| | Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga. -- Eddie Cheever suffered a major blow to his
championship hopes at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The 42-year-old driver, seeking the first major title of his career, finished 21st in the Indy Racing League's Midas 500 Classic after blowing an engine on lap 97 Saturday night.
"We were running very well and looking to have another good finish," team manager Dick Caron said. "The car was getting better as we ran. The guys did a good job in the pit. The car was coming down the front straightaway and the engine just lost power."
Cheever's Infiniti-powered car slowed along the wall between turns one and two, smoke billowing from the back end. He made it back to the pits but there was nothing the crew could do to get him back in the race.
Cheever, who came to Atlanta with an eight-point lead over Buddy Lazier after winning in Fountain, Colo., now trails Lazier by 23 points with two races remaining. It was only the second time Cheever has finished out of the top 10 and the first time he wasn't running at the end of a race.
"The same engine that broke tonight is the same engine that put us in front," he said. "You have to take the good with the bad. That kind of stuff happens. Will we give up? No, we're not. But this really hurts our championship push a lot."
Fisher's fall
Sarah Fisher began the night as the highest-starting woman in the history of Indy-car racing. She finished in the grass, the victim of a blown engine.
The 19-year-old rookie spun out on lap 194 after her Oldsmobile engine let go. She made contact with the outside wall in turn four, slid into the quad-oval grass and had to settle for a 14th-place finish.
"We ran a good race as far as pace and sticking with the plan," said Fisher, the fifth-fastest qualifier. "The motor blew up without warning in the middle of turns three and four, which made the car twitch, and it came around on me. There was absolutely no way to save that one."
Fisher had another problem on her first pit stop, when her left rear tire came off as she pulled away. She blamed a breakdown in communication between two of her crew members.
"There was confusion with the left-rear (tire) guy and the vent guy," Fisher said. "The left-rear guy accidentally hit him, which signals the vent guy he's done. But he wasn't done yet. The rest of our stops were great."
Events wanted
The Indy Racing League's future at Atlanta Motor Speedway is in doubt. Still, there's no question the track is desperate to add more events.
Ed Clark, the speedway's president and general manager, said he would like to have eight major events on the schedule. This year, there are four -- two NASCAR Winston Cup races, Saturday night's IRL Midas 500 Classic, and a car show in September.
"Our staff now has the seasoning and experience to do more four more weekends a year," Clark said. "That's the ideal goal. The problem is finding eight events to host year after year. I don't think there's many other things in motorsports."
Clark hasn't had any discussions with Championship Auto Racing Teams, a rival Indy-car series. He would like be willing to upgrade the infield road course to land an American Le Mans race, but the endurance series is run by Don Panoz, who owns Road Atlanta and already holds a Le Mans event at his own track.
"Those are great events," Clark said. "We want to have them here. But unless (Panoz is) willing to have two in Atlanta, I don't suspect we'll do that."
Atlanta officials have already been told by NASCAR that there's little chance of landing a truck race because that series is focused on non-Winston Cup markets.
Clark hasn't decided whether to pursue another deal with the
IRL. He wanted to see how many people turned out for the third
annual race, which attracted a promising 42,000 its first year but
dropped off to 30,000 in 1999.
The crowd Saturday was estimated at 35,000.
"Maybe we could have a couple of more concerts," Clark said.
"We're actively looking for events."
Mingling fans
The fans at Atlanta Motor Speedway got close to
the drivers.
Not during the race, of course, but the speedway allowed all
fans into the garage area after the Midas 500 Classic, giving them
an up-close look at the high-tech cars and a chance to chat with
the drivers.
It was part of the speedway's "Fans First" program, which
tries to bring spectators closer to the action. With a much-smaller
crowd at Saturday's race than the normal turnout for a NASCAR
Winston Cup race, it was possible to allow everyone to take part.
"Imagine the excitement of talking to the same drivers who had
just competed at over 210 mph," speedway president Ed Clark said.
"We thought that would be a thrill for the fans."
Pit stops
Greg Ray, who won $143,400 for his dominating
victory, led 182 laps for the second-highest total in IRL history.
Tony Stewart led 193 of 200 laps while winning at Pikes Peak
International Raceway in 1997.
Buddy Lazier finished second for
the sixth time in his career, more than any other driver.
Ray has won three races from the pole in his career, an IRL record.
Stevie Reeves, the two-time USAC midget champion and former NASCAR
Busch series driver, made his second IRL start. He was driving for
St. Louis chiropractor Jim Logan, who made history at Texas Motor
Speedway in June by becoming the first black driver with sole ownership of
a team to put a car in an IRL event.
Robbie McGehee has led in six of the seven races this year. His best finish is second, however. | |
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