CART Engine Makers Unlikely to Race at Indy

JUST RELEASED! — The Official Directory for CART Racing
CART Engine Makers Unlikely to Race at Indy
©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
IRL rule change gets cold response from CART engine makers
On Friday, the Indy Racing League announced to drop it's controversial"25/8" rule, which guaranteed IRL-regulars a starting position at theIndianapolis 500 irrespective of qualifying speed. At the same time,it was announced that other car and engine manufacturers were welcometo join the competition, provided these manufacturers announce their desire tocompete at the IRL-officiated Indy 500 nine months before the start of a new IRLseason.
Being already May, this mean that any CART team who desires to compete at Indy in 1998 would have to do so by purchasing current IRL equipment - a highly unlikely scenario, given the marketing emphasis on especially the engine programs currently active in CART.
One of these manufacturers, previous Indy 500 winner Mercedes-Benz,who currently supplies race engines for five teams on the PPG CARTWorld Series, and competes worldwide in Formula One and the FIA GTseries, didn't need much time to respond to the IRL rule changes.
Steve Potter, manager of sports marketing for Mercedes-Benz of NorthAmerica, had this response:
"The Indianapolis 500 is the worlds best-attended sporting event and a major auto race, and under the right circumstances Mercedes-Benz would like to be there. But there is nothing in todays announcement that makes it any more likely that Mercedes will compete at Indianapolis in the foreseeable future."
Other CART engine manufacturers are in a similar position. Honda doesn't have a 4.0L production engine they could use to comply with IRL regulations for stock-derived4.0L race engines. Toyota, even though they have a suitable engine in their Lexus lineof cars, has it's hands full with their current CART engine program. A second engine program that has very little in common with the turbo-charged 2.5L CART engines isnot going to be of much value to Toyota at this point in time. Ford, a multiple winnerof Indianapolis, has been outspoken against the IRL engine formula when it was first announced and nobody expects them to change their mind after this announcement.


		JUST RELEASED! — The Official Directory for CART Racing

		CART Engine Makers Unlikely to Race at Indy ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. IRL rule change gets cold response from CART engine makers On Friday, the Indy Racing League announced to drop it's controversial"25/8" rule, which guaranteed IRL-regulars a starting position at theIndianapolis 500 irrespective of qualifying speed. At the same time,it was announced that other car and engine manufacturers were welcometo join the competition, provided these manufacturers announce their desire tocompete at the IRL-officiated Indy 500 nine months before the start of a new IRLseason. Being already May, this mean that any CART team who desires to compete at Indy in 1998 would have to do so by purchasing current IRL equipment - a highly unlikely scenario, given the marketing emphasis on especially the engine programs currently active in CART. One of these manufacturers, previous Indy 500 winner Mercedes-Benz,who currently supplies race engines for five teams on the PPG CARTWorld Series, and competes worldwide in Formula One and the FIA GTseries, didn't need much time to respond to the IRL rule changes. Steve Potter, manager of sports marketing for Mercedes-Benz of NorthAmerica, had this response: "The Indianapolis 500 is the worlds best-attended sporting event and a major auto race, and under the right circumstances Mercedes-Benz would like to be there. But there is nothing in todays announcement that makes it any more likely that Mercedes will compete at Indianapolis in the foreseeable future." Other CART engine manufacturers are in a similar position. Honda doesn't have a 4.0L production engine they could use to comply with IRL regulations for stock-derived4.0L race engines. Toyota, even though they have a suitable engine in their Lexus lineof cars, has it's hands full with their current CART engine program. A second engine program that has very little in common with the turbo-charged 2.5L CART engines isnot going to be of much value to Toyota at this point in time. Ford, a multiple winnerof Indianapolis, has been outspoken against the IRL engine formula when it was first announced and nobody expects them to change their mind after this announcement.