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Stewart Puts His Stamp on the IMS |
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We talked earlier about Alex Lloyd becoming the first driver to win on both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval and road courses. Also mentioned was that Andretti Green Racing had, in 2005, become the first team to win on both on the IMS courses. Now we’d like to mention another team in the same context, Brian Stewart Racing [BSR].
With Bobby Wilson’s victory in the June 17th Liberty Challenge, BSR became the first IRL Indy Pro Series team to win on both the 2.5 mile Indy 500 oval and the 2.6 mile F1 USGP road course.
The winning car in both cases, the 2006 Futaba 100 race and the 2007 Liberty Challenge, was a BSR red and black car bearing the number “1”. Brian had won the team championship in 2005 and 2006 with Wade Cunningham and Geoff Dodge in the driver’s seat. [Dodge drove two races in 2006 when Wade was out with appendicitis].
Interestingly enough, although the race winning BSR drivers were different, Wade Cunningham having won the 2006 race and Bobby Wilson this one, they each had the same crew.
Doug Zister [chief engineer], Dave Metcalf [chief mechanic] and Harv Sweezie [mechanic] worked day and night to put together cars that could win and then turned Wade and Bobby lose in them.
There is nothing quite like the Pro Series rubbing elbows so to speak with the Indy 500 and the Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix. It is electric to be there.
Actually, these same three BSR crew members got some encouragement about the possibility of being good enough to win both races in 2005 when Wade Cunningham finished second in both the Futaba 100 and the Liberty Challenge on his way to winning the IPS championship.
It is most apropos that both of those Indy Pro races have been held on the Indy 500 and the F1 U.S. Grand Prix weekends. History tells us why.
From 1950 to 1960, the Indy 500 race was also considered the United States Grand Prix, and counted for points in the F1 World Championship. If fact, up until about 1980, the Indy 500 tickets had printed on them that, the race was the “500 Mile International Sweepstakes.” It was after that, when the tickets said, as they do now, the race is the “Indianapolis 500.”
During that 50’s roadster’s decade the 500 was won by American drivers. But in 1952, Formula 1 driver Alberto Ascari, from Italy, did run in the 500. Although Ascari finished 31st and only completed 40 laps, he did win the F1 World Championship that year and the next for Ferrari.
Of course, it was World Champion Jack Brabham who brought his F1 car to the 500 in 1961 and started the rear-engine revolution that made the front-engine roadsters history. Then in 1965 World Champion Jim Clark driving for Colin Chapman won the 500 “International Sweepstakes” for the first time in a rear-engine car.
During the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s absence as the home for the USGP until 2000, the F1 race was held at Sebring, Riverside, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix. During ten years there were two USGPs held, and once, in 1982, there were three [Long Beach, Detroit and Las Vegas]. The circuit which held the most was Watkins Glen and it was host to twenty USGPs. During the years 1992 – 1999 there was no USGP.
The first USGP which was not held at the IMS was in 1959 [there were two USGPs that year]. That race was held at Sebring and won by Bruce McLaren. So it is of some coincidence that this years F1 race was won by the McLaren – Mercedes.
Also of relevance is that the F1 winning driver was rookie Lewis Hamilton, who is a good friend with Alex Lloyd. Both being from England, they met some years ago karting, and in 2003 Lewis won the Formula Renault UK championship and Alex was second in the points. On the 17th it was Lewis winning and Alex in second again on the same circuit.
Of the 43 USGP races that have not been held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, only one has been won by an American driver. Mario Andretti won the 1977 race that was held at Long Beach. It seems fitting that it was Marco in 2005 that won the first IRL race on the current USGP circuit.
As we had mentioned in an earlier story, two current Pro drivers [Jaime Camara and Wade Cunningham] had each won the Futaba 100 and therefore had a shot on June 16 and 17 at becoming winners on both of the IMS circuits. Unfortunately for them, they will have to wait for another try next year. Camara’s best finish was a 3rd and Cunningham’s a 4th.
Our congratulations to Canada’s Brian Stewart and his organization for winning on both courses of the greatest motorsports facility in the world. You have helped make the IMS at the Indy Pro Series level an International Sweepstakes again.
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