96) Andy Houston, Ford, 177.249.
13. (1) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 177.186.
14. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 177.141.
15. (18) Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 177.134.
16. (12) Jeremy Mayfield, Ford, 176.835.
17. (50) Rich Bickle, Chevrolet, 176.762.
18. (11) Brett Bodine, Ford, 176.737.
19. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 176.703.
20. (33) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 176.661.
21. (77) Robert Pressley, Ford, 176.588.
22. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 176.502.
23. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 176.450.
24. (93) Dave Blaney, Dodge, 176.363.
25. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 176.343.
26. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 176.287.
27. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 176.180
28. (14) Ron Hornaday, Pontiac, 176.094.
29. (01) Jason Leffler, Dodge, 176.080.
30. (43) John Andretti, Dodge, 175.967.
31. (30) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 175.884.
32. (90) Hut Stricklin, Ford, 175.874.
33. (92) Casey Atwood, Dodge, 175.833.
34. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 175.816.
35. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 175.706.
36. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 175.497.
37. (2) Rusty Wallace, Ford, provisional.
38. (21) Elliott Sadler, Ford, provisional.
39. (55) Bobby Hamilton, Chevrolet, provisional.
40. (36) Ken Schrader, Pontiac, provisional,
41. (25) Jerry Nadeau, Chevrolet, provisional.
42. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, provisioinal.
43. (44) Buckshot Jones, Dodge, provisional.

Failed to qualify 
(7) Mike Wallace, Ford; (4) Kevin Lepage, Chevrolet; (45) Kyle
Petty, Dodge; (27) Rick Mast, Pontiac; (71) Dave Marcis, Chevrolet;
(84) Shawna Robinson, Ford; (49) Andy Hillenburg, Ford; (13)
Hermie Sadler, Ford; (37) Derrike Cope, Pontiac; (57) David Keith,
Ford; (95) Ed Berrier, Ford.

Other speeds 
(4) Kevin Lepage, Chevrolet, 175.637; (2) Rusty Wallace, Ford,
175.517; (36) Ken Schrader, Pontiac, 175.497; (31) Robby Gordon,
Chevrolet, 175.339; (37) Derrike Cope, Pontiac, 175.087; (7)
Mike Wallace, Ford, 174.975; (21) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 174.808;
(25) Jerry Nadeau, Chevrolet, 174.601; (13) Hermie Sadler, Chevrolet,
173.816; (95) Ed Berrier, Ford, 173.477; (55) Bobby Hamilton,
Chevrolet, 173.444; (57) David Keith, Ford, 173.067; (27) Rick
Mast, Pontiac, 172.808; (44) Buckshot Jones, Dodge, 172.731;
(71) Dave Marcis, Chevrolet, 172.596; (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge,
172.582; (84) Shawna Robinson, Ford, 171.966; (49) Andy Hillenburg,
Pontiac, 169.706. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LABONTE CAPTURES IROC CROWN SATURDAY AT INDY
Bobby Labonte's win in Saturday's International Race of Champions
event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway allowed him to clinch the
2001 series championship, the first of his career. Labonte won
two of the four series races, the other in April at Talladega.

Labonte edged Tony Stewart by .324 seconds Saturday to claim
his third career IROC race win and the series title, which comes
with $250,000 in prize money.

"This goes back to (Dale) Earnhardt. This is a great championship.
He was here last year," said Labonte, who earned his first Winston
Cup victory of the season last weekend at Pocono. 

"This black No. 3 (Labonte's IROC car), it might looked like
I drove like it a little bit today, but I really felt heart-felt
right now that he's not here."

Earnhardt had won the past two series titles, clinching both
at the Indianapolis race.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BODINE SPONSOR-LESS AFTER SEASON
from Atlanta Journal-Constitution
#11-Brett Bodine, one of the few owner-drivers left in Winston
Cup, is searching for sponsors to replace the ones he's losing
at the end of the season. But his recent on-track performances
are giving him some good fodder for his sales pitch. He has been
running at the finish of the past 26 races, and he got his first
top-10 this season at the Pepsi 400 at Daytona last month. At
New Hampshire, he wrecked his primary car in practice and had
to use a car built in the mid-1980s. He drove it to a 13th-place
finish, his fourth straight top-15 run. Bodine said he needs
at least $8 million a year from a sponsor to run up front consistently.
He now operates on far less than that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Older news pages

  • 2000 1st Quarter Racing News
  • 2000 2nd Quarter Racing News
  • 2000 3rd Quarter Racing News
  • 2000 4th Quarter Racing News
  • 1999 Indy Car Racing News
  • 1998 Indy Car Racing News
  • 1997 Indy Car Racing News


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