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 Saturday, January 29
Will Unser finally boost IRL into spotlight?
 
By Marlo Klain
Special to ESPN.com

 Attention race fans, the Indy Racing League is dropping the green flag this week. And guess what? It still needs you!

The fifth season of IRL racing begins Saturday with the Delphi Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla. If nothing else, the series is getting an early jump on the rest of the country's major auto racing series. Good thing, maybe it'll grab the fancy of a few more fans.

Drawing more fans is the No. 1 priority for the IRL, but what's new? As much as I hate to bite the hand that feeds me, open-wheel racing -- I'm talking both IRL and CART now -- is still struggling to find people to fill their stands and watch their races on television. I'll still call the IRL a new series, but 2000 has to be considered crucial.

Greg Ray
Defending champion Greg Ray and Team Menard enter the 2000 IRL season with plenty of momentum and speed.

The bottom line is people don't know what they are getting for their dollars when they go to the track. But like any new series with a lot of new names, something has to happen in order to capture the racing audience's attention.

Enter Al Unser Jr. Yes, that Al Unser, Jr.

As far as the poster boy of the IRL, it's not going to be the defending champion, Greg Ray. It's already Little Al who the IRL is hanging its hat on this season. A two-time Indianapolis 500 champion, Unser left his struggles in CART to "return home" with Galles Racing.

Even with Unser, the IRL is in need of an identity. Sure, people know the Indianapolis 500, but past that one race in May, few know who is racing in what series. Unlike NASCAR, which has just one premier series in the Winston Cup, open-wheel racing has been splintered since the CART/IRL split in 1996. Both series have been hurt in the process.

Back to the IRL. And let me be the first to say the IRL has some of the best pure racing around.

The races are incredible to watch, even if fans don't always know who they are watching. And the competition is fierce. Team Menard has been the dominate team, but that said, the racing isn't one-sided. There isn't one team that dominates each race. There are tons of top guys who can win each week in this series -- well, not exactly every week with the wacky IRL schedule. Saturday's season opener (noon ET, ABC) is followed by a seven-week break until race No. 2 in Phoenix on March 19.

But with Unser on board, the IRL has its best chance to finally find its niche in the auto racing world. Little Al brings instant publicity to the series, and any publicity is welcomed by the IRL. Remember, the IRL is a series that may be best known for introducing race fans to a future Winston Cup rookie of the year, rather than producing household names in its own series.

So with the green flag about to drop on an 10-race 2000 IRL season, let's take a look at what the series has in store for those fans who either show up on the track or flip their dials to ABC every month or so.

The Savior?
Can Al Unser be a savior of the IRL? I'll say, "Yes," but then qualify my answer.

Obviously, this is a driver who has won Indy twice. The IRL needs Little Al so people will identify that Al Unser Jr., is in the Indy Racing League and he will run at the Indianapolis 500. But he's also a guy who will be at 10 other IRL events this season, allowing fans to identify with exactly what the IRL has to offer.

Unser gives the IRL a household name people know.

Now as far as the perception of Unser's move to the IRL being out of necessity, I certainly feel Unser has struggled the past few years in CART. But Unser really, really wanted to run in the Indy 500. He could only do that in the IRL. With his latest career move, he becomes a top name again in an open-wheel series. That wasn't the case the past few seasons in CART.

Hopefully Galles can get Unser back in the winner's circle, which is something Little Al needs in order to jumpstart his career. I really think this is the best move for Little Al. It is his best opportunity to be successful again.

Not only is he reunited with Galles -- the guy who gave him his start in open-wheel racing and got him to the pennacle of winning the Indy 500 -- but I think Little Al needed the comfort he feels right now with Galles. He knows he's with someone who put him in Victory Lane, someone he's familiar with and someone who can do the most with Little Al's abilities right now.

That said, I don't expect to see Little Al in Victory Lane right away. He just hasn't had enough time in his new IRL ride. He got used to the car in a private test session and then went down to Orlando for the IRL's open test session at the start of January. He wasn't too impressive -- just ninth-quickest overall. But, a lot of that testing was just getting used to the car. He's still getting used to IRL package, and isn't really comfortable.

Based on Unser's open-wheel experience, however, don't be surprised to see him up to speed by Phoenix. Give him one good race under his belt, and another month of testing, and he'll be up to speed. I don't think anyone expects him to get in the car and win right away in Orlando, but by Phoenix, or at least Las Vegas, he should have a good grasp of how these IRL cars handle in traffic.

Now, as for the race that brought him to the IRL? I think he certainly has a shot at Indy. You can never rule out an Unser at Indy. He's going to be so excited to get back to Indy and I know he's going to put his heart and soul into that one race. Give him a chance to get used to the IRL cars and if it clicks, and if he's at least been consistent over the first part of the season, at the end of the season I'd look for him to be among those challenging for the title.

The Champion
Team Menard and Ray have to be the favorites to win the championship again this year. This was the team that really clicked at the end of last season and they obviously went down to that January open test in Orlando and showed they haven't forgotten how to go extremely fast.

This team didn't change a thing over the offseason. It's Thomas Knapp and Greg Ray, together again with John Menard's money behind them. If they can do what they did in their first year with Menard, what's going to stop them from doing it again this year?

Marlo's Men to Watch
Here is a look at five drivers ESPN's Marlo Klain expects to challenge for the Indy Racing League title in 2000:
GREG RAY
  • Key to Title: Keep up the consistency team found at end of '99.
    SCOTT GOODYEAR
  • Key to Title: Find the strength to finish off 2000 the way he started 1999.
    SCOTT SHARP
  • Key to Title: In third year with Kelly Racing, he must use his resources to put car in Victory Lane more often.
    JEFF WARD
  • Key to Title: Biggest strength is A.J. If he uses knowledge and equipment Foyt gives him, he'll be a contender at the end.
    AL UNSER JR.
  • Key to Title: Veteran must rely on his open-wheel knowledge to adapt quickly to IRL ride.
  • If you want to know one thing about Ray, it's not to compare him with the driver he replaced -- some guy by the name of Tony Stewart. Ray is his own person and driver and he gets real testy when the comparison between the two Menard drivers comes up.

    I think it was really important for Ray to come into Menard and win the championship last season. It not only put any doubts about his ability to rest, but also silenced any critics he may have had.

    Look back to two years ago, when Ray got into the IRL. He and Knapp really didn't have a lot of money, but despite a race-to-race situation, Ray showed that he could be a championship-caliber driver with the right financial backing. All it took was Menard's money behind the pair to produce a championship.

    So, this is a team that has plenty of momentum and will be strong from get-go. Ray's obvious focus this season is to repeat as champion, but maybe as important to Ray and that race team is what happens on May 28. Ray really wants to give John Menard his first Indianapolis 500.

    It's really interesting to hear Ray talk about winning the Indy 500 for Menard, because when Kenny Brack won the championship in 1998, he said the same thing. Brack had won his IRL championship and was intent on winning the Indy 500 for his car owner Foyt.

    Brack pulled it off last season. Can Ray repeat history?

    The Race
    It was just a month ago when it appeared as though the Indianapolis 500 would once again be a marriage of open-wheel racing. Not any more. Don't expect to see any more than three CART teams at Indy come May. And that has everything to do with the CART engine manufacturers telling their teams they didn't want them racing with IRL power plants.

    Those manufacturers spoke and and their teams listened. Only Ganassi is expected to make his announcement shortly that his drivers Juan Montoya and Jimmy Vasser will be at the Brickyard. But outside of the defending CART champion and his teammate, the Indy 500 will once again be an IRL party. Even defending champion Brack will have to watch the race after his new owner Bobby Rahal deemed the race too costly for his CART team.

    The lack of CART drivers at Indy doesn't really help or hurt the IRL. Sure, there was going to be a lot more attention paid to the Indy 500 had the CART teams come to Indy. But the IRL is approaching things as business as usual.

    The only loss is the attention that would have come from a CART vs. IRL battle at the Brickyard. What a great story it would have been if Rahal had taken his CART guys to Indy. It would have not only been the CART vs. IRL guys, but you would have also had the defending Indy 500 champion going back with a CART team!

    I must say I was dreaming about such a matchup. But, oh well ... maybe next year.

    The One to Watch
    Billy Boat and Brack have left Foyt's stable. Introducing Jeff Ward.

    Ward is a guy who bounced around a couple of teams, but has never was on what you'd call a top-tier IRL team. Well, now he's landed with Foyt and I think Ward is definitely a guy who will break into the winner's circle this season.

    I also have a feeling Ward is going to be contending for the IRL title this season.

    Ward is one of these drivers in the IRL who seems to be around the lead every race, but has yet to win a race. Everyone has had their eye on this guy. Aggressive and impressive, Ward is the one up-and-coming driver who was due to get a break. You had to be impressed at what he'd accomplished with limited backing.

    He caught Foyt's eye as well, and with the experience of learning from Foyt and using his owner's top-notch equipment, Ward is the one driver I'm telling you to really watch in 2000. He not only will have a breakthrough season, but will contend for the title.

    A new (old) sound
    The new 3.5 liter engines have received rave reviews from drivers after testing. But what I think everyone likes most about the new power plants is the traditional sound they produce on the track. It may sound silly, but the sound does make a difference when it comes to Indy car racing.

    Everyone is really excited about the new engines -- especially the sound. It really brings back the traditional sounds of Indy. They wanted to make the cars sound more appealing. Again, believe me when I say the sound of IRL cars is a big deal. Those 4.0 liter engines were really loud and sounded beastly. These new engines are music to everyone's ears at the track.

    As for the performance tests on the 3.5 liter engines, there haven't been any major problems. In fact, the speeds at the open tests in January were just a few miles off Scott Sharp's pole-winning speed at Disney last year. I wouldn't be surprised if the pole winner didn't all but catch up to Sharp's speeds by Friday's qualifying.

    Also new this season is the chassis. The chassis have a distinctive new look to them -- some even have compared them to a Formula One body style. They look good, but the real test will come on race day when we see what they do in traffic.

    Speaking of chassis, Riley & Scott was bought by Reynard. Two drivers -- Eddie Cheever and Buddy Lazier -- will be driving Reynard chassis this year. I have to feel that once those Reynard drivers get some time under their belts, they'll find themselves contending based on what Reynard has accomplished in CART.

    The Little Woman
    A look at the 2000 IRL season wouldn't be complete without at least mentioning 19-year-old Sarah Fisher. She won't be at Disney this week, but expect her in Phoenix with Walker Racing.

    Fisher debuted in IRL last season at Texas and had a good showing. She kept things clean on the track, ran a safe race and only engine trouble kept her from finishing the race. Walker, which also has a CART team, couldn't put an IRL deal together in time for Disney, but Fisher will be around for the rest of the season -- including Indy.

    And I think she'll be around for a while.

    Fisher said in Texas that she is not a fluke and really doesn't want to be compared with other women who've run either in the IRL or Indy. She's here to race and the one thing that impressed me the most about Fisher was the way she handled things with the media circus around her. She was very matter-of-fact, to the point, aggressive as far as telling people what she expected.
     


    ALSO SEE
    Arute: Another IRL season begins at Disney

    Little Al's Diary: Ready for IRL debut

    Little Al going back to Indy as IRL's new headliner

    Delphi Indy 200 Breakdown