The IRL IndyCar Series race last Saturday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway not only opened the 2008 season, it began a new era of open-wheel racing in America.
So far, so good.
The ongoing IndyCar teams were just as competitive as ever, running side-by-side and sometimes banging wheels at more than 200 mph on the 1.5-mile Homestead oval. And the eight transitional Champ Car entries in the 25-car lineup did their best to figure out their new equipment and, for many, the new demands of racing on an oval.
“The first 50 laps was a struggle with some guys working their handling and getting up to speed,” said Brian Barnhart, president of competition and operations for the IRL. “I think everybody eventually did a good job. It’s a steep learning curve obviously and most of them got the better part of 200 laps in and did a good job all evening long.”
The teams moving from Champ Car to the IRL had less than a month to get their new cars up and running and had only brief opportunities for drivers to test their Honda-powered Dallaras — considerably different than the Cosworth-powered Panoz cars they ran last season in the Champ Car World Series.
Their new Honda engines are normally aspirated, while the Cosworths were turbocharged, giving the drivers a very different feel on acceleration and a considerably different power band.
And the chassis, while similar to the eye, are considerably different in handling, with the Dallara less sleek than the newer design of the Panoz.
Despite the learning curve, there were only three caution flags in the race — only one caused by a transitional driver.
They were definitely slower than the returning IRL regulars, but there was plenty to be gained from the opening race.
“It was nice to finish the race,” said Franck Perera, a rookie who drives for former Champ Car team Conquest Racing. “It was very tough, very long. I think it is the longest race in my life.”
The Frenchman finished 14th in his IRL and oval debut, six laps behind winner Scott Dixon.
“I learned a lot, even if it was difficult out there with all the cars,” Perera added. “You don’t really know the driving style of the other drivers and when they come in a group, they are so quick. But I was always staying in the clear line to not get in their way. Now we have to work on gaining more speed.”
The IRL regulars were impressed by what they saw from the newcomers.
“It think, all in all, it was a great race for open-wheel racing,” said former series champion Dan Wheldon, who finished third in the race. “I think everybody showed a lot of respect for one another. I think that will be good to build on.”
Now it’s on to St. Petersburg this week for the first street race of the season, where the former Champ Car teams should be considerably more competitive.
“It’s going to be another race where all of us are sort of just feeling it out again, I think,” said Dixon, another former IRL champ.
But Champ Car has been entirely a road and street circuit series in recent years, which should put the newcomers in more familiar territory. In fact, several of these drivers ran on the St. Petersburg circuit when Champ Car raced there in 2003.
“But they’ve still got new cars,” Dixon said. “I think you will see some of them coming to the front, for sure. But, if they don’t, you can’t be too hard on them because they haven’t had the cars long.”
Most of the former Champ Car drivers are excited to get back to the type of racing they know best — even if it is in unfamiliar cars.
“I think there’s a little bit too high expectations for the transition guys just because it’s our kind of track,” said Oriol Servia, who led the newcomers at Homestead with a 12th-place finish. “At the end of the days, we’re still fighting these big teams that know this car for five years. We’re still quite a bit behind.”
But, now that the long-awaited unification of the two series has officially begun, that gap could close quickly.
“It was good fun (at Homestead),” Servia said. “I can only imagine when we’re up to speed how much fun it’s going to be.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
