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MILLER: IRL’s Big Three Reign On
Ex-Champ Car teams knew they’d face a steep hill to climb in their transition to the IndyCar Series, and that’s exactly what they got at Homestead, SPEED’s Robin Miller reports…
Robin Miller  |  Posted March 30, 2008   Homestead, Fla.
Seeing a Newman/Haas/Lanigan car being lapped in succession will take some getting used to, but that's the reality facing ex-CCWS teams on ovals this season... (LAT Photo)

A cynic might say that Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi, Michael Andretti and Tony George have the remains of Champ Car right where they want them: under their feet and out of sight.

To be sure, the unified Indy Racing League is anything but a level playing field right now for the ex-CC teams that scrambled to compete here at Homestead/Miami Speedway..

But, aside from the fact Saturday night's IRL season opener looked more like Saturday afternoon's Grand Am show between prototypes and GT cars, there were no major surprises other than the lack of caution flags.

The Ganassi-Andretti-Penske triumvirate continued their dominance by sweeping the top four spots, leading all 200 laps and winning for the 46th time in the past 48 races.

And the ex-Champ Car boys were in the back battling with each other and mighty Milka Duno before she crashed.

"It was a long, long night because we were slow, really slow," said Oriol Servia, who captured first-in-class honors by finishing 12th for KV Racing -- five laps behind winner Scott Dixon.

"I mean we knew it was going to be hard and it was going to take a while to get competitive and, unfortunately, it was as I expected."

Considering the last-minute thrash to get cars, the lack of testing and unfamiliarity with the Dallara chassis, it was almost a victory just to get nine new cars to the track and eight of them in the show (Graham Rahal did not start due to a practice accident earlier in the week).

Yet watching an operation as successful, savvy and proud as Newman/Haas/Lanigan qualify 15th put a perspective on how much work remains to try and close the gap on oval tracks.
Even Oriol Servia, one of few ex-Champ Car drivers with extensive oval experience, struggled significantly at Homestead. (LAT Photo)

"If Justin (Wilson) doesn't cut that tire I think we finish ninth or tenth which would not have been a bad start but we were 2-3 mph behind the leaders and that's a huge mountain to climb," said Craig Hampson, who engineered Sebastien Bourdais to four consecutive championships for NHL.

"We're learning about this car on the fly and we keep getting parts but we don't know what they are and no two parts match so it's definitely a challenge. This series is so much more expensive than Champ Car because of all the areas you can be creative with, which is exciting for an engineer.

"But we've got to pick and chose our battles because we can't fight them all. I still think it's going to take until next season to be in shouting distance with the top guys on ovals."

Wilson, the accomplished road racer who was the prohibitive favorite to take the title in Champ Car for 2008, always takes everything in stride and his first 1.5-mile IRL experience was no exception.

"It was very frantic out there but we were quicker than a lot of people and our race pace was much better than our qualifying pace," said the 29-year-old Brit who lost three laps early after tangling with Will Power and cutting down a tire.

"I'd never heard so much talk on my radio but all I kept saying was that my car was loose, help me."

Power, a two-time winner in 2007 with only one previous oval start at Milwaukee, seemed game for more oval racing under the right setup.

"I think once you get a good car it could be a lot of fun," said the Aussie who was first out after suffering suspension damage. "I ran the wrong gear in qualifying but I was starting to get comfortable in the race so it's too bad we got knocked out early.

"I know there's still a lot in this car and we've got a lot of catching up to do but the racing was fun."

Rookie Franck Perera was the fastest of the "transition teams" in qualifying (13th) and deemed his oval-track debut a fairly pleasant experience.

"I don't ever like finishing this far back (14th) but I had never run an oval before or made pit stops and my longest race had been one hour so I'm pleased to get this experience," said last year-s Atlantic series runner-up who drives the Opus Prime Special for Eric Bachelart.

"I'm just looking forward to going to St. Pete this week because that's more what I'm used to."

The street course at St. Pete should get guys like Power, Perera, Servia, Rahal and Wilson much closer to the front of the grid and places like Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio and Sonoma could be their only chance at a podium in 2008.

"I certainly expect that group to give us a run for our money on the road courses and maybe we can learn a few things from them next week," said Dan Wheldon, who charged from 22nd to third on Saturday night.

As far as ovals go, Indianapolis might be the best shot for the Champ Car Nine to get closer to the front of the field since they spend almost two weeks practicing.

"I don't expect to be on the pole or to win the race," said Wilson. "But we should be stronger in May."

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, SPEED, or Haymarket Worldwide.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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