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 Monday, January 22, 2001
Start your engines, gentlemen...
By Jack Arute
Special to ABC Sports Online
While some sports fans count the days until pitchers and catchers report for baseball Spring Training, racing fans greet January with building anticipation for the resumption of their favorite sport.
This post holiday time is reserved for preseason testing. NASCAR at Daytona, CART at Sebring, and the IRNLS at Vegas, Miami and Phoenix.
The motorsports "Hot Stove League" is filled with testing times and chassis/engine performance data. Speculation increases as each day counts down to each Series opener.
NASCAR's youth movement will share the spotlight with the return of Dodge this year. The Mopar boys have assembled an all-star cast. But the "Hemi" days are long gone in NASCAR. So are the Pettys, Bakers and Issacs.
Bobby Labonte and Joe Gibbs ride the point in NASCAR as guys like Matt Kenseth, Casey Atwood, Steve Park and Dale Earnhardt, Jr wrestle with Terry Labonte, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon for stock car stardom.
In CART, Alex Zanardi returns from his ill-fated F-1 tour to provide some additional spark to a very competitive roster that includes Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vassar, Paul Tracy, Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan.
Roger Penske is back at the top of his game. Helio Castro-Neves should continue to provide muscle for the Reading, Pa., based Penske juggernaut. Coupled with CART champ (and Penske pilot) Gil DeFerran, this Brazilian duo should go a long way towards providing Penske with another championship season.
CART's Championship remains the most difficult title to win. The driver who earns the FedEx Trophy must show prowess on an assortment of tracks -- road courses, short ovals, street circuits and superspeedways. They all comprise the CART schedule, which,Coupled with the global venues, present a demanding road to the Championship.
Buddy Lazier's Indy Racing Northern Light Series Championship last season validated the former Olympic Skiing hopeful's driving career. The Vail, Colo., resident now has his face on the Borg Warner Trophy ('97 Indy 500 winner) and the IRNLS cup.
But Lazier is just part of the story that is the Indy Racing League. Plano resident Greg Ray stands on the brink of becoming the 21st century's "Super Tex". Ray follows the path forged by AJ Foyt -- running flat out and on the edge at every race. New personnel at Team Menard promise to reestablish Ray as an '01 title contender. Eddie Cheever's "second career" in the IRL , Scott Sharp's return with Mark Dismore at Team Kelley Racing coupled with Arie Luyendyk's return to this year's Indianapolis 500 has the IRL world buzzing.
Throw in new races at Richmond, Va.,Kansas City, Miami, Chicago and Nashville, and the IRL season looks promising.
The winner in all this? The racing fans.
Regardless of your tastes, the 2001 racing season promises excitement, surprises and plenty of action.
Jack Arute mans the pits for ABC Sports' auto racing coverage. He will contribute a regular column throughout the 2001 season for ABC Sports Online.
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