Hitching the cart to the IRL's Wagon - Pace Lap - car racing - Brief Article

Auto Racing Digest, March, 2002 by Scott Plagenhoef

THE APPEAL OF SPORT COULD be considered its unscripted human drama, the possibility that-the unexpected can happen. That rarely is the case off of the playing fields, but the CART-IRL spilt is proving to be an exception.

This wasn't an peaceable spilt, it was bitter. And with NASCAR's popularity rising CART vs. the IRL may not be so much, a matter of market share as survival. One side had the Indy 500, the other side had the drivers. Inevitably, it seemed that the IRL--open wheel racing's rogue state--would be felled by head Tony George's ego and ambition, and swallowed by CART Incredibly--after a season of sublime racing but financial turmoil from CART--Marlboro Team Penske's defection to the IRL indicates that the opposite may now become true.

Penske's departure, although not a death knell, may prove to be more than a mere alarm call.

Founded in 1969, Penske Racing is the winningest team in CART history, with 91 victories, 10 Indy 500 wins, 108 pole positions, and eight championships. Roger Penske himself is the head of the $10 billion Penske Corporation and one of the founders of CART. His departure isn't simply a victory for the IRL's business ledger, but a symbolic indication. of the shambles in which CART finds itself Penske [right] and Castroneves are now at home as Indy 500 champs.

CART is not so much unraveling, but imploding. Under Joseph Heitzler--the third CART president in the past 18 months--the series has suffered the cancellation of events, a new and weaker TV contract, the potential loss of three engine suppliers, and now Penske's departure:

CART's insistence on a switch to a non-turbocharged engine by 2003 has Honda and Ford threatening to leave its garage. Each company insists it cannot manufacture that engine within CART's timeframe. If they do depart, they'll join Toyota, which is manufacturing a non-turbocharged engine in 2003...for the IRL, joining fellow corporate defectees ABC/ESPN.

What CART always had were the drivers. All of the top stars and big names in open wheel racing were firmly planted in CART's corner. But in the past year, CART lost Juan Montoya to F1 and Alex Zanardi to a life-threatening accident. Penske's move is the first time it loses a top team and driver to its rival series: (Morris Nunn will trim back his two-car CART team in 2002, running one driver in-each open wheel series, as well.)

What's worse, Penske is arguably the biggest name in open wheel racing. He also brings with him the two-time defending CART champion Gil de Ferran and the 2001 Indy 500 champion, the popular Hello Castroneves, as well as the deep pockets and name recognition of chief sponsor Marlboro.

The possibility does exist that such a move will disrupt the harmony in the IRL garage--the us vs. them, underdog spirit may no longer exist. It is also possible that the Penske resources will hurt the series if the much poorer teams in the IRL cannot compete. None of these issues will matter, however, if CART's other top teams and drivers follow Penske's lead.

For CART, the caution flag is up--if there are any more setbacks, the series could face the checkered flag, as well.