PRUETT: Triple Stint, 7/22

Le Mans / ALMS

PRUETT: Triple Stint, 7/22

The latest collection of thoughts from last weekend’s events and other assorted topics from Auto Racing editor Marshall Pruett.

Marshall Pruett | Posted July 22, 2009 Oakland, CA

Arie Luyendyk is one of the eleven drivers from 1990 that are listed at 5'11". (IndyCar.com)

Thanks to everyone that joined in for a hilarious weekly Auto Racing Chat (Tuesdays, 5:30pm ET). The new, fast-paced format seemed to work out quite nicely.

I also hope to have an update on the Greg Moore award shortly.

Email me with your thoughts, opinions and questions.

Heart And Soul

It was heartwarming to see Mazda win after many years and many millions spent in the LMP2 wilderness, and also for SPEEDtv.com’s Marino Franchitti to deliver on his potential after he and teammate Butch Leitzinger won on Dyson’s home soil.

Mazda’s John Doonan, the keeper of the marque’s flame, was in tears after finding success just five races into their relationship with Dyson.

“I thought about this day and what I’d say if it ever came, but I said to Greg Creamer on Radio Le Mans as soon as Butch crossed the start/finish line, that we’ve worked so hard with so little. We dedicate the win to our 800 plus Mazda dealers in North America and Mexico who are scrapping in a very tough economy, just like our team did at Lime Rock.

“This win is just one win, and we know how much longer the road is ahead of us, but we were able to get to this first hard earned win because of our CEO, our motorsports boss Robert Davis, all of the Mazdaspeed folks, all the people that race Mazdas and all of our corporate partners. I know some of this sounds generic, but I really mean it: Without them, we wouldn’t be here.”

The win also marked a breakthrough for the MZR-R engine, now in its third year of competition. “It was just as good, if not better than I thought it would be. I’ve spent all day today (Monday) calling and thanking people – this is a problem I’d love to have more often! Between the race and now, I’ve gotten 407 text messages! Our competitors, including Erik Berkman at Acura, have taken time to reach out to us. It really shows the class of the series and the people that make up the paddock in sportscar racing.”

It’s also worth mentioning the folks at B-K Motorsports, entrusted with the Mazda program between 2005-2008, who, despite one opportunistic win in ’05, never fully realized the potential of the Mazda program.

B-K was making slow but steady progress with the Lola-Mazda towards the end of 2008, and as Doonan reiterated, Mazda never planned to leave B-K behind in 2009. It was team owner Bob Bach’s decision to close B-K’s doors that led to a consolidation of both cars being run by Dyson.

“I’m a big believer that you never leave anyone behind, so I took time today to call all of the guys that were a part of the B-K program to thank them. We wish they were still here, but their hard work over the past few years can be seen in what led to our win on Sunday.”

With so much negativity filling the sport these days, it’s a welcome change to watch a ‘feel good’ story like this emerge.

IndyCar Drivers Are Getting Shorter And Lighter

File this under ‘Information that serves no real purpose, but Pruett was curious so he broke out his media guides and went to work.’

I was flipping through an old 1990 CART media guide recently and was struck by the height of a number of drivers. At first glance, I was sure the crop of IndyCar drivers from 1990 would be taller and heavier – drivers actually drank beer during a race weekend and digested pounds of red meat.

John Doonan's infectious enthusiasm is the driving force behind Mazda's many auto racing programs. (LAT)

One team I worked for told me about their former IndyCar driver Guido Dacco, who they throttled when they discovered he’d been filling his drink bottle with a cocktail of fine Italian vino and an undisclosed spirit that smelled like rocket fuel mixed with plums. It was a different time…

And looking at the full catalog of drivers from ’90, it is true that many of the part-time or Indy-only drivers stood tall and tipped the scales at a higher poundage than drivers do today, but when I narrowed the investigation to only the championship contenders, some interesting figures came to light.

I was going to compare the top-20 from 1990 and 2009, but after seeing that Versus announcer Jon Beekhuis ranked 21st in the championship in ’90, I had to expand the comparison to the top-21.

If we suspend reality and accept that every one of the stated heights and weights are indeed accurate, we learn that:

• The top-21 drivers from 1990 were a combined 1447 inches tall.
• The top-21 drivers from 2009 are a combined 1443 inches tall.
• The top-21 drivers from 1990 weighed a combined 3298 pounds.
• The top-21 drivers from 2009 weigh a combined 3205 pounds.

So, today, our drivers are a total of three inches shorter and 93 pounds lighter – that’s roughly one less ‘Danica’ in body mass.

• The average driver weight in 1990 was 157.0 pounds. Today it’s 152.6.

•When we average the three inch height difference from 1990 to 2009 across all 21 drivers, it barely registers. But it does drop the CART average of 5.74 feet tall to 5.72 in the IndyCar series. Depending on how you wanted to round things, it could also be called 5.73 feet.

• Ten drivers from 1990 were 5’10” or taller. Seven drivers from 2009 can make that claim.

• The most common height in 1990 was 5’10”, with four drivers (Little Al, Cheever, Mears and Pancho Carter). The most common height today is 5’8”, with five drivers (Marco, Mutoh, Helio, Conway and Tagliani).

• The most common weights in 1990 was 150lbs and 165lbs (five drivers for each). Today it’s 155lbs (Power, Doornbos, Tagliani and Franchitti).

• The tallest driver in 1990 amongst the top-21 was Bobby Rahal, listed at 6’1”. Today it’s Justin Wilson at 6’3”. The heaviest driver in 1990 (again, 1990…) was A.J Foyt at 200lbs. (Like I’m one to talk). Wilson owns that crown today as well at 193lbs.

• The lightest driver in 1990 was John Andretti at 135lbs. His closest male counterpart in 2009 is E.J. Viso at an identical 135lbs. Marco Andretti is next at 138lbs, just three more than John.

• Danica Patrick trumps everyone across both eras for diminutive stature, standing 5’2” and weighing 100lbs. John Andretti and Teo Fabi were the shortest in 1990 at 5’5” (why do I remember Fabi being shorter in person?). Viso is the shortest male in 2009 at 5’3”.

A few other oddities:

• Ryan Hunter-Reay is listed at the same height and weight (6’1”, 165) as his former boss, Bobby Rahal.

• Roberto Guerrero and Hideki Mutoh share the same height and weight listings (5’8”, 140lbs).

• Oval master Rick Mears (5’10”, 150lbs) shares the same height and weight with today’s oval master, Scott Dixon. 1998 Indy 500 winner Eddie Cheever also belongs to the club.

• Dario Franchitti shares his 5’9”/155lb dimensions with Scott Brayton and Dominic Dobson from 1990.

• Holland’s Arie Luyendyk shares 5’11” and 160lbs with South Africa’s Tomas Scheckter.

• Mike Groff and Rafa Matos are the only drivers from both eras listed at 168lbs.

Finally, let’s go back to the drivers from 1990 that were outside the top-21 – they’re the ones that piqued my interest. Add them into the mix, and the 1990 class towers over today’s crop

‘90 was the all-time ‘5’11”’ class; take the eight driver below and three more from our existing list (Foyt, Beekhuis and Luyendyk) and we’re up to 11 drivers at 5’11”...

Justin Wilson also would have been a great fit back then as he’d be the third driver at 6’3”.

Geoff Brabham: 5’11”
Kevin Cogan: 5’11”
Jean-Pierre Frey: 5’11”
Phil Krueger: 5’11”
Johnny Rutherford: 5’11”
Tom Sneva: 5’11”
James Weaver: 5’11”
Al Unser Sr.: 5’11”
Dale Coyne: 6’ 0”
Mike Greenfield: 6’0”
Dean Hall: 6’0”
Ludwig Heimrath Jr.: 6’0”
Bernard Jourdain: 6’3”
Rocky Moran: 6’3”

And what about our guy Jon Beekhuis, the man responsible for expanding the list to the top-21 drivers? He’s unique amongst the entire lot as the only one listed at 5’11” and 165lbs across the 42 drivers from both eras. Go Jon!

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