---

IRL: Boat Leads The Way In First Open Test Of Updated IRL Cars

10 December 1997

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA., December 9, 1997 - Billy Boat turned a lap at
21.664 seconds, 166.174 miles an hour Tuesday to lead all drivers in
an Indy Racing League open test at Walt Disney World Speedway, the
first open test for teams with updated chassis.




Billy Boat At Indy (May, 1997)



The lap, in an A.J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara/Oldsmobile Aurora, was
better than Tony Stewart's pole speed of 166.013 miles an hour last
January for the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World. Ten drivers were on the
track Tuesday. More are scheduled to participate Wednesday with a
closed tire test set for Thursday.

The third Indy 200 at Walt Disney World is scheduled for Saturday,
Jan. 24 at the one-mile Walt Disney World oval, kicking off the
League's third season.

BILLY BOAT: "This car seems to be balanced better. We used to (with
the other car in '97 configuration) fight a pushing condition in Turns
1 and 2. That's greatly improved. We've made it better in the slow
corners and maintained the stability in the high-speed corners. With
the changes Dallara's made, it should be more improved under a race
condition. A.J.'s got some other ideas he wants to try. I think we're
going to need to be quicker."

 Scott Goodyear

Scott Goodyear was the first to test the new G Force package
Racing team. He clocked a lap Dec. 5 on the team's data system at
21.21 seconds, 169.651 miles an hour. Goodyear was not at the track
and underwent sinus surgery today. The Panther team's next test is
Dec. 18 in Phoenix.

Stan Wattles, the IRL's second owner/driver, is doing most of the
development testing of the new Riley & Scott chassis. Wattles and the
Metro Racing Systems team raced the car at Las Vegas and have tested
at Las Vegas, Texas, Pikes Peak, New Hampshire, Indianapolis and Walt
Disney World Speedway.

STAN WATTLES: "The easy part is the mechanical stuff. Engine
installation, basic chassis setup It's pretty easy. It's been good
about telling me about the changes we've made. There doesn't seem like
there's anything masked about the car. We went to Texas and ran some
pretty consistent 207's, which I was very happy about. It's coming to
us in bits and pieces. There's a lot of good aerodynamic stuff with
the Riley & Scott that might be worth a couple miles an hour. I think
it'll be just as competitive (as the Dallara's and G Forces), at
least."

Dr. Jack Miller and AMS/Crest Racing tested a new version of Infiniti
Indy engine for the first time. JEFF SINDEN (co-owner, AMS/Crest
Racing): "They're getting better all the time. We've made big gains in
the way it pulls the RPMs. The torque band has increased."

FRANK HONSOWETZ (Nissan manager of motorsports): "We're getting miles
on our hardware. All the dyno testing at home says we're gaining. This
is the first generation of Phase 2 stuff. Since Vegas, it's 20 pounds
lighter and has 20 more horsepower. If we haven't caught up yet, we're
close to catching up."


Terry Callahan -- The Auto Channel


Editor's Note: The images displayed in this article (plus many more)
are available for larger viewing in the Visions Of 
Speed Art Gallery.