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 Tuesday, July 17, 2001
A super weekend for race fans
By Jack Arute
Special to ABC Sports Online
Racing fans get a full plate of motorsports this weekend with all three of the major sanctioning bodies hosting events.
It kicks off Saturday night with the Indy Racing League's Harrah's 200 at the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET). This is the first full year of operation for the Music City speedplant, and the Indy Racing Northern Light Series appearance has all but sold out.
|  | | Second-year star Sam Hornish Jr. carries a 60-point lead in the IRL standings. |
Buddy Lazier needs to rebound from his Kansas City problems before current points leader Sam Hornish Jr. gets too far in front. Lazier capped his back-to-back Colorado and Richmond wins with a disappointing fifth. The disappointment was due to Lazier's Coors Light/Tae Bo car being forced to run most of the Kansas race in fourth gear.
"My car was bouncing off the rev limiter," said the current IRL champ. "So I was using the brake 10 to 15 times a lap so it wouldn't hurt the engine.
"We had a car that capable of a three-peat, so I can't complain. We just need to keep our momentum up."
For Hornish, two wins, two thirds and three straight second-place finishes have kept him and his canary yellow Pennzoil car out front. Nashville should see more of the same.
"It's going to be tough to pass, but it will be a fast race," said Hornish. "It is very line-sensitive. You are going to have to hold your line to keep your momentum up. I think it will be really exciting. It's unlike any other track I've ever raced on. I think it will be helpful if you can qualify up front, because I think it's going to be a fast race."
On the CART side, the Champ Cars bid farewell to one of the ovals that has consistently provided series fans with exciting races. Sunday's Michigan 500 (ABC, 1:30 p.m. ET) puts all of CART's high horsepower under a restrictor-like handicap as a result of the "handford device" -- a special wing that disrupts the airflow over the cars and slows them.
Michael Andretti's Toronto win puts him in good shape to challenge current FedEx leader Kenny Brack. Andretti was part of last year's thrilling side-by-side duel with Juan Montoya that saw Montoya win by .004 seconds -- the third-closest margin of victory in CART history.
Currently, 11 points separate Brack and Andretti, but the driver of the Shell Ford has been remarkable on ovals this year. Two wins (Japan and Milwaukee), two poles (Texas and Milwaukee) and 330 laps led leaves the 35-year old Swede brimming with confidence.
"The thing about a 500-mile race is patience," explained the 1999 Indy 500 champ. "Both A.J. (Foyt for whom Kenny won the Indy 500) and Bobby (Rahal, his current CART owner) have won 500-milers over their careers and they both have talked to me about being patient in these long races."
It's a shame that the CART cars will no longer stop at Michigan, but that will not diminish this weekend's outing. Lead changes are commonplace. The draft is of the utmost importance and the winner will likely be the one who is running second with less than five laps remaining.
On the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit, Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett are tied for the Winston Cup lead heading into this weekend's race at the New Hampshire International Speedway.
Gordon's disappointing 17th place finish in Chicagoland Speedway's Tropicana 400, coupled with Jarrett's spirited late race run that earned him fourth, have knotted these two former Cup titleists with identical tallies of 2515 points. Jarrett's Yates racing teammate Ricky Rudd lurks just 18 points behind.
But the stop at the Bhare family's Granite State facility will be overshadowed by a tragic anniversary. One year ago in practice, Kenny Irwin lost his life in a hard crash. Irwin's death was the second at N.H.I.S. On May 12, Adam Petty suffered a similar fate while preparing for a Busch Grand National event at New Hampshire.
With the additional deaths of Tony Roper in a Craftsman Truck Series event at Texas Motor Speedway last September, followed by Dale Earnhardt's fatal crash at this year's Daytona 500, N.H.I.S. will surely see much of its tragic history revisited by attending media.
I hope that it passes quickly. If the New England 300 can provide drama on the track restricted to competition rather than crashes, then, just maybe, NASCAR fans can move on.
Jack Arute mans the pits for ABC Sports' auto racing coverage. He writes a weekly column for ABC Sports Online.
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 Michael Andretti completes his comeback and wins for the seventh time in Toronto.
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Michael Andretti drops to the back of the pack after getting tangled up on the opening lap.
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ESPN's Robin Miller catches up with Michael Andretti following his victory in Toronto.
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 Michael Andretti talks about defending his crown and jumping to 2nd in the standings.
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Alex Tagliani discusses his emotions after chasing Michael Andretti down the stretch.
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