Prospective Indy 500 Field finally set free …

Speedway Sightings …

By: Wm. LaDow
Daily Trackside Reports from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Published in the Post-Tribune — May 15, 2008
Speedway, Indiana
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The weather finally set the Indianapolis 500 field and hopefuls free for an afternoon of practice.

Conditions were nowhere near ideal with overcast skies, a temperature of 60 degrees, and winds from the east at 14 mph, but 35 cars made an appearance with four teams also running their “T” or backup cars.

It was an afternoon of “have” and “haven’t yet” as teams who have already qualified for the 500 were working on their race setups and those hoping to qualify on Saturday were searching for speed.

In one of the busiest days at the Brickyard this May, drivers and race teams completed 2,628 laps or just over 6,500 miles for the afternoon, without incident.

A total of 27 cars topped the 220 miles per hour mark with Ryan Briscoe running 223.708 mph in his No. 6T Team Penske Dallara/Honda. He was followed by his teammate and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves in the No. 3T Team Penske machine at 223.284 mph.

Scott Dixon once again ran in the top five, finishing the day with a top speed of 223.192 mph in his No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Dallara/Honda. Spots four and five on the speed chart were held down by Tony Kanaan in the No. 11 Team 7-11 Andretti-Green Dallara/ Honda at 222.880 mph and Tomas Scheckter No. 12 Symantec Luczo Dragon Racing Dallara/Honda at 222.804 mph.

Based on his performance again Thursday, one can’t fault car owner Marty Roth’s decision to put John Andretti in the seat of the No. 24 Roth Racing Dallara/Honda. Andretti came out and promptly posted a lap at 222.474 and finished seventh fastest on the day, quite a solid outing considering that all of the Penske, Target Chip Ganassi and Andretti-Green cars participated in practice.

The fastest rookie of the day was Kalkhoven/Vasser Racing’s Will Power in the No. 8 Dallara/Honda at 222.657 mph. Power continues to impress fellow drivers with his workman-like approach. He became a subject in the early morning press conference with Dixon and Dan Wheldon, both agreeing that the most-polished among the newcomers on the track this year might just be Power.

“I personally think the one that seems very calculated and pretty quick is Will Power,” Wheldon said. “From what I understand, I don’t think he particularly likes the ovals.

“Just looking at him from a style standpoint, I got a feeling that he could potentially be the best. But obviously you got to get your head around liking these places.”

Wheldon was less complimentary of E.J. Viso, who drives the No. 33 HVM Racing PDVSA Dallara/Honda.

“The craziest by far is Ernesto Viso, I think his name is,” Wheldon said. “Dude, he looks nuts. You can tell he (Viso) hasn’t hit the wall yet. When he hits the wall, you’ll know, because he’ll pull out slowly from the car in front, move back nicely.

“You can tell he hasn’t hit yet. You can tell the guys that haven’t hit hard. In 2003, I came out of the box swinging. Then you hit the wall and you just start to calm down a little bit, then you start to hit the wall a bit more, then you really start to calm down. You realize it’s not a nice feeling.”

Dixon echoed Wheldon’s sentiments.

“Yeah, I tend to agree,” this year’s polesitter said. “Viso is pretty crazy. (Will) Power, he’s got good car control, definitely thinks about things a little more than maybe some of the others.

“I think the other one is probably Justin Wilson. Seems very, very good, as well.”

Today is the final day of practice before qualifying on Saturday and Sunday.

You can’t always get what you want …

Speedway Sightings …

By: Wm. LaDow
Daily Trackside Reports from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Published in the Post-Tribune — May 14, 2008
Speedway, Indiana
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When contemplating how to run an IndyCar at 220 miles per hour, your first prerequisite would likely be to have perfect weather. Secondly, you would probably demand a perfectly dry track with some race tire rubber built up on it.

Here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today … not so much.

Wednesday morning brought more rain to the Indianapolis area.

As the day went on, it really wasn’t clear if any of the race teams pent up in Gasoline Alley were going to get a chance to shake down their cars.

Finally, at 5:19 p.m. the green flag flew. Over the course of 30 minutes, Indy race teams laid down almost 1,000 miles of track time before rain ended the session prematurely at 5:49 p.m.

Twenty-nine cars including six of the eleven already qualified for the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 got some sorely needed track time.

High speed for the day belonged to the race polesitter Scott Dixon at 222.834 miles per hour. Second fastest was his Target Chip Ganassi teammate Dan Wheldon at 222.810 mph and third fastest was Marco Andretti at 222.801 mph. Marco was followed on the speed charts by his two Andretti-Green teammates, Hideki Mutoh and Danica Patrick, both over 221 mph.

Dixon’s stated goal was to “determine how his car handled in traffic and see how the balance was.” He went on to say “We have a little bit of understeer, but it was good day for Team Target because you learn something every time you’re on the track

As the end of the day’s practice session neared at 6 p.m., an example of the sheer magnitude of this premier racing facility was experienced as we witnessed practice along pit lane. With eleven minutes left in the session, the yellow flag was waved indicating a caution. Anticipating debris on the track we were later informed the cause of the yellow was that it was raining along the backstretch, east of us.

Speedway Sighting Notes …

Following his crash into the Turn 1 SAFER barrier and subsequent visit and tests at Methodist Hospital last week, Rahal/Letterman Ganassi driver Alex Lloyd was cleared to drive today by Dr. Michael Olinger, Medical Director for the Indy Racing League. Lloyd participated in practice running over 219 mph sporting new livery from his newly announced sponsor in the No. 16 Wii Fit Dallara/Honda. Commenting on how he felt after practice Lloyd said “I feel fine, absolutely perfect. One hundred percent. Lloyd’s time testing was strictly for determining the soundness of his rebuilt car after his crash on “Fast Friday.”

Car owner Greg Beck had been quoted in the Indianapolis Star as saying that “Either Alex Barron or Roger Yasukawa, both five-time Indy 500 starters, will be in my car. It’s just a matter of whose money shows up first.” Apparently Yasukawa’s check cleared first because Wednesday morning it was announced that Roger got the ride in the No. 98 CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports car. It is Beck Motorsports thirteenth year in a row running in the 500.

The No. 21 Playa Del Racing entry has been officially withdrawn and replaced by the No. 88 Gardner Trucking/American Dream Motorsports Panoz/Honda with 2007 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, Phil Giebler behind the wheel.

Jeff Simmons will attempt the Indy “double” of driving in Carb Day’s Indy Lights Series’ Freedom 100 and the May 25th ‘500′. Simmons driving for AJ Foyt’s Indy Pro Series team in 2004 accomplished the same feat when he finished second in the F100, and sixteenth in the rain-shortened Indy 500 won by Buddy Rice after starting in the tenth row.

Andretti Green Racing driver and second-row 2008 Indy 500 starter Danica Patrick is on the cover of the May 19th issue of Sports Illustrated, available at newsstands Wednesday, May 14.

For those interested in owning some Indy car history, Champ Car, by virtue of its bankruptcy, is auctioning off their remaining assets on June 3 at their former headquarters at 5350 W. Lakeview Parkway, South Drive, in Indianapolis. Included in the auction are race cars, pace cars, shop equipment, scoring/timing equipment and memorabilia. Auction info can be found at www.njgallivan.com/auction_detail.php?ID=383972

What’s it all Worth …

Speedway Sightings …

By: Wm. LaDow
Daily Trackside Reports from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Published in the Post-Tribune — May 13, 2008
Speedway, Indiana
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The world’s palace of speed, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is silent today.

The mammoth two and one-half mile race course constructed in 1909, has no cars on the track.

But that in no way means everyone has taken the day off.

Just the contrary, behind the closed doors of the Gasoline Alley garages, mechanics for the teams that covet the final twenty-two spots in the 2008 Indy 500 grid are working feverishly.

A few of the teams still on the outside looking in are: Newman/Haas/Lanigan, AJ Foyt Racing, Vision Racing, Rubicon Racing/Sam Schmidt Motorsports, Roth Racing, KV Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold, Sarah Fisher Racing and CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports.

They are all searching for speed and have only a handful of days to find it. The lights have been burning late into the evening here at Brickyard.

So what is this all worth and why do people sacrifice so much for it.

Here are a few reasons why …

Money

This year’s Indianapolis 500 purse has skyrocketed to $13.4 million with the winner taking home a record $2.5 million. This is 25 percent larger than the record $10.67 million purse for the 2007 race.

The Indy 500 runner-up could earn at least $1.25 million. The third-place finisher will earn at least $750,000. Fourth and fifth-place finishing cars will be guaranteed bonuses of $475,000 and $375,000, respectively. Every driver who races in the 2008 Indianapolis 500 will earn at least $270,000.

Joie Chitwood, President and COO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway explained why the purse was dramatically increased over last year saying “As the Indianapolis 500 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway approach some historic milestones in 2009 and 2011, it was only appropriate we strengthen the incentive to compete in ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The new purse structure for the Indy 500 will help all entries earn more money than ever during the Month of May.”

Trophy

After taking the checkered flag, you will soon have your face permanently etched onto the 72-year-old Borg-Warner Trophy, one of the most coveted trophies in the world of sports. You will also receive a “baby” Borg for your own collection.

Cool Drink

You will have the opportunity to take a cool drink of milk in front of 400,000 cheering race fans at Indy and millions around the world celebrating your 500 win.

What it all means …

Here’s what a few past winners have had to say about how an Indy 500 victory affected their lives.

BOBBY RAHAL (1986): “There is nothing in my racing career that replaces winning the Indy 500. The series championships were great, and the accomplishment felt tremendous. But wherever I go, I am listed as a champion of the Indianapolis 500. That title will always be with me.

A.J. FOYT (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977): “Indianapolis is what made A.J. Foyt what he is today.”

MARIO ANDRETTI (1969): “Winning the Indy 500 changed my life. It created tremendous opportunities that I wouldn’t have had at that stage of my career. It’s the only single auto race in the world that is as valuable as winning a championship.”

BOBBY UNSER (1968, 1975, 1981): “We Unsers made Pikes Peak famous, but it was the Indianapolis 500 that made the Unsers famous. You don’t know how hard it is to win that race once. I lost my brother Jerry there, and in my first two starts I only completed three laps. But I didn’t give up and won it three times. And that was battling against Foyt, Andretti, Rutherford, my brother Al, Mears, Johncock. It was tough. Today, I’m still Bobby Unser, three-time Indy 500 winner. The world will always know me for that.”

Windy City Chargers — The Bettenhausens

Windy City Chargers at the Indianapolis 500 – The Bettenhausens
Speedway Sightings

By: Wm. LaDow
Daily Trackside Reports from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Published in the Post-Tribune — May 13, 2008
Speedway, Indiana
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There have been a handful of families who have shown brilliance in American open wheel auto racing.

Families like the Unser’s and the Andretti’s all began their careers on small-town race tracks and have risen to greatness.

But it is likely that no family has sacrificed as much for auto racing as the Bettenhausens from Tinley Park, Illinois.

Its patriarch, Melvin Eugene “Tony” Bettenhausen was born in September of 1916. By the time he was 13, Tony was so adept at repairing mechanical things that he had become the farm handyman. At 19, Tony was working at a local Ford plant and looking for a way to leave the farming life behind. As he ventured out around the windy city, he soon learned about the newest craze, midget car racing. The first evening of racing he attended was at the Riverview Raceway, part of the famed Riverview Amusement Park.

It was that night while listening to famed racing announcer Ed “Twenty Grand” Steinbock yell over the crowd about the “thrills and spills” that Tony said to himself “I can do that!”

And do that he did. Bettenhausen chased his dream of being a race driver, by first visiting an accomplished race driver by the name of Emil Andres, who lived near the Bettenhausen farm. Tony knocked on the door and before he knew it, was standing in front of an honest-to-goodness Indy 500 driver. Tony blurted out “Mr. Andres, I’m Tony Bettenhausen and I want to be a race car driver!” Andres started to chuckle, saying “So your name is Tony, and you are going to be a race car driver, eh? A life-long friendship had begun. Andres took the young driver under his wing and in a matter of no time; Tony was racing the midget circuit.

Over the course of the next decade Tony Bettenhausen would burn up the midget tracks. His most productive period would be while driving for Rudy Nichels of Highland, Rudy had his son Ray, manage the car, while Dale “Tiny” Worley was the chief mechanic. Bettenhausen was part of a three car Nichels Service team with Teddy Duncan and Paul Russo. All three eventually voted into the Midget Racing Hall of Fame. Bettenhausen won midget car track championships in 1941, 1942 and 1947 at Chicago Raceway Park in Blue Island and at the Milwaukee Mile in 1942, 1946, and 1947.

The “Tinley Park Express” as Tony was now known then moved on to Indy cars. His racing career would flourish. Tony’s run to the AAA National Championship in the Belanger No. 99 Kurtis-Kraft is considered by many racing historians as the gold standard for Indy car racing dominance. Of the 14 races he ran in No.99 in 1951, Bettenhausen won eight races, finished 2nd twice and copped two poles. His success that season was so overwhelming that Tony went into semi-retirement, competing in only “money” races such as the Indy 500. In 1958 he won his second national championship.

In 1961, while testing a car for close friend and former Nichels teammate, Paul Russo, Tony lost his life at Indy.

In the meantime, three of his four children grew and started racing themselves. They made it their quest to finish the job their father had started … to win the Indianapolis 500.

Gary, born in 1941, won two sprint car championships (1969, 1971) and two USAC (United States Auto Club) Silver Crown titles in 1980 and 1983. He was a six-time winner in the IndyCar series. His Indianapolis 500 record of 21 starts ranks him seventh on the all-time list. His best finishes were a third (1980) and two fifths (1973, 1987). In 1974, Gary’s career took a terrible turn with a crash severely damaging his left arm. With his arm still partially paralyzed, Gary continued his racing career until1996 and was inducted into both the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

Tony Bettenhausen’s second son, Merle, born in 1943, followed the same path as his father and older brother racing in the midget and sprint car ranks. After winning five USAC midget races, he passed his rookie test at Indianapolis in 1972. Two months later, on July 16th, in his very first Indy car race, Merle completely lost his right arm in an accident at Michigan International Speedway.

Tony Bettenhausen’s youngest son, Tony Jr., born in 1951, started in stock cars. By 1972, he finished second in points in the NASCAR Sportsman Division, while earning honors as most popular driver, but open wheel racing was what really interested him. He raced sprints and midget until his Indy car break came in 1979. Tony raced for 14 seasons in Indy car, competing eleven Indianapolis 500s, with a best ever finish of 7th. In 1993, he became a race team owner and gave career changing driving opportunities to two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, Helio Castroneves and NASCAR driver Patrick Carpentier.

In 2000, while traveling to Indianapolis, Tony Bettenhausen, Jr and his wife Shirley McElreath Bettenhausen were lost in a plane crash.

Gary and Merle are both retired now and live in the greater Indianapolis area. They periodically give interviews which inevitably lead to discussing the great pain their family has suffered over the years.

They are the first to tell you that they can’t change the past, and offer only that life goes on.

I prefer to recognize their courage and passion for something they loved … auto racing.

Now the Chess Match Begins …

Speedway Sightings …

By: Wm. LaDow
Daily Trackside Reports from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Published in the Post-Tribune — May 12, 2008
Speedway, Indiana
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SPEEDWAY — With Sunday’s complete washout of the second day of qualifying, remaining driver and race team matchups now becomes a chess match that will play out over the course of the next six days.

The loss of Sunday’s qualifying has moved 11 qualifying spots in the grid to Saturday, combining qualifying for the remaining 22 spots in the 2008 Indy 500 field to just one six-hour afternoon. Final bumping will then take place Sunday.

This scenario creates even more activity than previously planned.

Several of the “Indy second week program” teams like CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports (who will soon announce their driving decision between Alex Barron and Roger Yasukawa), A.J. Foyt Racing (rumored to be talking with Jeff Simmons for a second entry), and Hemelgarn Racing with 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier, now have a shot at qualifying as high 12th on the grid, rather than 22nd as would have normally occurred had qualifying been held Sunday.

One of those “second week program” drivers is Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Phil Giebler who said “It’s tough being here at the Speedway and listening to cars practicing and not be able to be behind the wheel. But I’m really looking forward to being in the (No. 21) American Dream Motorsports Panoz/Honda next week.”

But not all of the driver opportunities end on a positive note.

Rookie Jay Howard, who had already run the first three races of the 2008 IndyCar Series season for Roth Racing, woke up Saturday morning and found his Indianapolis 500 dream ride pulled right out from under him.

Due to the decreased track time, loss of a team engineer and Howard’s being at Indianapolis for the first time, team owner Marty Roth elected to go with John Andretti in the No. 24 Roth Racing Dallara/Honda.

Andretti is reportedly bringing sponsorship with him, which is always a major factor in securing a ride.

Roth has indicated that Howard will be back in the seat for the June 1 Indy Racing League race at the Milwaukee Mile.

The IRL has confirmed that there are now a total of 37 cars at the Speedway that have passed inspection and one of those is the No. 77 Penske Racing entry, which does not have a driver listed, nor has been out of the garage on Gasoline Alley.

Even with a handful of “wild card” entries, Thursday’s and Friday’s practice sessions are expected to be the busiest of the month as all of the teams here to race will be after as much track time as they can get.

Brian Barnhart, President, Competition and Operations of the Indy Racing League stated “I anticipate a lot of track activity as teams will be running on full (fuel) tanks in preparation for the 92nd running (of the Indianapolis 500). You will have some pretty big groups of cars running, maybe eight or 10 running together (in practice) at a time.”

Combining the current 11 cars that have already secured spots in this year’s 500, with the remaining 26 cars available for running for the last 22 spots, toss in this year’s 11 rookies still in the hunt at the end of this week and you have a recipe for a lot of fast traffic.

The Rain continues to fall in Indianapolis …

Speedway Sightings …

By: Wm. LaDow
Daily Trackside Reports from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
May 11, 2008
Speedway, Indiana
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INDIANAPOLIS — Starting last night, the rain now continues to fall at Indianapolis …

The prospects for second day qualifying for the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 today are dismal at best.

Check out the three great articles by Jeff Majeske, the sports editor of the Post-Tribune in this morning’s paper …

My stories can continue to be found here

More as the day develops …

Fast (and furious) Friday on tap for Brickyard …

Speedway Sightings …

By: Wm. LaDow
Daily Trackside Reports from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Published in the Post-Tribune — May 9, 2008
Speedway, Indiana
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INDIANAPOLIS — On the surface, Thursday seemed like just another laid-back rainy day in Indiana.

But inside the garages of Gasoline Alley, it was a day of rising tensions.

For the second day in a row, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was rendered silent as rains continued to fall in Indianapolis.

The canceling of open IndyCar practice for both Wednesday and Thursday now leaves only Fast Friday’s afternoon practice as the lone window for the entire Indianapolis 500 field to put its cars in qualifying trim for Saturday’s pole run.

Qualifying at the front of the Indy field is widely considered a must for two reasons.

First, with a third of this years competitors likely being rookies, being in the middle of the field as it takes the green flag and charges into the first turn at over 220 miles per hour might not be the ideal place to be. Secondly, the winner of the pole for the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 cops the $100,000 PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award.

More than 30 drivers and their teams, searching for just the right setup, have been secluded in their garages. They’ve been unable to confidently implement the changes needed in their cars after the wide-open practice session on Tuesday when 33 cars hit the track, running almost three and half thousand miles in a six-hour period. Speedway conditions on Tuesday had ambient temperatures in the low to mid 80s and track temperatures running just over 120 degrees.

Another contributing factor to Tuesday’s run of 29 drivers breaking the 220 mile per hour barrier was that there had been two days of rubber put down on the track during the course of the Rookie Orientation Program.

Factors concerning race teams for today’s final practice include two primary issues, the weather forecast for Indianapolis calls for mostly cloudy skies in the afternoon, with a 40 percent chance of rain and highs in the mid 60s with light winds. The second issue is that the track is now completely green, with all of the tire rubber washed away by rain.

Attitudes differ from driver to driver on the need for substantial practice time on Friday.

“The Team 7-Eleven car was fast on Tuesday, so I don’t think we missed anything by not getting on the track today,” said Tony Kanaan, driver of the Andretti/Green No. 11 car. “I feel comfortable with where we are right now.”

Ed Carpenter in the No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing felt just the opposite saying, “We weren’t real thrilled with our runs Tuesday, so I really wanted to get back out on the track to see if we made any gains.”

All eyes will be skyward this morning as the clock ticks down to Saturday’s run for the pole.

Pent up speed and a green track is what awaits the Indy 500 field on what is likely to be a fast and furious Friday.

Andretti Green drivers show the way …

Speedway Sightings …

By: Wm. LaDow
Daily Trackside Reports from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Published in the Post-Tribune — May 7, 2008
Speedway, Indiana
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INDIANAPOLIS — Thirty-one race car drivers and one presidential candidate all hit the Speedway on Tuesday in an effort to begin their individual paths to immortality.

Shorty before noon, Sen. Hillary Clinton visited the garages of Sarah Fisher Racing.

“I was thrilled to have a chance to meet Sarah and her team, the first owner-driver who is a woman is a big deal. She’s a trailblazer,” Clinton said.

Fisher was equally pleased with the visit.

“It’s certainly an honor and very much a privilege to have Senator Clinton here endorsing our race team and what we’re doing. … She really supports initiatives for someone like myself going forward breaking ground and breaking glass ceilings.”

By the time the senator’s visit ended, things quickly began to heat up at the Brickyard.

With temperatures in the low 80s and partly cloudy skies covering the track all afternoon, concern that the forecast for rain will evolve into a round of scattered showers threatening both today’s and Thursday’s schedule altered practice plans for most of the teams.

After running a grand total of 1,316 laps over the course of Sunday and Monday, 1,383 laps were turned during the six-hour practice session.

In the first hour alone, 17 cars completed 240 laps with Tony Kanaan in the No. 11 Team 7-11 Andretti Green Racing Dallara/Honda setting the pace with the fastest lap of the month at 224.591 miles per hour. By the end of the day, even that speed failed to hold up.

In a late-afternoon flourish that saw 29 drivers break the 220 mph barrier, it was Kanaan who stepped up the pace with a 225.269 mph lap, only to have his teammate, 21-year-old Marco Andretti in the No. 26 Indiana Jones Andretti-Green Racing Dallara/Honda, top the charts with a lap of 226.599 mph.

The young Andretti attributed his speed to a tow from rookie Graham Rahal’s No. O6 Newman/Haas/Lanigan entry, but that didn’t dispel the fact that Marco’s speed was faster than last year’s pole speed (225.817 by Helio Castroneves).

“We got a tow, obviously, but the mechanical balance of the car was very good and we couldn’t have gotten that speed without mechanical balance first.”

Tuesday’s practice was primarily to shake down the cars, so when speeds in the high 225s and mid 226s surfaced so quickly, it’s apparent that this year’s field is going to be fast.

The day’s top-five was rounded out by Scott Dixon in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda at 225.011, Ryan Briscoe in the No. 6 Team Penske Dallara/Honda at 224.804 mph and Dan Wheldon in the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda at 224.727 mph.

Six rookies finished in the top 20 of the day’s speed chart with the fastest being Will Power in the No. 8 Aussie Vineyard-Team Australia Dallara/Honda at 223.550 mph.

Just before 5 p.m., rookie Jaime Camara, who hit the SAFER barrier in Turn One Monday, was released to drive beginning this morning by Dr. Mike Olinger, senior medical director of the Indy Racing League.

When asked how his experience in racing in the Firestone Indy Lights at Indianapolis compared to the IndyCar series, Carmara stated “Everything is sharper; you have to be a lot more focused here in the IndyCar. There is no margin for error.”

IndyCar practice resumes at Noon Wednesday, weather permitting.

Indy 500 Rookies are bringing it ….

Speedway Sightings …

By: Wm. LaDow
Daily Trackside Reports from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Published in the Post-Tribune — May 6, 2008
Speedway, Indiana
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All thirteen members of the 2008 Indy Rookie class ran the speedway today, and they ran it ragged.

High speed for the day belonged to Alex Lloyd, last years Firestone Indy Lights champion, who under contract to Target Chip Ganassi Racing is piloting the No. 16 Rahal-Letterman Dallara/Honda. Lloyd snapped off the fastest lap of the day 223.033 MPH.

Lloyd ran a total of 51 laps with his top speed coming on lap 42. In commenting on his prudent approach to raising his level of speed during the course of the afternoon Lloyd stated “We’re definitely giving the track plenty of respect.”

Right behind Lloyd was Hideki Mutoh in the No. 27 Andretti Green Dallara/Honda who posted a 222.600 mph lap late in the day. Mutoh also ramped up his speed systematically saying “I’m feeling more confident,” in the car and on the oval, and “I’m looking forward to my first time qualifying for the race.”

Will Power, with another impressive day of driving for KV Racing in the No. 8 Aussie Vineyard-Team Australia Dallara Honda was third on the speed charts at 222.267 mph. Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing teammates Graham Rahal (221.155 mph) and Justin Wilson (221.029 mph) rounded out the top five with runs in No. 06 Hole in the Wall Camps Dallara/Honda and No. 02 McDonalds Dallara/Honda respectively.

But the day wasn’t without incident with Rookie Jaime Camara in the No. 34 Conquest Racing Sangari Dallara/Honda hitting the wall hard after spinning while coming out of the first turn. The car got below the white line going into the turn and rear of the car came around in half spin, backing into the wall. Camara had just completed his fourth and fastest lap of the day at 218.264 miles per hour. The revolutionary SAFER Barrier energy-absorbing wall, originally installed in 2002 and updated in 2005, and in fact was the first such installation in the world at a speedway, thankfully did its job and saved Carmara from serious injury. The car suffered substantial damage to the suspension, rear end and wing. Camara was able to walk away from the crash but later complained of back pain and was transported to Indianapolis Methodist Hospital for x-rays that proved to be negative. He has not yet been released to drive however. Further medical evaluation will be done Wednesday morning at the trackside Clarian Medical Center on the Speedway grounds before he is released to drive in open practice.

A total of twelve drivers have now completed their Rookie Orientation Program (ROP). Those who have clearance to run in open IndyCar practice starting Tuesday afternoon are: EJ Viso, Oriol Servia, Alex Lloyd, Hideki Mutoh, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Jamie Camara, Graham Rahal, Justin Wilson, Jay Howard, Enrique Bernoldi, Mario Moraes and Jaime Camara (pending release by track medical staff).

Refresher runs were made by Davey Hamilton in the No. 22 Vision Racing Dallara/Honda. Hamilton whose deal was formally announced in a press conference with Team owner Tony George Sunday morning is focused on bettering his 9th place finish in last years Indy 500

A total of 655 laps were run today with open IndyCar Series practice beginning at 12 noon Tuesday. Much activity is expected as the field begins readiness for the running for the Pole on Saturday.

Region Racers — ‘Tiny’ left big impression

Region Racers at the Indianapolis 500 – Dale “Tiny” Worley
Speedway Sightings

By: Wm. LaDow
Daily Trackside Reports from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Published in the Post-Tribune — May 5, 2008
Speedway, Indiana
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Even though he was nicknamed “Tiny,” he cast a great shadow over much of the American auto racing scene in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

Dale “Tiny” Worley began his life in the laid-back farming countryside of western Illinois. His life ended abruptly in the Cline Avenue shop of Nichels Engineering.

On that sad day in June of 1964, “Tiny” was doing what had been his vocation for almost 25 years: building world-class race cars. So talented at what he did, his employer (and life long friend) Ray Nichels had business cards printed up that sported the words “I’ll Take All the Work that TINY Can Do” just below the nationally recognized Nichels Engineering logo.

Nichels already knew what many would eventually learn — that there was no one better at building race cars than “Tiny” Worley.

Getting started

Worley’s first big break in racing came about in 1940, when he took a mechanic’s job offered him by Rudy Nichels, Ray’s father. By 1941, Tiny had become the chief mechanic for a young Tinley Park, Ill., driver by the name of Tony Bettenhausen. Together Worley and Bettenhausen, in the Nichels Service No. 1 Offy Midget, became the scourge of the midget racing ranks across the Midwest.

After a series of local track championships at Riverview Raceway, Blue Island’s Raceway Park and the Milwaukee Mile with Bettenhausen, Worley became the chief mechanic for Johnnie Parsons’ 1948 Midwest midget racing championship run.

With those successes behind him, he moved up to Indy cars. By 1950 he was working for Murrell Belanger’s operation in Lowell and traveling across the country racing on the AAA Championship Trail. He was co-chief mechanic in the 1951 Indy 500 with Johnny Pawl, and immediately rejoined the Belanger Team after the 500 to be an integral part of Bettenhausen’s AAA National Championship run in the Belanger No. 99 Kurtis-Kraft.

Worley worked the next four Indy-car seasons (and 500s) for Belanger alongside brilliant chief mechanic Frenchy Sirois, wrenching for some of the best drivers in the business, including Jim Rathmann, Art Cross, Paul Russo and Bettenhausen.

In late 1956, Worley returned to work with Ray Nichels, who by this time had founded Nichels Engineering. Ray and Tiny worked three major motorsports programs. Ray was running sprint car champion Pat O’Connor’s Kurtis-Kraft Indy-car program, managing the Firestone Racing tire test program and lastly, Nichels Engineering was now the “house” builder for GM-Pontiac’s stock car program.

Daytona Double

In 1957, Tiny Worley’s skills became apparent when while working with Nichels he participated in capturing both the pole (with Banjo Matthews) and the race (with Cotton Owens) at Daytona.

The next Nichels Engineering undertaking was the setting of several world closed-course speed records at Monza, Italy with O’Connor behind the wheel of the Firestone Racing test car and then finally capturing the pole for the Indianapolis 500 with the Nichels Engineering-prepped Kurtis-Kraft No. 12 Sumar Special, also piloted by O’Connor.

During the next six years, Tiny Worley balanced his duties at Nichels Engineering between building championship-winning Pontiac stock cars and magnificently fast Indy cars.

His involvement with Nichels Engineering and working with brilliant engineers such as Ted Halibrand of Halibrand Engineering, along with Mac McKellar and John DeLorean of GM-Pontiac generated a series of newly engineered racing components, both chassis and powertrain.

When Tiny wasn’t the co-chief mechanic on Nichels’ cars at Indy, he was in charge of his own entries for Bettenhausen, Paul Goldsmith and Jim Hurtubise. In 1960, Tiny, Ray and Goldsmith finished third in the 500, and in 1961 Worley’s entry with Hurtubise, started the race on the front row.

In 1961 and 1962, Worley’s efforts on the stock cars side of the business saw two USAC national championships captured by Nichels Engineering. In 1962 and ‘63, Nichels Engineering-built Pontiacs won National Stock Car Championships in NASCAR.

Famed Pontiac

Worley and Nichels combined to construct one of the most revered Pontiac stock cars ever built, the Pontiac 421 Super-Duty Tempest LeMans that beat the competition by more than five miles at Daytona in 1963. So beautifully engineered by Worley, Mercedes-Benz made an offer to purchase the car from Nichels Engineering that was so lucrative, that Nichels couldn’t pass it up.

Mercedes promptly took the car back to Germany and dissected it to learn just what Tiny had engineered. Once the documentation had been filed away by Mercedes-Benz, the car was destroyed.

Worley’s next engineering milestone was the development of the Nichels Chrysler Hemi in late 1963, early ‘64. The results of his work were evident when Goldsmith set a new world stock car record of 174.910 mph, taking the 1964 Daytona 500 pole at almost 15 miles per hour faster than the 1963 Daytona pole-winner Fireball Roberts’ qualifying speed of 160.943 mph.

Nichels Engineering-built cars then went on to win both qualifying races and the 500 mile race, a virtual sweep of Daytona Speedweeks.

But only a few months later, on June 6, while on the phone with Johhny Pawl, a massive heart attack silenced the 45-year-old Worley forever.

A husband, a father, and world-class mechanic, he left this world much too soon. But no one can say that Dale “Tiny” Worley, didn’t achieve a lifetime’s worth of accomplishments in his short time on this earth.