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Clash Of The Team Titans To Resume At Kansas Speedway
KANSAS CITY, Kan., Monday, July 2, 2001 - The battle for the 2001 Indy Racing Northern Light Series championship is beginning to have a sense of déjà vu.
Defending champion Buddy Lazier has driven his No. 91 Tae-Bo/Coors Light/Delta Faucet Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone to victory in the last two races to pull into second place in the Northern Light Cup standings with 219 points, 50 behind leader Sam Hornish Jr. in the No. 4 Pennzoil Panther Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone.
It's looking more and more like a battle for supremacy between Lazier's Hemelgarn Racing and Hornish's Panther Racing. Last year, Lazier held off Panther's Scott Goodyear by 18 points to win the series championship.
This dramatic showdown between two of the top teams in Indy Racing will continue in new surroundings, as the Indy Racing Northern Light Series comes to the new Kansas Speedway for the first time for the Ameristar Casino Indy 200 at noon (CDT) on July 8. The atmosphere will be charged, for two reasons.
First, the race is sold out, as more than 75,000 fans will fill the stands around the state-of-the-art, 1.5-mile oval to see wheel-to-wheel racing at speeds faster than 210 mph.
Second, the Ameristar Casino Indy 200 is the fourth race in five weeks, the busiest span in series history. Teams and drivers know this is a crucial stretch on the road to the Northern Light Cup. And not surprisingly, the hottest drivers during the last five weeks have been Lazier and Hornish.
Lazier, from Vail, Colo., has two victories and a fourth-place finish in the last three races, helping him climb from seventh to second in the point standings. He will try to become just the second driver in series history to win three consecutive races at this event. Kenny Brack won three straight en route to the series title in 1998.
"This team is really picking up a lot of momentum as the dog days of the championship and of the summer roll in," Lazier said after winning June 30 at Richmond, Va. "We just keep picking up momentum."
It also doesn't hurt that many drivers who have tested at Kansas Speedway compare it to the 1.5-mile oval at Kentucky Speedway. Lazier won the inaugural Indy Racing event last August at Kentucky.
Hornish, from Defiance, Ohio, has finished second in both of the races won by Lazier and added a third-place finish in his last three races. He opened the season - his first with Panther Racing - with two consecutive victories to take the points lead and has never relinquished it. His 50-point margin over Lazier amounts to nearly a one-race lead, as a driver can score a maximum of 52 points at an event.
Still, Hornish knows that someone must stop Lazier and Hemelgarn Racing, who appear to be entering the same summer groove that helped them record five top-seven finishes in the last six races of 2000 to win the championship.
"Somebody other than Buddy's got to win," Hornish said after finishing second to Lazier at Richmond. "He's getting too close there."
Hornish should get plenty of help in stopping Lazier. There are plenty of other drivers and teams capable of the task, starting with a member of Lazier's family.
Jaques Lazier, Buddy's younger brother, won the MBNA Pole at Richmond in his first race with Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Jaques Lazier could be a threat for his first career victory at Kansas in the No. 99 Sam Schmidt Motorsports Racing Special Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone.
The Galles Racing duo of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. and rookie Didier Andre also could contend for the win. The team produced its best effort of the season at Richmond as Unser and Andre finished third and fourth, respectively, in the No. 3 Galles Racing Starz SuperPak G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone and the No. 32 Galles Racing G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone.
While Galles Racing is based in Albuquerque, N.M., the Ameristar Casino Indy 200 will be a sort of homecoming for the team. Team owner Rick Galles, his wife, and two of their children graduated from the University of Kansas in nearby Lawrence.
Scott Sharp and Robbie Buhl also are prime contenders for victory at Kansas. Both have shown consistent form lately.
Sharp has finished first, eighth and fifth in his last three starts, respectively, in the No. 8 Delphi Automotive Systems Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone and is third in the Northern Light Cup standings with 201 points.
Buhl has finished third and ninth in his last two respective starts in the Team Purex Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G Force/Infiniti/Firestone.
Sarah Fisher is another driver to watch at Kansas. She qualified a career-best second at Richmond and finished third last August at Kentucky, a 1.5-mile oval with banking in the turns nearly identical to Kansas Speedway.
KANSAS CITY, Kan., Saturday, July 7, 2001 - On one of the most torrid days in Indy Racing League history, Scott Sharp won the MBNA Pole for the Ameristar Casino Indy 200 on July 7 with a lap of 25.3128 seconds, 216.175 mph.
It was the second pole of the season for Sharp in the No. 8 Delphi Automotive Systems Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone. Sharp also started from the pole this year at the Indianapolis 500.
Eddie Cheever Jr., leader of the first three practices of the event, was second at 25.3234, 216.085 in the #51 Cheever Indy Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone. It was the second closest qualifying margin by time in Indy Racing League history.
"I was surprised we ran as fast as we did," Sharp said. "I felt that Eddie and his package had a mile and hour on us. We weren't sure where the balance would be. We guessed perfect."
Said Cheever: "The Infiniti engine is strong, and we had a good balance. We were a little bit slower than we thought we were going to be. We hit the rev limiter going into Turn 2, which might have cost us a little bit."
Eliseo Salazar was third at 215.197 in the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing/Harrah's Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone, with Robbie Buhl fourth at 214.951 in the No. 24 Team Purex Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G Force/Infiniti/Firestone.
Every driver was forced to cope with an air temperature that reached 100 degrees at the start of qualifying and a track temperature of 143 degrees.
The 200-lap, 300-mile race - the first for the Indy Racing Northern Light Series on the new 1.5-mile oval - starts at 1 p.m. (EDT) July 8 and is televised live on ABC.
"There are very few Boy Scouts in the first 10 cars, so you can expect an exciting race," Cheever said. "I can guarantee you that there will be an argument after the race."
1998 Indianapolis 500 winner Cheever was fastest Friday at 216.973 and tops in practice this morning at 216.627, appearing to be headed for his first career pole and the first Indy Racing League pole for an Infiniti-powered car.
But Sharp's team, led by chief mechanic Robert Perez, made adjustments before qualifying to generate more speed after turning a fast lap of 215.476 during practice this morning. The moves worked.
Sharp, the 10th driver to make a qualifying attempt, served notice immediately that he would be fast. Sharp's first lap on the clock was 215.496 - nearly 3 mph faster than the provisional pole - and he gained even more speed on his second and final lap.
Indy Racing Northern Light Series points leader Sam Hornish Jr. was fifth at 213.226. Defending series champion Buddy Lazier, winner of the last two races, was 12th at 212.008 in the No. 91 Tae-Bo/Coors Light/Delta Faucet Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone.
Full race video
What the hell is this?
In the long off-season we're rewatching the 2001 CART and IRL seasons, in chronological order. This is round 8 of the IRL, and you can discuss the race below. Enjoy!