Western New York /By Larry Ott
Open-wheelers all together at the Glen
When the IndyCar Series and the former Champ Car World Series unified into one racing body in February, the Champ Car competitors faced the more difficult adjustment. Their teams had to adapt to the IndyCar Series cars and tracks.
Because Champ Cars raced almost exclusively on road courses and temporary street circuits, Champ Car teams were expected to take their lumps as part of an Indy- Car Series schedule raced mostly on ovals. That’s been true so far, but hope is just around the corner, in fact the 11 corners of Watkins Glen International. The unified IndyCar Series will visit this weekend in the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen, scheduled for 3:30 p. m. Sunday.
The unified series has run all but one event on ovals thus far, and IndyCar veterans have won them all. Included in those wins are Scott Dixon at Miami-Homestead Speedway, the Indianapolis 500 and Texas Motor Speedway; Danica Patrick in Japan; Dan Wheldon in Kansas and Iowa; Ryan Briscoe in Milwaukee; and Tony Kanaan on Saturday in Richmond.
On the Glen’s road course, those regulars will have to account for drivers like Graham Rahal, Oriol Servia, Justin Wilson, Will Power and Bruno Junqueira. All five finished in the top seven in points in Champ Cars last season and are the former Champ Car drivers who have run the most races in the Indy- Car Series this year. Here’s a look at them:
• Rahal, of New Albany, Ohio, is the son of 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal. The younger Rahal finished fifth in Champ Car in 2007.
In the lone non-oval event this season, on the street circuit in St. Petersburg, Fla, Rahal scored the only win by a former Champ Car driver on the Indy circuit so far. Rahal drives for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing.
Rahal was running in the top five at Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Richmond before suffering solo crashes in each race. Rahal’s team did not run the opener at Miami.
• Servia, of Spain, was sixth in Champ Car last season. He’s been the most successful of the former Champ Car drivers, taking fifth at Richmond and sixth at Milwaukee.
• Wilson, of Northampton, England, was second in Champ Car points the last two years behind current Formula One driver Sebastien Bourdais. Wilson has a pair of seventh-place efforts (Milwaukee and Richmond) and a ninth (Kansas).
• Power, a native of Australia, was fourth in Champ Car a year ago and won the Toronto race. He has a ninth-place finish (Iowa).
• Junqueira, of Brazil, was seventh in points. Junqueira, the 2002 Indy 500 pole-winner, was the first driver in 19 years to win at least one race in each of his first five Champ Car seasons.
Currently, the IndyCar Series standings are dominated by Indy- Car veterans. Target Chip Ganassi Racing standout Dixon — who is seeking his fourth straight win at the Glen — leads with 351 points followed by Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves (308), Ganassi teammate Wheldon (299), and Andretti Green Racing’s Kanaan (269) and Patrick (220).
The best of the former Champ Car drivers are KV Racing Technology’s Servia and Power, who rank ninth and 11th, respectively. Wilson and his Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing teammate Rahal are 16th and 17th. Junqueira, driving for Dale Coyne Racing, is 22nd.
While the new arrangement has been called unification, in fact it was more of the IndyCar Series absorbing Champ Car into its fold. Under general terms of the unification pact, the new IndyCar Series utilizes its existing car package. Teams coming over from Champ Car got a one-year Honda basic engine lease, two Dallara chassis each from a pool of new and used cars for up to two seasons, and $1.3 million per car from the IndyCar Series Team Program. Gone for now are the former Champ Car racing machines and their turbochargers.
Former Champ Car competitors can expect improvement in the coming weeks because five of the eight remaining races after the Glen are on road courses. That, coupled with their continuing improved efforts on the ovals, should help the new unified IndyCar Series as it continues to be a high-speed work in progress.
Other races at the Glen this weekend: Firestone Indy Lights, 11:15 a. m. and 3:20 p. m. Saturday; the Koni Challenge Series, 4:45 p. m. Saturday; and the Penn Grade 1 Formula Grand Prix, 12:30 p. m. Saturday and Sunday.
