IRL: Indy 500: Wattles/Metro Racing News and Notes
8 May 1998
Indy Racing League (IRL) team owner/driver Stan Wattles hopes to be the first American to qualify an "all-American" IRL car for the May 24 Indianapolis 500, with the Riley & Scott MK V chassis, Indy Aurora V8 engines and Goodyear Eagle tires. A.J. Foyt was the last American driver to win the Indy 500 in an "all-American" car, in 1977. Kevin Cogan was the last American to start the Indy 500 in an "all-American" car, in 1984.Metro Racing Systems was the first team to order the Riley & Scott MK V chassis. The rookie team finished eighth in its first race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October. Development testing is still continuing, but Wattles is optimistic the car will be ready for the Indy 500.
"We're going to put our best effort forward using the all-American combination to make the field, but we'll use whatever is best to get us there. I've gone home from one race already, I'm not going to go home from another one, especially the Indy 500," Wattles said, referring to being "bumped" from the Phoenix race grid in March.
rookie view
Wattles gave up his IRL rookie stripes in 1997, but he'll be a rookie for this year's Indy 500. He passed the final phase of his rookie test on April 18, and is ready for action.
"Going into Indy as a rookie is an especially intense time, not only dealing with a new track and the size of the field, but also with the whole atmosphere," he said. "For me it's even more difficult -- being a team owner plus having a new, unproven chassis just amplifies the difficulty ten-fold. I'm going to take my time, just do it a step at a time. The key is to get there safely."
making a difference
Wattles is Racing to Make a Difference in co-operation with the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD). He plans to host the students from Worthmore Academy at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this month, giving them an inside view of Indy car racing. He hopes they'll be encouraged by his experience in overcoming the challenges of dyslexia, dysgraphia and perception difficulties.
fit first
Wattles presented a martial-arts demonstration for TEL-X Sports, which produces IRL telecasts, during the Indy 500 rookie orientation program. He holds a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is one test away from a black belt in Tang Soo Do. His workouts include intense martial arts practice, calisthenics and running. He uses meditation for training and racing.
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STAN WATTLES
born July 24, 1961, Glen Cove, Long Island, N. Y.
residence Sewall's (SOO ulz) Point, Fla.
family wife Jill, daughter Caroline
business owner/driver, Metro Racing Systems, Inc., Stuart, Fla.
education mechanical drafting degree, Lord Fairfax College,
Winchester, Va.racing highlights
has finished 87 of 104 races started; 16 victories, 28 podium finishes and 69 top-10 finishes
first on-track experience age five, rode with dad during time trials at Lime Rock Park, Conn. -- attended Skip Barber Racing School in Sebring, Fla. in 1986 -- raced Formula Ford 1986 and 1987, was awarded national license after just one regional race, also competed at the World Cup Formula Ford Festival in Brand's Hatch, England -- 1987 finished second in IMSA 24 Hour at Watkins Glen -- raced pro and national Atlantic series 1987 to 1989 -- spent 1990 to 1992 testing -- 1993 raced Formula 2000 -- 1994 collected eight poles, six national Atlantic victories and northeast divisional championship, set six track records and won SCCA National Runoff Atlantic championship -- 1995 raced in pro Atlantic championship, received Jovy Marcelo award for sportsmanship, also competed in two IMSA World Sports Car Championship races -- 1996 competed in Indy Racing League (IRL) and pro Player's/Toyota Atlantic Championship, selected by drivers as Atlantic competition committee driver representative
Indy Racing League highlights
led two laps and had solid command of third place before an admitted rookie mistake took him out of his first Indy car race, the inaugural Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. on Jan. 27, 1996, driving for Leigh Miller Racing
competed in two additional IRL races in 1996 as a driver for McCormack Motorsports
announced formation of the Metro Racing Systems IRL team on Jan. 23, 1997
announced the IRL's first "all-American" car with the Riley & Scott MK V chassis, Indy Aurora V8 engine and Goodyear Eagle tires on Feb. 19, 1997; first to conduct a full two-day test of the new chassis, Sept. 8 and 9, 1997 at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo.
started 25th and finished eighth in his first race as an Indy car team owner/driver, the Las Vegas 500K at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 11, 1997; it was the first race for the new Metro Racing Systems IRL team and the Riley & Scott MK V chassis
undertook an intense development testing program with Metro Racing Systems to prepare for the 1998 IRL season; plans to compete in all 1998 IRL races including the Indy 500, supported by extensive testing ###
RACING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Stan Wattles initiated the Racing to Make a Difference program in co- operation with the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) to increase awareness and understanding of learning disabilities. He has overcome the challenges of dyslexia, dysgraphia and perception difficulties and hopes his success will encourage others. He is a celebrity spokesman for the NCLD, hosts students at each track and displays their school logos on his team transporter.
"I want to win races, but helping kids through my racing program is equally important," he says. "It's great to see all of these children getting a chance, a lot of them younger than I was when my disability was discovered. I'm proud that I can be a part of it and also be an example for them that life does get better, you can win your dreams and you can do what you want."
National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)
The National Center for Learning Disabilities is a leading not-for-profit organization committed to improving the lives of those affected by learning disabilities. It provides a national information and referral service; educational, public outreach and communications programs and involvement in legislative advocacy and public policy development.
The NCLD's toll-free national information and referral number is 888- 575-7373.
learning disabilities
Millions of Americans are affected by learning disabilities. Neurological in origin, learning disabilities interfere with a person's ability to store, process and/or produce information. Learning disabilities can affect reading, writing, speaking and mathematical abilities and can impede social skills. Individuals with learning disabilities are generally of average or above-average intelligence, but the disability results in a gap between ability and performance.
An estimated 15 to 20 percent of children in any school program will encounter problems learning at some point during their early schooling. Without early and adequate identification and intervention, learning disabilities can contribute to loss of self-esteem, truancy, school failure and drop-out, substance abuse, juvenile delinquency and illiteracy.
Learning disabilities are not the same as mental retardation, autism, deafness, blindness or behavioral disorders; laziness or lack of motivation; temporary or the same in all people.
Dyslexia is difficulty with language processing and its impact on reading, writing and spelling. Dysgraphia includes difficulty with motor patterns used in writing, spelling and composition. Individuals with auditory discrimination problems have difficulty perceiving the differences between sounds and the sequences of sounds. Visual perception problems affect the ability to understand and put meaning to what is seen.
Attention deficit disorder (ADD) may co-occur with learning disabilities.
