Two promising drivers could be leaving the IRL

Thursday, Sept. 23, 1999 | 10:31 a.m.

When Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George founded the Indy Racing League in 1995, he didn't envision the open-wheel series becoming a developmental league.

Rather, George saw the circuit as a low-cost alternative to the more costly Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) circuit.

If the rumors sweeping through the garage area are true, however, the IRL may be losing two of its promising young drivers to other series.

The strongest rumors have 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner and 1998 IRL champion Kenny Brack replacing Bryan Herta with Team Rahal in the CART series, and Kelley Racing pilot Scott Sharp leaving the IRL fold to drive for A.J. Foyt's Winston Cup team next season.

Brack would neither confirm nor deny the rumor, but did acknowledge that talks have been taking place on his behalf.

"It's the time of year when silly season starts and there's different kinds of rumors here and there," Brack said during a recent test session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "There are people talking and that's all I can comment on it.

"As far as having a bona fide offer, I don't have anything for next year yet."

Yet another rumor has two-time CART series champion Al Unser Jr. moving over to the IRL next season to drive for team owner Rick Galles, who currently is fielding a car for Las Vegas resident Davey Hamilton.

Unser was told earlier this summer by CART team owner Roger Penske that his contract would not be renewed for the 2000 season. Unser, who has 31 CART wins, has not won a race in that series since 1995.

The Unser rumor gained some credibility this week when one CART source told the Sun that Unser has notified CART of his intention to drive in the IRL next season.

* GAUGHAN WITH THE RAIN: Las Vegas native Brendan Gaughan was unsure how to react to Wednesday's rainout of the manufacturers test session for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at LVMS.

Gaughan this evening will attempt to qualify for Friday's Orleans 250 and he was hoping to use the scheduled six-hour session to shake down the new Chevrolet truck he hopes to debut in the race.

"There are two forms of thought here," Gaughan said as he sought shelter in his hauler from the rain. "The first form of thought is we could have used the test time to get comfortable in the new truck.

"The second form of thought is, I've still got more laps than any of these other guys here, so, hey, let them stay off the track, too."

As an instructor for the Richard Petty Driving Experience at LVMS, Gaughan has logged thousands of laps on the 1.5-mile superspeedway.

Gaughan said he was comfortable that the truck, which his father, Michael, purchased from Chesrown Racing, would be fast when it hit the track this afternoon for a two-hour practice session that precedes the 5 p.m. qualifying.

* 'SIMPLE' TASK: It may take a mathematician to calculate the different scenarios for the 13 drivers who still have a chance to capture the Indy Racing League championship, but Greg Ray's task at hand is relatively simple.

Leading Scott Goodyear by 44 points going into Sunday's Vegas.com 500 at LVMS, Ray can clinch the title and the $1 million Pep Boys bonus if he leaves Las Vegas with a lead of 56 points or greater.

The maximum amount of points a driver can earn in a race is 55 -- 50 for winning the race, three for winning the pole and two for leading the most laps.