Columnist Ron Kantowski: The magic is back for racing fans

Thursday, May 24, 2001 | 10:17 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's column appears Thursday. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or 259-4088.

The one and only time I tried to change the oil in my car, I nearly drowned in 10W-30. But lack of automotive know-how did not preclude me from becoming a fan of the Indianapolis 500.

In fact, I used to love that race.

I saw my first "500" in 1973. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was bigger, faster and more colorful than even Sid Collins described it on the radio, and since removing my rookie stripes in the tragic '73 race (drivers Art Pollard and Swede Savage and a crew member were killed and driver Salt Walther suffered severe burns in a fiery crash at the start) I only missed the "500" once through 1995.

Then came "The Split," as Indy-car racing splintered into two leagues. The teams and drivers of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) wound up on the outside, as their cars were not legal to compete under the new engine and chassis rules adopted by the Indy Racing League, founded by IMS chief Tony George.

As a result, the "500" became more watered down than a Terre Haute farm during flood season.

While the grandstands still are packed, most racing purists agree the race has lost a lot of its luster since the CART guys stopped going. In fact, the ticket scalpers say the "500" is now only the third-hottest ticket in town, behind NASCAR's Brickyard 400 and the latest reincarnation of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which debuted at Indianapolis last September.

But the magic is starting to return to the Indy 500. It's not up to David Copperfield standards yet, but with CART's Roger Penske (record 10 Indy wins) back with his two drivers, Chip Ganassi putting four cars in the field (including one for Las Vegan Jimmy Vasser and another for NASCAR stalwart Tony Stewart) and Michael Andretti returning to renew acquaintance with Al Unser Jr., the race has regained much of its star quality.

Plus, now that it has been around for six years, the IRL has developed some good and/or fast drivers of its own. There's Buddy Lazier, Scott Sharp, Greg Ray and Jeff Ward, along with Indy graybeards such as Eddie Cheever, Scott Goodyear and Arie Luyendyk. And it wouldn't be Indy without A.J. Foyt, who has three cars in this year's race.

For betting purposes, the IRL drivers outnumber their CART rivals 26-7. But if CART changes its engine rules to conform with IRL specifications, expect more balance next year.

If that happens, Tony George will claim victory. He will have proven that the "500" is too big a spectacle for the CART teams to bypass by forcing them to play by his rules. But as for the two sides permanently reuniting, forget it. CART is now a publicly owned company, making a merger unlikely if not impossible, and the two series continue to have contrasting philosophies. The IRL is an all-oval series while CART's backbone is its road and street races, which continue to draw impressive crowds.

So let's not anoint George the savior of open-wheel racing just yet. He may have stumbled onto a car and engine formula that works, but consider that his godfather Foyt, as appie pie as they come, has a "ride-buyin' furriner" (Eliseo Salazar of Chile) as his primary driver.

Still, it's good to see the rival series get semi-together again, even if it's only for a couple of weekends in May. It's almost enough to make this Hoosier wish he was "Back Home Again in Indiana."