Ganassi Leaps Onto IRL Turf

INDIANAPOLIS —  It took a vote of all CART owners to open a window of opportunity for their teams and drivers to run in the Indianapolis 500 this year, but only Chip Ganassi elected to venture into Indy Racing League territory.

His drivers, Juan Montoya and Jimmy Vasser, will start second and seventh in Sunday’s 84th 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but the owner of Target-Chip Ganassi Racing insists it’s neither an attempt to show up the IRL drivers nor a foreshadowing of other CART teams making the move.

Ganassi’s cars have won the last four CART championships, first with Vasser in 1996, then Alex Zanardi in 1997 and 1998, and Montoya last year, making his the most dominant team since Roger Penske’s drivers ruled the open-wheel world.

Now Ganassi is setting his sights on the Indianapolis 500, forbidden fruit for CART teams since Tony George, owner of the speedway, founded the IRL, reserved most of the berths in the 500 for his drivers and prompted CART to schedule a race on the same day in 1996, and on the same weekend each season afterward until this year.

George has since dropped the rule that favored IRL drivers in filling the 500 field but the IRL now uses cars significantly different from CART vehicles, so a CART team running the 500 can’t use its usual equipment, an expensive one-race gamble. Ganassi is rolling the dice.

Vasser won the inaugural U.S. 500, run opposite the Indy 500 in 1996 at Michigan Speedway, and when it was over exclaimed, “Who needs milk?,” a slap at a cherished Indy tradition, a gulp of milk for the winner in Victory Circle.

His tune changed this month.

“I think it was taken out of context,” he said of his milk line, although it’s difficult to understand how such a rip could be taken out of context.

“Every driver on the [CART] circuit wants to be here,” Vasser said. “It’s still the biggest motor race in the world. As far as flying CART flags, I don’t feel that way. We’re not trying to make a political statement. We’re here to race. If we don’t make the CART guys proud, we’ll make them cry in Milwaukee [June 4], like we have the last four years.”

Vasser, who has raced four times in the Indy 500, has mixed feelings about his last time, in 1995. It was his first season with Ganassi and he was leading on Lap 170 [of 200] when he tangled with Scott Pruett in the third turn, an accident that sent Vasser’s car into the wall.

“Obviously, I was really disappointed,” Vasser said. “But on the other hand, I believe that moment when I led the 500 was the springboard for what was to come for me the following year. That was the first time I had led a race. From then on, things started going our way and, of course, I won the 500 at Michigan and the championship the following year.”

Ganassi, a former Indy car driver who competed in five 500s before becoming an owner in 1988, doesn’t look on himself and his team as CART trailblazers.

“I can’t speak for any of the other owners, but I can tell you that it took a vote of all of them to open this weekend up,” said the 44-year-old Pittsburgh industrialist and co-owner of the Chicago Motor Speedway that was opened last August. “Obviously, we couldn’t have done it otherwise, but that doesn’t mean anyone else will follow. It’s been a lot of work. We had a big advantage because our [CART] team is based here, our shop is only three miles from the speedway, and our sponsors [Target and Budweiser] kicked in to help finance the whole thing.”

Estimates range from $2-3 million for Ganassi’s two drivers to run the 500. For starters, four G Force chassis cost $290,000 each and engines are $86,000 each. Then there are management systems, tires, fuel and other accessories, not counting expenses for crewmen, drivers and other team members. It adds up in a hurry.

Ganassi has long bucked trends. When no one else wanted to gamble on the Reynard chassis or Honda engine a few years ago, Ganassi took on both--and won four championships. This year, despite unprecedented success with the Reynard-Honda package, he switched to a Toyota engine that has never won a champ car race and a Lola chassis.

“We’re always looking for ways to stay ahead of the pack, and I believe the new Toyota engine will help us accomplish just that,” he said.

In four races this year, Vasser has been second at Brazil, third at Long Beach and fourth at Homestead, Fla.

“Another reason we can do this is our people,” Ganassi continued. “When you get a group of people all on the same page, all performing to the best of their abilities, the results take care of themselves. To have the type of talent we have in every position on our team, and for egos and attitudes to never be a problem, that’s just as impressive as winning races and titles.”

George said not too much should be read into Ganassi’s Indy car project.

“The opportunity has been there for anyone who wants to come,” he said. “Chip wanted to come and he made sure he had the resources before he came. He has a fine facility in Indianapolis. Every owner and every team has to look at it from its own perspective. Right now, no, I don’t necessarily think others will follow. They’re welcome if they do. They’ve always been welcome.”

Well, sort of. For the first IRL Indy 500, 25 starting positions were reserved for IRL cars, with only eight spots available for CART or other drivers. CART responded by quickly scheduling a 500-mile race on the same day, at Michigan Speedway, boycotting Indy.

The infamous 25-and-8 rule was rescinded a year later, but then the IRL dropped CART’s formula, going to specified chassis with specified stock-block engines and the schism widened. Proposals have been floated in attempts to get the groups together but nothing has come of them. George says it is unlikely that anything will, as long as the groups maintain strong philosophical differences.

Montoya, who went from Formula One test driver in 1998 to rookie CART driver--and ultimate champion--for Ganassi last year, does not feel the political overtones of the bitter controversy, as do Ganassi and Vasser.

Said CART’s youngest champion: “We come here. Chip gave me a car. He decided he wanted to be here and you know, I just drive the car as fast as I can. Simple.”

He drove it fast enough, 223.372 mph, to start in the middle of the front row Sunday, next to IRL champion Greg Ray, who was fractionally faster at 223.471 mph.

Montoya continued, “I’m not here driving for CART, I am representing my team and my country [Colombia] at this great event. I have heard about Indy since I was a small boy in Bogota and so many great drivers have raced here. I am looking forward to a competitive race.”

Two years ago, when Ganassi signed Montoya, he brought him to Indianapolis just to see the speedway. It was November.

“It was cold and windy, and snowy--typical Indy,” Montoya said. “I went through the museum and around the track in a bus. When the bus made the turn onto the straightaway, I said, ‘Geez, where’s the other end?’ It’s so big.”

Montoya and Vasser will be doing double duty this weekend, driving Saturday at Nazareth, Pa., in a CART race that was postponed April 9 because of snow, before returning to Indianapolis for Sunday’s 500.

“Both being on ovals, it should be OK,” said Montoya, who will start on the pole at Nazareth. “If it were a road course for 500 miles, it would be hard. I think as long as we [don’t get dehydrated] we should be OK.”

Cars will start at Nazareth according to their qualifying times from April 8. They will get half an hour of practice Saturday morning.

“It’s just get in and go,” Montoya said.

Vasser said the biggest difference will be in the feel of the cars, but that wouldn’t be difficult to overcome.

“If you count the rental cars I’ll be driving to the tracks in Nazareth and Indy, I’ll actually be driving four different vehicles this weekend,” he said. “Actually, I know it will be difficult attempting to run two races, but we can do it. I’ve been impressed with how well we’ve adjusted to the [IRL] cars, so I think we’ll be fine.”

Horsepower and speed will figure in the major adjustments. CART cars are turbocharged, IRL’s are normally aspirated. All but two in Sunday’s race will be 3.5-liter versions of the Oldsmobile Aurora V-8. Eddie Cheever, the 1998 500 winner, and Steve Knapp are driving Infiniti-powered cars.

“For starters, I think the IRL cars have nearly 250 horsepower less and they’re heavier in the back,” Vasser said. “You can definitely feel it in the acceleration and getting up to speed, and if you get out of the power, getting back to the power, in the response.

“Other than that, for me behind the wheel, there’s a lot more similarities than there are differences and when you’re driving around the speedway here, you’re just trying to get the car balanced and get it trimmed out and get it freed up in the corners and keeping it smooth. So, to sum it all up, there’s probably more similarities than there are differences.”

That 250 horsepower difference means a big difference in speed too.

“If we had the CART cars here, it would be exciting,” Montoya said. “We wouldn’t be talking about 220 [mph]. We’d be talking about 230s or 240s. It would be really fast.”

The Indy one-lap record for turbocharged cars is 237.498 mph by Arie Luyendyk in 1996, the year before the IRL changed its engine regulations.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Winless Road to Indy

A look at how Target-Chip Ganassi Racing members Juan Montoya and Jimmy Vasser have fared this season:

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Montoya Vasser Date Race Start Finish Start Finish March 26 Homestead, Fla. 2 23 10 4 April 16 Long Beach 3 19 2 3 April 30 Rio de Janeiro 2 22 6 2 May 14 Japan 1 7 3 21

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Note: Montoya is starting from the second position and Vasser the seventh in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500

INDIANAPOLIS 500

Sunday, 9 a.m.

Indianapolis

Motor Speedway

2.5-mile oval

TELEVISION

Ch. 7, coverage

begins at 8 a.m.

1999 WINNER

Kenny Brack

PRIZE MONEY

More than

$9 million