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 Friday, December 13, 2002
Kansas provides new challenges
By Jack Arute
Special to ABC Sports Online
The Indy Racing League returns to a 1.5-mile oval this Sunday for the running of the Kansas City Indy 200 at the Kansas Motor Speedway (ABC, 1 p.m. ET). The last mile-and-a-half outing, at Texas Motor Speedway, produced the closest race in series history. Should we expect another nail-biter this Sunday?
"The track is very smooth, and it's wide enough for side-by-side racing," explained current IRL point leader Helio Castroneves. Unlike Texas though, running flat-out for an entire lap is a challenge. "It's not easy to go flat, but you can do it. "
|  | | Eddie Cheever Jr., bottom, passed Sam Hornish Jr., top, on lap 198 to win last year's competitive race. |
The primary difference between Texas and Kansas is the banking. Texas has turns banked at 25 degrees, while this Midwest oval in "Dorothy-Land" boasts turn banking of 15 degrees.
What Kansas lacks in banking, it makes up for in straightaway length. Both the front and back straights are longer than Texas. That's why last year's pole winner Scott Sharp was able to turn the track at 216.175 mph. Last year's Texas pole winner? Mark Dismore logged a 215.508 mph lap for the June race in the Lone Star Sate.
So then why shouldn't there be the same sort of action that produced Jeff Ward's thrilling win over Al Unser Jr. at Texas?
It's all about running flat-out.
Running flat at Kansas is an effort. At Texas it is the norm. There is more emphasis upon finding the correct balance between the necessary downforce needed to make the car stick in the corners and the least amount of drag to give the car speed in the straightaways.
"Each track has its own nuances," said Gil de Ferran, currently second in the IRL points race. "It's important to learn every detail at the venues that are new to us. Not only are we working on making the car handle well and feel comfortable to drive."
That comfort is paramount. The race will go to green in afternoon heat. Last year, the temperatures soared into the 90s and took their toll on driver and equipment.
"The weather plays a factor in our race setup since it is so hot," said 2000 IRL champ Buddy Lazier.
The heat can strike in a variety of ways, all not mechanical. Last year Mark Dismore was leading the Kansas event when trouble struck during a routine pit stop.
"We had a volunteer in the pit splashing the fuel buckeye that accidentally sprayed down my left rear tire -- chased the car for two pit stalls watering it down, to be honest. Anyway, I ended up turning the car around when I got on the power leaving the pits because obviously I didn't have a rain tire back there," Dismore ruefully recalled.
Last year's race produced a shootout between eventual winner Eddie Cheever Jr. and Sam Hornish Jr. Not a Texas-style shootout. It was more like a scene from an action-adventure movie. After leading much of the race, Cheever saw Hornish chase him down and snare the front spot with his Pennzoil Chevy with only nine laps remaining.
"Eddie said when he (Hornish) got around him, 'That's it, we're done, we're doomed,'" remembered Dick Caron, Red Bull Cheever Racing's team manager.
Cheever didn't give up though and re-took the lead with less than two laps to go in the race.
The action last season won the hearts of the Kansas fans. So much so that this year's race will play out before a sold-out house of more than 70,000. Don't believe the hype that says the reason Kansas is sold out is because the IRL ticket is part of the track's season's ticket package, tying it to the track's Winston Cup event. The Winston Cup's crowd is not just season ticket holders. Cheever knows why there will be standing room only come Sunday.
"Kansas is a phenomenal track, one of the many in the ISC family. It's a joy to race there because it is not only the heart of the Midwest, but also the heart of open-wheel racing country."
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 IRL drivers anticipate a tough challenge at Richmond.
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