CART moves forward with eyes on 2005

[¡As-de-mim!]

By Steve Ballard

steve.ballard@indystar.com

January 17, 2003

If 2002 was a year of crisis for the Championship Auto Racing Teams series, 2003 is shaping up as a year of transition.

"The stars and cars are gone," said team owner Derrick Walker, recalling the CART mantra after the CART-Indy Racing League split in 1996. "We've been knocked over and we're a bit wobbly, but there's still room for this product."

Walker, one of three owners on the CART board with Carl Haas and Pat Patrick, said the mission for 2003 is to get ready for 2005, when the next rules package is due to chart CART's long-term course.

"By 2005, we should see a completely different horizon -- a whole infrastructure change," Walker said. "CART has a lot of things to flush out because it has to be announcing some things by the middle of this year."

CART was on the defensive most of last season. An IRL exodus begun by Roger Penske after the 2001 season expanded to sweep up four-time champion team owner Chip Ganassi, drivers Michael Andretti, Dario Franchitti and Kenny Brack, and engine manufacturers Toyota and Honda.

Also, Newman-Haas Racing's Cristiano da Matta followed fellow CART champions Juan Montoya, Alex Zanardi and Jacques Villeneuve to Formula One.

But first-year president Chris Pook appears to have weathered the storm for now. His guarantee of having a minimum 18 cars on the grid for the Feb. 23 opener at St. Petersburg, Fla., is being met.

"We're going to have the 18 cars we said we would, possibly more, and several teams are interested in partial-season programs," series spokesman Adam Saal said.

Jim McGee, team manager for Patrick Racing, predicts more teams will join CART during the season as it proves its viability.

"We've gotten rid of a lot of the controversial things with the engine manufacturers," he said. "This package (Lola and Reynard chassis all powered by Ford-Cosworth engines) is going to be great, and the races are going to be improved because of the stability in the rules.

"Without Pook stepping up, we'd probably be dead by now. This year is going to be better if only because at this point, I don't know what other bad news you could get."

Jimmy Vasser, the 1996 CART champ, and 19-race winner Paul Tracy head the list of returning drivers. Adrian Fernandez, Bruno Junqueira and Patrick Carpentier have won races, and Alex Tagliani and Michel Jourdain Jr. have come close. Veterans Roberto Moreno, Max Papis and Bryan Herta are trying to put deals together.

Also on the plus side, Newman/Haas Racing, Patrick Racing, Forsythe Racing and Team Rahal head a solid core of returning teams; Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford provide two established corporate business partners; and the schedule remains strong with well-attended events in Canada and Mexico and such U.S. strongholds as Long Beach, Calif., Cleveland and Miami.

Pook has been authorized by the board to invest as much as $30 million of CART's cash reserve in the teams, but Walker said no one is getting a handout.

"Everybody has to come to the table with a program to get any additional funding," he said. "You have to be a bona fide entity with money, properly vetted and committed to running the whole season. I don't think you're going to see one car that is majority-funded by CART."

Vasser will divide his time between rookie owner Stefan Johansson's CART team and a NASCAR Busch Series team the driver is partly funding himself.

Vasser said loyalty drove him to find a way to stay in CART.

"It's a pivotal year and I didn't want to be walking out on them," he said. "Good things are starting to happen. It's shaping up to be more than what people thought it would be."

Of having half the field populated by drivers unknown and unproven, many getting an opportunity primarily because of the money they bring, CART officials like to point out that Montoya and Zanardi were equally anonymous before their first seasons.

[macdaddy]

Thanks for the read. Most informative thing I've read about Vasser to date. Maybe Johansson is waiting until he's signed two drivers and two sponsors before he makes any official announcements. If Jimmy really is returning, that's great news for many reasons.

[sgw2]

Sounds like Jimmy is using some of the $1 M salary he is drawing from Rahal to fund his drive. Hum, never considered him a funded driver. I'll move him into the "deal almost done category" with Roberto Moreno. So that's 11 combos announced, two almost done, at least one more (PK) soon to be completed. Four packages left to be put together.

[norman-normal]

Good news, everything is comming together. thanx