IRL: Pep Boys Indy Racing League Weekly Notebook
8 July 1998
INDIANAPOLIS - Notes and quotes from the Pep Boys Indy Racing League:Dallenbach to test for Panther: NASCAR Winston Cup regular Wally Dallenbach Jr. is scheduled to test a Pep Boys Indy Racing League car for Pennzoil Panther Racing during a Goodyear tire test Aug. 4-5 at Texas Motor Speedway.
If his schedule permits, Dallenbach will drive a second Pennzoil Panther Racing car as a teammate to Scott Goodyear during the Lone Star 500 on Sept. 20 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Dallenbach, 35, won the SCCA Trans Am championship in 1985-86. He competed in four CART races before moving to stock cars. His father, Wally Dallenbach Sr., made 13 consecutive starts in the Indianapolis 500 between 1967 and 1979.
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Goodyear fast at Colorado test: Pennzoil Panther driver Scott Goodyear should be in good shape for the Radisson 200 on Aug. 16 at Pikes Peak International Raceway if recent testing is any indication.
Goodyear's best lap was slightly faster than 176 mph in the Pennzoil Panther G Force/Aurora/Goodyear. The track record is 176.117 mph by Scott Sharp during IRL qualifying last year. Goodyear logged nearly 250 miles of testing on the 1-mile tri-oval at Fountain, Colo., in preparation for the Radisson 200 on Aug. 16.
"We learned a lot about the car and about the Goodyear tire for August," Goodyear said. "I think we've still got some speed left in the car, and Goodyear has certainly built a great tire for this track."
Goodyear's performance was even more impressive considering the air temperature hovered in the 90's, and the track temperature approached 140 degrees.
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Guthrie on parade: Jim Guthrie is wasting no time getting back into the swing of things as he recovers from injuries suffered in a crash during the Indianapolis 500 on May 24.
Guthrie was in the WSB Fourth of July parade on July 4 in Atlanta, the largest Independence Day parade in the country. Guthrie signed autographs after the parade.
The appearance in the parade was a prelude to Guthrie's return to the driver's seat during the Open Test on July 6-7 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Guthrie is driving for Cobb Racing for the first time at the Open Test after entering the first three races of the season with ISM Racing.
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Variety show: Close competition is becoming a hallmark in the Pep Boys Indy Racing League, and the number of different faces on the podium is proof.
Twenty-three different drivers have earned finishes in the top three of the 18 Pep Boys IRL races since the league debuted in January 1996.
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Another Unser starts racing career: Jeri Unser, sister of Pep Boys IRL rookie standout Robby Unser, finished sixth in the Mini Sprint class during her racing debut at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on July 4 near Colorado Springs, Colo.
It was the 113th time an Unser has raced up the 14,110-foot mountain, but 29-year-old Jeri is the first female member of racing's first family to achieve the feat. Her father, three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Bobby Unser, has 13 victories at Pikes Peak.
Bobby Unser finished second to Roger Mears in the Challenge of Champions class this year. 1963 Indianapolis 500 champion Parnelli Jones was third.
Robby Unser has eight victories at Pikes Peak. He didn't race this year. ***
Next event: Pep Boys 400K, July 19, Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover, Del. Tickets are available by calling Dover Downs at (800) 441-7223 or (302) 734-7223.
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