A New IRL Team?

[GP Racer]

Got this tid-bit out of the Rumor Bin, off of paddocktalk.com :


08-28 The IRL grapevine has produced the following rumor: Expect a new team in the IRL.

The wine master indicated that the team had wanted to run at Indy in 2004, but instead built up the dollars for a full season run.

The announcement should happen at Texas II, with the team starting in 2005.

No word on the engine supplier


Interesting. Anyone have any ideas who this new team could be? I'm thinking maybe PDM, or Marty Roth. Hmmmm...

[Team Owner]

I heard that the principles of the old ISM team are trying to put together a team for next year but that's the only one I have heard anything about.

[marcus]

any new team would be very welcome . lets hope this rumour is true.

[kingfloopy]

Will the IRL expand the fields for their races if more teams begin to appear? Isn't the current size of the field 22 cars?

J.D.

[Kicking-back]

They could take 26 starters at every track they run I believe.

[climb]

Yes, they did it up to 2002, I guess.

[marcus]

I didnt realize they had a cap on the size of the grid to a certain extent anyway ?

how long has this been going on ?

[rustyfan]

I wonder what the record is for number of cars in a race (other than Indy, of course).

I know there were 31 cars in the 500k race at Las Vegas in 1997 (the race in which Roberto Guerrero had that wild flip on the backstretch in the Pennzoil car).

Must have been one helluva sight seeing a field that big on a track other than Indy

[Kicking-back]

As far as I'm aware, policy is not to allow more than 26-28 starters.

However, they haven't had enough entries in recent years for this to be an issue.

[rustyfan]

I would assume this depends on the track they race at - I for example see no reason not to allow more than 26-28 cars at big tracks like Michigan and Fontana.

[N I Tram]

26 would be no problem anywhere, and it'd realistically take a mircacle to have more than that.

If Roth's planning to enter, I hope he hires someone slightly more competant for the car. PDM would be great. Does anyone know what Larry Blair's up to these days? His team was a particualrly sad loss.

[GP Racer]

Well, this announcement from PDM makes it look like an almost certainty that they are THE new team coming to the IRL:


PDM Announces New Additions

Indianapolis, IN (September 6, 2004) - PDM Racing’s Principle Owner Paul Diatlovich announced the addition of Hayden Harris as General Partner and Jeff Matthews as Associate Partner to the team today.



Harris is a general partner and co-founder of EDF Ventures, a venture capital company, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1977, Harris founded Enterprise Management, Inc. a provider of financial and managerial assistance to companies with high-growth prospects. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Emerald Bio Agriculture, Inc., and Media Station, Inc. He co-founded TherOx, Inc. and Xtera Communications, Inc. He was Chairman, CEO and majority shareholder of Software Services Corporation. Harris was appointed by the Michigan governor to the Corporate Board and Executive Committee of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the state's leading economic development authority. He is also Chairman of the Board of McLaren Performance Technologies, Inc., a provider of high performance automotive equipment and services. Hayden has been involved with racing for many years, most recently with his partnerships in Rev-1 Racing in the Menards Infiniti Pro Series®, and with Blair Racing in the IndyCar Series®. He brings a wealth of business experience, along with his knowledge and passion for racing.



Matthews has been a long time supporter of PDM, and has been involved with the team since 1998. Professionally, he has been in Sales and Project Management in the Commercial Construction/Interior Finishes field. Matthews also serves on the Town of Speedway Parks and Recreation Board, along with other local political activities. He will remain the acting Marketing and Public Relations Director for the team.



Diatlovich believes the two additions are very positive. “I am very excited to add these two gentlemen to the management team,” remarks Diatlovich. “Several opportunities exist for us presently, and with Hayden and Jeff pulling together, I believe we are on the verge of something great for ourselves as well as the league.”



The team continues to work towards building for the 2005 season, and hopes to make an announcement in the coming months.

[gttouring]

WELL all the tracks can accomodate 43 or more NASCAR cars so more indy the merrier, of course that many open wheels coming near eachother could be disastrous...
26 it should be.

[gttouring]

or 30

[Hazza]

Yeah, just not 30 at Richmond!
30 at Brooklyn...hell yeah!

[marcus]

excellent news , great to have PDM back

[GP Racer]

Robby McGhee said that he was working on a deal for 2005, and he may possibly be racing in the finale in Texas this year. He said he was cautiously optimistic that the deal will go through. These comments were made while guest announcing on IMS radio for the Chicagoland race.

So, could it be PDM and Robby next season? Just speculating, but it is starting to add up...

[Kicking-back]

Sounds very promising....

[BootsOntheSide]

Would certainly be good news to ahve PDM back, tehy've added a lot to the IRL in the past. Robby's a reasonable driver but perhaps doesn't have the potential of some, although it'd be nice to have more Americans on track.

[marcus]

I like Robby , I think he is very good value if he could get in a good team and a regular ride , lets hope this comes off and we see both Robby and PDM out there by the end of the year