IRL: MEHL REVEALS RULES ADJUSTMENT

IRL - MEHL ANNOUNCES CHASSIS UPDATE RULES IRL Executive Director Leo Mehl told a meeting of Downtown Kiwanis members today that a new chassis rule had been ...

IRL - MEHL ANNOUNCES CHASSIS UPDATE RULES IRL Executive Director Leo Mehl told a meeting of Downtown Kiwanis members today that a new chassis rule had been approved by the IRL Board. Owners of the 1997 IRL chassis can have them updated to the next version for a maximum of $20,000. This means another step toward parity and a level playing field for the IRL competitors. In other comments Mehl almost apologised to the group that the creation of the IRL had become necessary. He quoted television statistics that showed that Indycar racing, except for the Indy 500, had been stable and barely above a 1 rating while NASCAR was moving into the 5 to 8 range with open wheel developed stars moving south and contributing to that success. Mentioned were Ken Schrader and Jeff Gordon, among others.

In addition, he mentioned that it was no secret that intense pressure was frequently applied by the CART contingent to reduces the Indy 500 to a three day race like all the others. As has been frequently reported here before, the threat of a boycott by CART was very real even if never stated publicly. Mehl also explained that he was opposed to ride buying that deprived a driver of his 25&8 seniority while at the same time expressing that he would be happy to see the 25&8 rule ended since it had served its original purpose of guaranteeing a starting field for the other races on the early IRL schedule. Chassis, according to Mehl, will be adequate for Indianaplis, there being 54 currently on hand. Engines are still not abundant however the prognosis is good that early gremlins affecting the Aurora and the Infiniti have been brought under control.

As for top drivers avoiding the Indy 500, Mehl emphasized it is a myth that the other side has all the top drivers and you don't have to look very far back into recent history to see a demonstration of that myth. IRL has plenty of top stars to showcase once the press ends its infatuation with propagating opinion instead of facts. by Len in Indy