Bob Jennings

It's an Indiana thing; a Hoosier thing.      

It's a Saturday afternoon crowd, at Indiana University's Assembly Hall, in late January, watching Bobby Knight IU basketball. It's a voice with a nasal twang, from the Ohio River north to the Michigan state line, west to Lake County, where Hoosier is spoken with a more diverse accent, and south, along US 41, through Terre Haute, to Evansville. It's colorful Brown County, in October, and a barren northwest Indiana field, along Interstate 65, in late November. It's Oscar Robertson, George McGinnis, Larry Bird, Steve Alford and Damon Bailey. It's the many lakes in Steuben County. It's the orange sky reflecting the steel mills, in the Calumet Region. It's December's holiday lights, on Monument Circle, in downtown Indianapolis. It's Fort Wayne, South Bend, Anderson, Kokomo, Lafayette, Lebanon, Martinsville, Seymour, Madison, Vincennes and Jeffersonville. It's a flea market, along Highway 67, on a summer Sunday. It's Jim Harbaugh when the Colts win and Reggie Miller when the Pacers do likewise. It's Ernie Pyle, James Whitcomb Riley and Wilbur Shaw. It's automobile racing and Tony Hulman. It's the tradition of May and the "Indianapolis 500."    

It's something a native son, of Indiana, like myself, who turned 50 this year, and wants to go home, can relate to.     

Indiana shows in 25 year old Tony Stewart, as he looks back on 1996; the year of his rise from local to national racing notoriety.      

Although he currently lives in Indianapolis, and is called the "Rushville (Indiana) Rocket," for whatever reason, because I've read that Tony is actually from Columbus, Indiana, Stewart wears his Hoosier-ality like a badge, as he moves from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the Terre Haute Action Track or Winchester's high banks. He wants to race anywhere, in anything, against anyone. More than any driver since, he reminds me of a young Texan, named Foyt, 35 years ago.    

It was pretty glum, last January, anticipating the 80th "Indianapolis 500," with a relatively new cast of characters slated to comprise the competition, in the name of the Indy Racing League. 11 months later, my anticipation concerning the 1997 "Indianapolis 500" and the other IRL events is very high. As big a contribution, as any element, to that anticipation, comes from the excitement over the prospect of seeing Tony Stewart approach his second season in racing's major leagues.      

Tony Stewart, in my opinion, is one of the most talented and interesting personalities to arrive, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in several years.      

Last May 26, as Stewart's Glidden Lola - Menard flew by my position, inside turn four, lap after lap, in excess of 230 mph, it looked like a cosmic yellow, orange and red flash. Had the USAC popoff valve not failed, nor the Menard V6 not quit, or whatever it was that put Tony out of the "500," he would've been difficult to beat. That takes nothing away from Buddy Lazier's spectacular, courageous and victorious effort to catch and pass Alessandro Zampedri and Davy Jones, in the final 20 laps, of the race. It appeared to me, though, until  his retirement, on lap 85, Stewart was the driver to beat.

Although he has yet to score an Indy Racing League win, Stewart has developed into the new series' most notable competitor. He is, in my mind, the king in waiting; the Crown Prince of the IRL.    

Stewart began racing karts, at eight, and then graduated into quarter midgets, where he raced for 2 1/2 seasons.      

I've been watching Stewart, on the ESPN Thunder telecasts of USAC racing, the past couple years. He was one of a group of drivers, which included Mike Bliss, Dan Drinan, Doug Kalitta, Kenny Irwin and Billy Boat, with whom I had some interest. I knew he was an Indiana kid, and I knew he had won the 1994 championship, of the competitive USAC national midget series.       

When it was reported, last November, that Stewart had won all three 1995 USAC championships, midgets, sprint cars and Silver Crown dirt cars, that got my attention and the attention of the national racing media. Tony was featured in a profile, in Racer magazine, which described his triple championship USAC season.      

To take three USAC titles, Tony ran 61 races in 41 weeks. Sometimes the logistics of making three championship runs, in three series, was difficult. For instance, there was a schedule conflict, with midgets running at Indianapolis Raceway Park and the "sprinters" running in Wilmot, Wisconsin, on one occasion.     

His paths to the three championships were varied.    

He won seven of 26 USAC Loctite Sprint Car races, driving for Willy Boles and Glen Niebel. Stewart clinched the sprint title, in October, at Eldora, during the USAC Four Crown weekend.  

In the True Value Silver Crown series, Stewart also drove for Boles and Niebel. He failed to win a race, but scored six top ten finishes, in ten races, including second place finishes, at Indianapolis Raceway Park and Eldora. The Eldora finish clinched the title over Dave Darland and Jack Hewitt.     

Tony's seventh place finish, in the traditional Turkey Night Grand Prix, in California, driving Bob East's Beast midget, clinched his second consecutive Skoal USAC National Midget series title, over Andy Michner.     

1996 has been a year of large adjustments in attitude and emotion for many fans of Indianapolis style racing, including myself. During this adjustment, I've come to appreciate different characteristics of the sport. When I watch the USAC midgets and "sprinters" racing, at high speeds, around Indianapolis Raceway Park or Winchester, I can understand why a driver, with Stewart's background, can adapt so quickly to 235 mph at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In some of those USAC races, they're lapping as quickly as in many CART road races, and they're doing so, within inches of each other, with narrow chassis configurations and virtually no down force, lap after lap. I'm enjoying this style of racing, for the first time, really, since before the advent of Jim Clark's Lotus - Ford, at Indianapolis, in 1963.     

My first race was at the old 16th Street Speedway, across the street from the Speedway, in August, 1955. If you've seen the great 1950 Clark Gable racing film, To Please A Lady, you've seen action at the 16th Street Speedway, which was torn down, in 1957, to build the strip mall that stands there now. It was an AAA midget race, won by "Cactus" Jack Turner, that also featured one of my early "500" favorites Andy Linden. 1955 was the year before USAC replaced the American Automobile Association as the sanctioning body for major open wheel competition, in the face of racing's most tragic and violent year, in which scores of  fatalities occurred among drivers and spectators.

I thought the action was great, and I loved the way those midgets slid around that quarter mile asphalt, in much the same manner as they do today.    

I also used to love going to the annual "Hoosier Hundred," each September, on the dirt mile, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, at east 38th Street and Fall Creek Boulevard, in Indianapolis. Until the rear engined invasion, of the early 1960's, at the Speedway, the "Hoosier Hundred" was the second biggest race on the Indy car schedule, in terms of attendance, purse and prestige. I can still picture A.J. Foyt's Bowes Seal Fast Special blowing the field off, as it power slid past the horse barns, in turn one. It was pretty neat. Whenever I drive northeast, past the Fairgrounds, and see the horse barns, I can still visualize A.J. Shepherd's spectacular flip out of the track and into those barns, while qualifying for the 1961 "Hoosier Hundred." I thought Shepherd was a dead man, but miraculously he survived, but barely, and it ended his racing career.     

As Colin Chapman, Jim Clark and the Lotus - Ford led the USAC establishment away from the dirt miles, I lost interest in that phase of  sport, and as the years have passed, dirt track ovals, sprint cars and midgets have had little relevancy to what was happening in the "500" and CART. As more years have passed, there became no relevancy, whatsoever, between the Indy cars and the class of racing drivers who used to comprise the competition.       

It doesn't take much to conclude that the days of A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock, Tom Sneva and Rick Mears have long since passed in CART. The closest thing we have to these great American racing legends are Al Unser Jr. and Michael Andretti, and even Andretti is questionable, because he never ran sprints, on the dirt, as Little Al did. Isn't it somewhat ironic, though, that Unser and Andretti are basically the only real name attractions running CART, at the moment?       

Most of the guys currently running CART aren't even close to the talent of Foyt, Mario, the Unsers, Rutherford, Johncock, Sneva or Mears. That's not to say that Bryan Herta or  Scott Pruett, to name two prominent contemporary CART drivers, aren't good, but they haven't shown anything like the greatness of their Indy car predecessors.        

Tony Stewart, on the other hand, is a direct descendant of the aforementioned heroes.      

The new breed of oval track heroes have been aspiring to careers in NASCAR. Jeff Gordon, as hot a talent as has come into the sport in recent years, is a perfect example of the current trend. Gordon went to the NASCAR Busch Grand National series, after the 1990 USAC season, because he didn't think he'd get an honest shot in CART, because he wasn't a road racer. He was probably correct.
Kenny Schrader was a USAC stalwart, during the early 1980's, who tried to make the "Indianapolis 500," to no avail. Perhaps the last "USACer" to become a CART regular was Pancho Carter. Other drivers, like the late Rich Vogler, were forced to languish around the fringes of CART and the "Indianapolis 500," running cars probably not up to their talents. Vogler was an exceptional driver who never quite got that big break. To me, that isn't the way things should be.       

I sure as hell would've preferred seeing Vogler getting a shot, over some driver, from Brazil, who didn't come close to Vogler's talent, but who had been running smaller formula road racing machinery, and was able to bring a sack of money from home, to buy his way into CART. It's gotten to be ridiculous! In 1996, would Rick Mears still get a ride with the Penske team?   I doubt it.     

Hopefully, the Indy Racing League will reverse this situation and restore some of the traditions of Indianapolis style racing, which have all but disappeared. Hopefully, future drivers with the talent, of Rich Vogler, will get the opportunity to enjoy success at the top of the sport.      

At the close of 1995, Stewart had a couple options to advance his career beyond USAC.

Harry Ranier, who owned the Waddell Wilson prepared "Daytona 500" winning cars, of Buddy Baker (1980) and Cale Yarborough (1983, 1984), and with whom the late Davey Allison began his NASCAR career, probably saw Stewart as another Jeff Gordon. Ranier signed Tony to a contract to run part time in the NASCAR Busch Grand National series, during 1996, with an option to move into NASCAR Winston Cup, full time, in 1997.       

Stewart did some testing in one of A.J. Foyt's cars, at Phoenix, but I'm not sure what kept Foyt and Stewart from reaching an agreement.         

In the meantime, Cary Agajanian, Stewart's agent, and one of the IRL principals, persuaded Team Menard manager Larry Curry and John Menard to give Tony a test at the Walt Disney World Speedway. Apparently Curry and Menard liked what they saw. Tony was signed to join Scott Brayton and Eddie Cheever, in a Menard Lola, for the IRL opener, at Disney World, on January 26.     

A car was hastily prepared, for Stewart, and he qualified for his first professional race, in a rear engined car, at Disney World, with a 174.554 mph run, which was good for seventh grid position. Disney pole sitter, Buddy Lazier, qualified at 181.388 mph, while Menard teammates, Cheever and Brayton, had runs at 173.888 mph and 173.185 mph, respectively.     

Although he ran the opening laps, of the "Disney 200", cautiously, by lap 29, Stewart came through the field to take the lead from  Lazier.  Tony's advance to the lead excited me. It was during that charge to the lead, of the Disney race, that I became a Tony Stewart fan. As Stewart's day glow yellow and green Gliddens/Quaker State Lola - Menard moved to the front, I was amazed at how skillfully this kid could pass other cars. On his way to catching and passing Lazier, Tony had to get by veterans Arie Luyendyk and Roberto Guerrero , but he did so effortlessly.     

Perhaps it's Stewart's extraordinary ability to pass other cars that most impresses me. He does it clinically, with the precision of a surgeon. I always felt that the most exciting part of Nigel Mansell's racing was his ability to make remarkable and spectacular passes. Stewart appears to have the same abilities, only he seems to do it more "quietly" than Nigel did.    

Stewart was overtaken, for the Disney lead, by former Indy Lights driver Buzz Calkins, on lap 66. Calkins was driving a well prepared 1995 Reynard Ford, engineered by Ken Anderson. Anderson is the designer of the new British G Force racing car, which will make its debut, next month, in the second IRL race, at Disney World. It was a close battle throughout the final two thirds of the Disney race. At one point, very late in the event, Stewart had to wedge his car tightly between a pair of safety vehicles, on the track, to clear a wreckage.    

Although Calkins won the initial IRL event, Stewart emerged from the Disney race with the majority of the media attention. Obviously John Menard was pleased with his new driver and signed Stewart to a contract extending through the 1996 "Indianapolis 500."      

At Phoenix International Raceway, on March 24, Stewart qualified fourth, on the Phoenix grid, with a lap at 181.041 mph. Phoenix pole sitter, Arie Luyendyk, qualified at 183.599 mph, while Menard teammate Brayton qualified at 180.334 mph. The other Menard driver, Cheever, missed the Phoenix race due to a practice crash.     

Before a disappointing 34,000 fans, compared to 50,000 plus, the previous year, for the CART race, Stewart passed leader Luyendyk, on lap 25. Tony continued to run near the front, and moved into a close second, to Luyendyk, when the Lola - Menard experienced electrical problems, and was out of the race, on lap 165.      

In a break, with tradition, racing cars were running, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, throughout April. This enabled Stewart to gain hours of experience. The smooth adhesion, of the new track surface, and the horsepower, of the Menard V6 turbo engine, combined well with Tony's style and he was soon running laps in excess of 235 mph.     

I attended my first "Indianapolis 500," in 1956, and I haven't missed one since. During  most Mays, I spend several days, at the Speedway, watching practice and qualifications, for the "500." It is the highlight of each year. For the most part, though, last May was an exception.     

Like thousands of other "500" and Indy car fanatics, I was devastated by the Speedway's divorce with CART. Though I'd become excited over Stewart's Disney and Phoenix performances, I dreaded May, 1996 in a way I'd never thought possible. I couldn't bring myself to go to the Speedway, during the month. I missed "Pole day" for only the second time since 1956 (the other time was in 1957). The thought even crossed my mind to bypass the "500" and racing altogether, I was so upset. I didn't arrive, in Indianapolis, from Chicago, until late the night before the "500."     

I even allowed the unimaginable to happen. In the confusion over rain in the morning, the time it would take to dry the track, a hangover from the night before, and the general malaise I was feeling, I missed the start of the "500," for the first time since I began going to the race.     

I heard the cars race overhead, on lap one, as I was hurrying through the tunnel, between turns three and four. I got to my photo position, inside turn four, as the cars were circulating, under the yellow light, on lap three.    

Perhaps the most beautiful racing sight, I've seen, came when I saw what appeared to be the usual "Indianapolis 500" crowd filling the grandstands. From my vantage point, there appeared to be fewer people in the infield, but the rainy conditions might've been as big a factor concerning that, as the turmoil surrounding the absence of big name competition. The crowd was there. The cars were racing. It looked like the "Indianapolis 500." It felt like the "Indianapolis 500." From that time forward, I became excited about the changes initiated by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, via the Indy Racing League.

Changes have been needed. Although CART has improved the Indy car schedule and the crowds, at the races, have grown, it has also created an environment that has slowed the growth, of what used to be known as Championship car racing. This is the oldest form of motor sport in the world.       

CART's exclusionary nature and emphasis on foreign road racing talent has allowed the popularity of Indianapolis style racing to fall far behind that of NASCAR.    

At the time of the CART breakaway, from USAC, in 1979, Indy car racing and NASCAR enjoyed reasonably even popularity in this country. Admittedly neither series, nor racing in general, had much national exposure in those days. During this period of heavy racing coverage, on television and a larger presence in the American consciousness, CART has lost ground to NASCAR in nearly every measurement; attendance, sponsorship, television ratings and marketability. Only the "Indianapolis 500" draws more attention, in racing, than NASCAR. The "500" has kept pace. CART hasn't.  

Apparently Tony George hasn't been comfortable doing business with CART for some time, and he wasn't happy about placing the future of the "Indianapolis 500" in CART's hands.     

When CART split from USAC, and gained control of the rest of the series, I was for it. USAC wasn't marketing, nor administering, Indy car racing very well. When CART began scheduling races at some of the traditional American road racing circuits, I thought that was a master stroke and I still do. Circuits like Riverside, Road America, Mid Ohio and Laguna Seca had their own ready made constituencies, and with the exception of Riverside, which also hosted NASCAR, the CART races at these venues, became the priority events at each circuit. CART went too far, though, with all the races, staged on temporary venues. Until a couple seasons ago, temporary circuits comprised nearly half the CART schedule, and to me, that isn't racing.       

CART has raised the platform, from which the races, other than Indianapolis, are contested. Again, however, they've gone too far. CART is too expensive and this prohibits a wider base of competition. CART seems to conduct its affairs and make its rules, in a highly conspiratorial manner, not unlike the way major league baseball is administered. At the same time, the dependence on foreign sponsorship, has put the emphasis on foreign drivers. As a result, CART is now populated with few drivers with whom American fans can identify with.    

A potential firm looking to become involved in motor sports sponsorship has only to look at the comparisons, between CART and NASCAR, to see the inadequacies. A sponsor can get twice the exposure, from NASCAR, as he can from CART, at half the cost.  

CART CEO Andrew Craig has given statistics showing that the "Indianapolis 500" only accounted for one third of the television exposure, given sponsors, during the 1995 Indy car season. How accurate those statistics are I question. What I do know, however, is the "Indianapolis 500" has a larger presence than all the CART races combined. Whether Andrew Craig, Roger Penske, Carl Haas, Floyd "Chip" Ganassi or Bobby Rahal want to acknowledge it, the "500" was the heart and soul of their series. Without the "Indianapolis 500," CART has lost its basic identity.     

To me, the CART series has become stale. I feel virtually no anticipation for the 1997 CART season. I don't see it being too much different from the 1996 season, which wasn't all that entertaining.

Jack Long, another IRL principal, was quoted late last year, as saying the "Indianapolis 500" makes stars, not the other way around. I agree with Long. Years from now, I'm betting that a lot more people will recall that Buddy Lazier won the 1996 "Indianapolis 500," than who the 1996 CART champion was. I'm pretty certain that the "500" will be going on, long after CART is but a faded memory.    

By the way, who was the 1996 CART champion? I forget.    

Although I stayed away, from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, last May, until race day, the month continued without Bob Jennings or CART. Thankfully, for me, the television coverage, from the Speedway, was so comprehensive, that I was able to watch the month play out pretty well.  Perhaps a good way of describing May, 1996, at the Speedway, was with five words: strange, rain, rookies, speed and tragedy.    

It was a strange month, of course, because most of the well known faces and names were missing; Penske, Little Al, Andretti, Fittipaldi, Rahal, etc. Without the "names," there was a weird feeling surrounding the Speedway, and I was intimidated by it.   

There was more track time lost to rain, during May, 1996, than any other May on record. Perhaps that was a mixed blessing, because with the lower budgets of most of the competitors, there would've been a lot of empty track time anyway, which would've served to accentuate the departure, from previous Mays, even more.     

I'd have to consult USAC historian Donald Davidson for the exact statistics, but the 17 rookies, in the 1996 "500," has to be the highest number of new drivers, in the "500" field, since the earliest years of the race.      

Despite dire consequences predicted for all the rookies, running at the ultra high speeds, it was a relatively safe month, until Scott Brayton's fatal accident.     

The new Speedway surface appeared to compensate for the older equipment being run, because the lap speeds were tremendous throughout the month. Luyendyk, who will probably own the one and four lap qualifying records, for many years to come, edged right to the 240 mph barrier, in practice.  Isn't that something; 240 mph? That's 95 mph faster than the top speeds, of my first year at the Speedway, in 1956.    

Pole Position qualifying day provided a spectacular show and I'm sorry I missed it now. Rain, as is so often the case, delayed the start of "Pole Day" qualification runs. Once it got underway, however, the activity was intense. Davy Jones, in the Galles Delco Lola - Mercedes, from CART, was the first to break Roberto Guerrero's existing one and four lap qualification records, which were set in 1992, with a 232.882 mph run. Tony took both records, a bit later, with a 233.100 mph run. Later, Luyendyk's' Treadway Racing Bryant /Jonathan Byrd Cafeteria Reynard - Ford knocked Tony off pole. Later, however, Arie's run was disallowed, as his car was found to be under minimum weight requirements, in the post qualification inspection. Finally, Brayton withdrew his originally qualified Lola - Menard, from its sixth grid position, and claimed his second consecutive Indianapolis pole position, with a 233.718 mph run, in another of the cars, in the Menard stable. Of course, Luyendyk's run, the following day, of 236.986 mph, stands as the official record.     

Luyendyk was a well-established pre race favorite, although I felt as if Stewart would be the driver Arie would have to beat, for his second "Indianapolis 500" victory. For the most part, though, it was very difficult to predict what was going to happen in the race, given all the unknowns. Counting unknown factors, going into an "Indianapolis 500," 1996 would have to rank as an all time high in that category. 

During the first quarter, of the race, as I watched Stewart firmly in command, I kept thinking of the late 1953 - 1954 "500" winner Bill Vukovich. I think about Vukovich, a lot, when I'm at the Speedway, even though I didn't go to the race, until the year following his death, in the 1955 "500."  Vukovich was perhaps the master of the "Indianapolis 500."  He was also the first racing driver I was aware of. As Tony flew by, leading 44 of the 85 laps he completed, I was wondering if I was watching the new Bill Vukovich.      

Once Stewart retired, the race became one of the more competitive runnings of the "500."  Roberto Guerrero looked to be running well.      

A later pit fire hindered Guerrero's run.     

Pre race favorite, Luyendyk, the race's only previous winner, had been running steadily near the front, until the new IRL "bad boy" Eliseo Salazar ran into Arie's Reynard - Ford, exiting the pits. Later, Luyendyk's Treadway Racing Bryant/ Jonathan Byrd Cafeteria 194 - 1995 Reynard would retire with mechanical problems.     

The dog fight for the lead, between Zampedri and Jones, in the final stages, and then Lazier's 230 plus mph chase were all tremendous and the entertainment value, of the finish of the 1996 "500," was as good as all but perhaps the Johncock - Mears finish, in 1982, and the Al Unser Jr. - Scott Goodyear battle, ten years later. Given Lazier's aggression, speed and determination, at 230 mph, with a broken back, I'd call Buddy's run to victory, an absolute classic. They don't come much better than that!    

I came away from the 1996 "Indianapolis 500," still in love, and very confident about the future of the race, in the post CART era. When it was reported that the 1997 "500" was sold out, on June 19, 1996, I became convinced the Indy Racing League was the right direction for the sport.       

A lot was made of the announced 24,000 fans that attended the next IRL race, on August 18, at the New Hampshire International Speedway. In truth, from the view the ABC cameras provided, there didn't appear to be that many people, at the race. There was a reported crowd, of 55,000, for the first CART race, at the New Hampshire track, in July, 1992. But the CART crowds began dropping off drastically, after NASCAR Winston Cup racing came to New Hampshire, in 1993. There were approximately 35,000 people, at the track, for the 1995 CART race.    

I thoroughly enjoyed the New Hampshire race, however, and Stewart was sensational. To me, this was the best I've seen him run, and it was the most dominant performance I've ever seen, on a mile oval.

Stewart qualified seventh, at 171.190 mph. Pole qualifier Richie Hearn qualified at 175.367 mph. Tony overcame the cars in front of him, in quick fashion, taking the lead on lap 14. From that point on, he devastated the competition. On the way to lapping the entire field twice, Stewart passed high. He passed low. He went through groups of cars, with moves I hadn't seen before. Yet each pass was executed with precision.   

One of the race's memorable moments came on lap 67, when Stewart was attempting to lap Buddy Lazier. For most of a lap, they ran side by side, with Stewart's Lola - Menard holding a tight inside line. Going into the corner, at the end of the backstretch, it appeared that Lazier came down slightly on Tony, almost pinching the yellow Menard car's nose. Tony appeared not to vary an inch, throughout the incident. In some ways, it was very similar to the incident, on lap 199, of the 1989 "500", between Emerson Fittipaldi and Al Unser Jr.     

Buddy was excited and very emotional, over the radio, to his crew, but thankfully didn't re-injure himself. It was a basic racing accident, to be sure, and it didn't appear to be Tony's mistake.    

Just as it appeared that Tony would give John Menard and the Buick V6 engine their initial victory, the power shut off, and Stewart was out of the race, with only 16 laps remaining. Tony had proved his point, however, leading 165 laps and holding a two lap advantage, when his car quit.      

The most recent IRL event, at the unfinished, but impressive 1.5 mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway tri-oval, saw Stewart fail to lead an IRL race, for the first time. Although he qualified second, at 224.225 mph, Tony didn't appear to have a car capable of outrunning either Arie Luyendyk or Robby Gordon. Still, he had moved into a close second place, when tire failure caused Tony to crash hard, off the second turn. This ended Stewart's 1996 season.    

For a youngster with as much energy as Stewart, obviously five IRL races aren't enough. Indianapolis Star columnist Robin Miller wrote of Stewart being a regular visitor to Stefan Johansson's karting facility, on Indianapolis' west side, willing to race anyone available. I love it! I hope that's true.

Although he wasn't as regular or successful a USAC competitor, as in previous seasons, Stewart still managed to make some of the shows.     

I saw him race midgets and Silver Crown cars, in the USAC double header, at NASCAR's Richmond International Raceway. He drove a Ford powered Beast midget, for Steve Lewis and Wynn's, with Kenny Irwin as his teammate. He also drove the black Skoal Silver Crown car, owned by A.J. Foyt and George Snider. Neither race resulted in victory, however.      

A few nights, before the IRL race, in New Hampshire, Tony took pole, his heat and a feature win, in the Mel Kenyon Classic USAC midget program, at Indianapolis Raceway Park, on ESPN2's USAC Thunder.      

In the final Thunder program, of the season, in September, Stewart and Irwin were battling for the lead, on the dirt, at the Terre Haute Action Track, in the annual Hut Hundred midget classic. They crashed, unfortunately, eliminating both drivers.          

NASCAR is "chomping at the bit" to bring Stewart into their sphere. Darrell Waltrip expressed interest in bringing Stewart to his team, last August, while in Indianapolis, for the "Brickyard 400." It's probably easy for NASCAR to relate Tony to Jeff Gordon, given their similar racing backgrounds and ages.

To me, the few times I've seen him running Ranier's NASCAR Busch Grand National car, he didn't appear to enjoy the same spectacular talent he has in open wheel cars. He did appear to know how to pass a lot of cars, in a short time, but it seemed as if those charges usually wore out Ranier's cars.

During his early convalescence, from his Las Vegas injuries, the story was reported that, due to contractual obligations, Stewart would be running Winston Cup, full time, for Ranier, next season. The report also indicated that Tony was contracted to John Menard, for IRL events, through the 1997 "Indianapolis 500."        

It has also been reported, continuously, since Robby Gordon's announcement, last August, that he was moving to NASCAR, for 1997, that Tony was a prime candidate to drive for Barry Green, next season, in CART, with sponsorship, from Kool cigarettes. Thankfully, for the IRL, Parker Johnstone was able to bring Honda power to Team Green, for 1997, and he will be that team's driver. That's quite a switch for Green, from Jacques Villeneuve, in 1994 and 1995, to Raul Boesel, in 1996, to Johnstone. It also says something about the general level of driving talent in the CART series, at the moment. 

About four weeks ago, Robin Miller broke the story that NASCAR Winston Cup championship team owner Rick Hendrick was coming to the IRL, with a full time program, and Stewart as his driver. Although  no denials were issued, there still has been no official announcement of the project yet. Perhaps it will come this weekend, at the NASCAR banquet, in New York City, when Terry Labonte is honored as the second consecutive Winston Cup champion, from Hendrick Motorsports.

I hope it happens. I think a combination of Tony Stewart and Hendrick Motorsports would be a "powerhouse" package for the Indy Racing League.        

The IRL needs Tony Stewart as a marquee star and Stewart has all the ingredients for stardom, including a brash, cocky, cool media persona. He can become a name with a lot of punch, in a short time. Although winless, he's still, along with Arie Luyendyk, one of the two top names in the series. In the 1996 IRL races, Stewart's lap leading total, of 247, leads the other IRL lap leaders, by a sizable margin. Those other leaders were Luyendyk (158), Buzz Calkins (130), Richie Hearn (90), Lazier (71), Robby Gordon (59), Scott Sharp (58), Roberto Guerrero (47), Davy Jones (46), John Paul Jr. (22), Robbie Buhl (21), Alessandro Zampedri (20), Davy Hamilton (2) and Stan Wattles (2).     

How would Tony Stewart stack up against CART's best drivers? Certainly he'd be at a disadvantage, on the road circuits, but I think he'd compete at the same level as CART's big stars, Al Unser Jr. and Michael Andretti, on the ovals. I think Tony has it all over the young Canadian, Greg Moore, who is fast, but has problems putting together complete race performances, and who seems to become involved in a lot of mishaps. Ask Emerson Fittipaldi about the 20 year old Moore's racing precision. I also think if you put Tony in one of the Ganassi Target cars, on an oval, he'd kick the ass of the 1996 CART champion, whose name I can't remember.      

It's been since 1960, when Valparaiso born Jim Rathmann won, that a native Hoosier has won the "Indianapolis 500." I'd love to see Stewart become the next to do so, in 1997.     

I've read a lot of letters, this year, from disgruntled fans, in my two favorite racing publications, On Track and Racer magazines, knocking Tony George and the Indy Racing League. I can understand a lot of it, because of the drastic changes the IRL brought. I expect a lot of that sentiment to dissipate in 1997.

To me, the Indy Racing League, represents the future of open wheel and Indianapolis style racing. I like the concepts; cheaper racing, wider competition, and a restoration of American oval racing tradition. I'm eager to see the new IRL cars run, in January, at Walt Disney World. With the sell out, for the 1997 "500," the new races scheduled for Texas and Colorado, proposed IRL venues in Kankakee, Illinois and Detroit, the possibility of races at Charlotte and Atlanta, and what appears to be a strengthening bond of cooperation, with NASCAR, things appear to be moving in a positive direction for the Indy Racing League.       

I'm a Hoosier. I like having another Hoosier, Tony George, and a Hoosier institution, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, calling the shots for Indianapolis style racing. After all, it's a Hoosier sport.

I  want to see a Hoosier boy, Tony Stewart, not another Brazilian, in front of the people competing in our Hoosier sport. Damn straight!