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 Tuesday, March 20, 2001
Handicapping the 2001 IRL season
By Jack Arute
Special to ABC Sports Online
The most difficult circuit to handicap this season is going to be the Indy Racing Northern Light Series. The IRNLS presents a very narrow playing field as far as rules are concerned, and that has resulted in some excellent races and fascinating points chases.
|  | | Buddy Lazier begins the defense of his 2000 title on Sunday in the Pennzoil Cooper World Indy 200. |
This year, the series is the strongest ever. The season kicks into gear this Sunday with the Pennzoil Cooper World Indy 200 in Phoenix (ABC, 4 p.m. ET).
Tri Star Motorsports -- 50-1
Larry Curry, Andy Card and Tony Stewart again find themselves hunting for a driver. They have selected John Herb. Herb made only one IRL start last season, and at last report, is not necessarily the full-time driver for
Tri Star. It is hard to handicap this outfit until it settles on a permanent
shoe.
PDM Racing -- 50-1
After losing Sam Hornish to the Panther Pack, Paul Diatlovich and Chuck Buckman will back the efforts of New Jersey's Jeret Schroeder who comes over from Tri Star Racing. The Vineland, N.J. resident races anything that has wheels -- sports cars, endurance, you name it. But PDM is not Tri-Star Racing. Schroeder is not Sam Hornish.
McCormack Motorsports -- 50-1
Dennis McCormack returns as a full-time owner with Rookie of the Year hopeful Brandon Erwin at the wheel. Erwin's experience has been primarily in KARTs, late models and sprinters, so Dennis finds himself as much a teacher as an owner and engineer.
Beck Motorsports -- 40-1
After wheeling the under-financed Team Pelfrey car last season, Billy Boat had hoped to field his own team, but sponsorship did not come together so he is behind the wheel of Greg Beck's Dallara. Billy has eight career poles and one victory.
Blueprint Racing -- 25-1
Jimmy Kite returns with high hopes. Last season, he led the Belterra Resort Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway before engine problems ended his day. Like many in the IRL he could contend on any given day, but lacks the consistency to fight for the IRL crown.
Heritage Racing -- 25-1
Peripatetic Mitch Davis has put together a new operation for his old friend and recently released ex-Foyt driver, Jeff Ward. Ward is poised for a breakout season. His tenure with Foyt can only be classified as a major disappointment. But with Davis, the ex-motocross driver was sensational in '98 and 99.
Cahill Racing -- 20-1
Larry Cahill makes a driver change this season, replacing "Big Daddy" Donnie Beechler with Robby McGehee. Robby showed some flashes of brilliance last season while at Treadway. This should be a nice fit for Cahill.
Bradley Motorsports -- 20-1
Buzz Calkins returns to the seat of his father's operation with an MBA from the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern. His career has been spotty since Buzz took the first ever IRL event -- the Walt Disney 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway in 1996.
A.J. Foyt Enterprises -- 15-1
For the first time in A.J.'s IRL career, he will field only one car with Chilean Eliseo Salazar. Last year, Salazar finished a career high fourth in the final IRL standings and was plagued by terrible luck.
Dick Simon Racing -- 15-1
One thing is certain for Simon and Stephan Gregoire -- they will score their first IRL victory. They might not have the week-in and week-out strength to vie for the IRL title, but they will be especially strong on the 1.5-mile superspeedways.
Treadway Hubbard Racing -- 15-1
Dayton Indy Lights veteran Filipe Gaiffone gets the nod as Fred Treadway and Ross Hubbard join forces this season. This team may not be a real factor in the points chase, but it will be a big factor at the Indy 500 when Arie Luyendyk returns to the cockpit for the Brickyard.
TeamXtreme -- 12-1
Airton Dare took the Racesearch Rookie of the Year honors last season and on several occasions was on the brink of scoring his first career win. Watch out for this Brazilian. He has many of the qualities that made his namesake, Ayrton Senna, such a great driver.
Team Purex-Dryer & Reinbold Racing -- 8-1
Robbie Buhl goes with Infiniti power full-time and like Eddie Cheever, will be aided greatly by the increased emphasis Nissan has put upon the IRL. This is the second season for this team and it will prove that its first outing at WDW last season was not a fluke when it came home a winner.
Hemegarn Racing -- 5-1
As defending champs, this team deserves "favorite status." But the season has expanded from nine to 13 races and Buddy Lazier will need to continue the path that he blazed last season, scoring seven top 10 finishes (6 in the top 5) and two wins if he wants to wear the Indy Racing Northern Light crown again. Stan Wattles joins Hemelgarn as a teammate.
Galles ECR Racing -- 5-1
Al Unser Jr. may be one of the series' graybeards, but his enthusiasm is renewed now that he is reunited with old friend Rick Galles. The addition of Casey Mears to Galles' operation will have positive effects. Mears will push Unser in a very positive manner. Galles will also back the efforts of France's Didier Andre in his first appearance in the IRL. This could be the sleeper team of 2001.
Team Cheever -- 3-1
Eddie Cheever Jr. has the complete package. The addition of Scott Goodyear for an Indy 500 drive and testing makes this team even more potent than it was last season when it stayed in the championship hunt down to the final race of the season. Team Cheever gets new and improved Infiniti power this season as the long awaited new Infiniti powerplant debuts. With the decision by Nissan to devote its worldwide assets to the IRL effort, Cheever will be stronger than ever.
Kelley Racing -- 3-1
The combination of Scott Sharp and Mark Dismore make this team one of the more potent ones in the series. There is little missing from the Kelley Racing equation: seasoned drivers, a capable crew and now two engineers who seem to be communicating well with their respective drivers. Historically, Team Kelley has started slowly. They need good finishes at Phoenix and Miami to start the year.
Team Menard -- 3-1
All you need to say to justify this operation as a title contender is Greg Ray. The '99 series champ is lightning quick, and he's back behind the wheel of one of the IRL's most feared operations. Menard's engine shop, led by Butch Meyer, produces some incredible horsepower and Ray knows how to use it.
Panther Racing -- 2-1
Panther finished second in the point chase last season and released its driver, Scott Goodyear. But Scott's replacement has drawn much of the pre-season attention. Sam Hornish raised a lot of eyebrows last year as he drove for PDM Racing. Now that he is with a well-funded team, he has left many shaking their heads. "This kid is for real," is what Pennzoil Panther crew chief Kevin Blanch says when referring to his new pilot.
Jack Arute mans the pits for ABC Sports' auto racing coverage. He writes a column every Monday for ABC Sports Online.
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 With 38 laps to go in the race, Bubby Lazier clinches the IRL championship. (Courtesy: ABC Sports)
avi: 1670 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Eddie Cheever snatches the lead from Stephan Gregoire in the Radisson 200.
avi: 178 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Scott Sharp edges out Robby McGehee to take the checkered flag.
avi: 972 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Al Unser Jr. takes the checkered flag at the Vegas Indy 300.
avi: 620 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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