Pep Boys Indy Racing League Weekly Notebook
17 February 1998
INDIANAPOLIS - Notes and quotes from the Pep Boys Indy Racing League:Moving on up: The list of USAC open-wheel standouts moving to the Pep Boys Indy Racing League keeps growing, as Dave Steele and J.J. Yeley will test this week at Phoenix International Raceway in preparation for their scheduled IRL debut at the Phoenix 200 on March 22 at PIR.
Steele will drive for the new rsm Marko team, owned by European motorsports mogul Dr. Helmut Marko and managed by Rupert Buchsteiner. Yeley will drive for Arizona Motor Sport Racing/SRS as a teammate to Dr. Jack Miller. "I'm ecstatic about the IRL opportunity that Dr. Marko has given me," Steele said. "Everything that I have read or heard about their European successes tells me we will be very competitive in the series."
Steele passed his IRL rookie test in 1996 but will take a refresher test Feb. 19 at PIR in preparation for racing the rest of the 1998 IRL schedule. He drove 25 laps in the team's Dallara/Aurora during a shakedown test Feb. 13 at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Fla., a -mile oval. Yeley will take the full IRL rookie test Feb. 19.
Yeley and Steele will participate in the "Test in the West" Feb. 25-27 at Phoenix if they pass their respective tests this week. Steele is no stranger to speed at PIR, as he set the track record for non-winged sprint cars in April 1997 on the 1-mile oval, 138.366 mph.
Steele and Yeley join Brian Tyler as USAC stars who recently have earned IRL rides. Tyler finished 19th for Chitwood Motorsports in his IRL debut at the Indy 200 last month in Orlando. Other USAC standouts who have enjoyed IRL success are defending series champion Tony Stewart, Davey Hamilton, Billy Boat, Jimmy Kite and Tyce Carlson.
"I have a huge learning curve with the rear-engine cars," Steele said. "But with Dr. Marko and Rupert's guidance, I know I have the natural ability to be successful at this level.
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Steele, 23, from Tampa, Fla., won six USAC sprint races on pavement in 1997. He finished ninth in the sprint point standings despite racing a partial schedule.
Steele captured the USAC Silver Crown pole in January at the Copper World Classic at PIR. He finished eighth and was second to Stewart in the midget feature. Steele will continue to race in selected USAC Silver Crown, sprint and midget races.
Yeley, 21, from Phoenix, will drive for Arizona Motor Sport Racing/SRS at the Phoenix 200 and the Indianapolis 500, and will finish the season for the team if more sponsorship can be found, team owner Jeff Sinden said. He will be the youngest IRL driver, taking that title from Jimmy Kite, 22.
"I feel confident about him and his ability," Sinden said of Yeley.
Yeley was named USAC sprint car Rookie of the Year in 1997 after finishing fifth in the point standings. He won the 1997 USAC Indiana Sprint Weeks, taking victories at Kokomo and Terre Haute. Yeley also won the prestigious Tony Hulman Classic last year at Terre Haute.
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Goodyear's best lap was faster than 207 mph on the 1.5-mile oval, 4 mph faster than his qualifying speed of 203.489 at the Las Vegas 500 last October.
"We are very pleased with the test," Goodyear said. "The Goodyear tires and the G Force chassis performed extremely well. If this test is any indication, we should have a strong package in October.
"We also believe much of what we learned will help us at Indianapolis this year."
Goodyear completed nearly 600 miles of testing his Pennzoil Panther G Force/Aurora at Las Vegas. Other drivers who tested were Buzz Calkins, Eddie Cheever Jr., Scott Sharp and Jeff Ward.
Panther crew chief Kevin Blanch was pleased with the car's performance during long runs, praising the consistency of the Goodyear tires.
"We did several runs of 20-plus laps and were able to run consistently above 205 mph," Blanch said. "It really didn't seem to matter how much fuel we had in the car. We could run over 205 mph with 25 gallons in the car or one gallon in the car."
Said Rick Campbell, Goodyear Tire's IRL chief engineer: "Although increased speed was not necessarily the main focus of the test, overall lap speeds did improve over our last test here in January. We are very pleased with what we have seen."
Tough commute for Harbaugh: It will be tougher for NFL quarterback Jim Harbaugh to check on the progress this season of his other business interest, Panther Racing.
Harbaugh, part owner of the new IRL team, was traded from the Indianapolis Colts to the Baltimore Ravens last week. But his status with the team will not change despite his longer commute to and from the shop.
"Indianapolis - specifically the fans - has been fantastic to me," Harbaugh said. "The community has embraced me with open arms, and I truly feel like I belong there. I am really glad to be involved with Panther Racing so I can stay involved with the city and the fans.
"Racing is a tremendous sport, and I am really enjoying the opportunity to learn the business side of the IRL. I just won't be able to go by the shop three or four times a week anymore."
Harbaugh will be reunited in Baltimore with coach Ted Marchibroda, who guided Harbaugh and the Colts to the AFC Championship Game in January 1996.
Second car at Phoenix scratched for PDM: PDM Racing's plans to field a second car in the Phoenix 200 next month ended Feb. 13 - Friday the 13th, that is -- when two prospective drivers failed to bring promised sponsorship packages to the team, team manager Chuck Buckman said.
John Paul Jr. will continue to drive the team's primary G Force/Aurora at the Phoenix 200. PDM's driving prospect was supposed to start his IRL rookie test Feb. 19 at Phoenix International Raceway in the team's old Lola/Buick and finish it in the team's G Force/Aurora used in IRL competition.
"We really wanted to do it, but we need the sponsorship," Buckman said. "We got the Buick all prepared, but we have nobody to dance with."
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The event, "On the Right Track: The Race to Prevent Brain Injury," will coincide with the USAC Coca-Cola 100 Silver Crown race the same evening at IRP. The inaugural dinner last year, hosted by Indianapolis 500 Parnelli Jones, raised more than $30,000 for the BIAI.
Guerrero suffered a severe head injury during a test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He recovered and finished second in his comeback race in 1988 at Phoenix.
"I think brain injuries are the toughest kind of injury to deal with," Guerrero said. "Nobody knows what the outcome will be, it's not like a broken bone where you pretty well know how long the healing process will take. You could be as lucky as I was or have serious long-term problems."
Tickets for the benefit are $100, which includes admission to the USAC Silver Crown race. Call the BIAI at (317) 356-7722 or IRP at (317) 291-4090 before May 8 for more information.
IROC on TV: Round one of the International Race of Champions series, which took place Feb. 13 at Daytona International Speedway, will be televised by ABC Sports at 5 p.m. (EST) March 8.
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The four-race IROC series will end July 31 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the inaugural IROC event at the track.
Next event: Phoenix 200, March 22, Phoenix International Raceway. Tickets are available at (602) 252-2227.
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