Sunday’s Delphi Indy 300 was sold out. Plenty of good seats were available. How can this be? Because Chicagoland Speedway was able to sell four-race “track packs” with the one race everyone wanted to see–the Winston Cup Tropicana 400 on July 15–and three others of more limited interest, including Sunday’s. They cost $175 and up, with the choicest seats going for $330, plus a one-time $1,500 payment.
Only a few hundred tickets turned back by sponsors were sold at the track, although there were plenty available in the parking lots at bargain prices. During the week numerous classified ads offered tickets.
The track and the Indy Racing League declined to estimate Sunday’s attendance, but it appeared about 40,000 to 45,000 were in the grandstand with a capacity of about 70,000. The track announced Sunday that next year’s track pack would expand to five races, adding an Indy Infiniti series event.
Of the three major races in the Chicago area–the Tropicana, the CART Target Grand Prix and the Delphi–Sunday’s race was by far the most exciting, with 13 lead changes and lots of nose-to-tail racing.
TV deal: In what appeared to be another blow to faltering hopes that the two major open-wheel circuits–CART and the IRL–would get together, the IRL, ABC and ESPN announced a deal that would keep the league on TV until at least 2007. The IRL will be the only series shown on ABC and ESPN, which has televised CART races as well as IRL races this year. CART went with CBS in its new TV deal.
Details were few, but the parties said Sunday that more races would be shown live.
Richie rich: Richie Hearn, making only his second start of the season, finished sixth. “The race was fun,” he said. “My right foot went numb from pushing so hard. I had to put my left foot on my right.”
Calling the signals: One of the co-owners for Panther Racing, the group that owns and operates Sam Hornish Jr.’s team, was unable to be in Joliet to celebrate the circuit championship. But shortly after the race, a call was placed to Jim Harbaugh to inform him of the good news.
“I was mentioning all the owners of this team, and I forgot to mention Jim Harbaugh,” said Hornish to Harbaugh via cell phone. Harbaugh, the former Bears quarterback cut Sunday by Detroit, could only laugh and offer his congratulations.
“Jim is one of the nicest people you are ever going to meet,” added Hornish, who mentioned Harbaugh has been to five races during the IRL season. “He really puts a lot of effort into learning as much as he can about racing.”
Top to bottom: Scott Sharp, who came into the race ranked third in the point standings and with one championship and three poles to his credit this season, was the first driver out–in Lap No. 29–when his right rear tire apparently shredded. It was twice as frustrating for Sharp because his sponsor, Delphi, also was sponsoring the race.
“I wanted to do well today for all of their guests,” Sharp said. “The car was fine before the accident, so I’m not sure what happened. Something just snapped and I had no control.”
Need for speed: Robbie Buhl, an Infiniti teammate of Eddie Cheever Jr., posted the race’s fastest lap of 222.137 m.p.h. on Lap 73. He led for 32 laps before mechanical problems forced his car out on Lap 102.
