Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Kenny Brack back in IndyCar Series

Monday, Jan. 13, 2003 | 9:12 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Kenny Brack is with his fourth racing team in five years, but the 1998 Indy Racing League champion and 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner nonetheless will feel right at home when the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series opens March 2.

Brack, who spent the past three season in CART, returns to the IndyCar Series this year with team owner Bobby Rahal in a Honda-powered Dallara sponsored by Miller Lite and Pioneer. The 36-year-old Swede spent two years driving for Team Rahal in CART before moving to Target/Chip Ganassi Racing last season.

In 40 races with Team Rahal, Brack won four races, posted 11 podium and 24 top-10 finishes and finished fourth (2000) and second (2001) in points.

"The majority of the guys that I worked with in 2000 and 2001 are still here so it feels really good to be here," Brack said during a weekend visit to Las Vegas. "We did our first test last week and it was like a little apprehensive beforehand because even though you've got the majority of the same people together, you've been away for a year so you don't really know.

"But it took us a few hours and it was nearly like we started off where we left it and that is a cool feeling. I have a lot of faith in this group of people that are really skilled and determined."

Brack, who won the IRL championship and Indy 500 for team owner A.J. Foyt, admitted he would miss CART's road and street courses but said it was a no-brainer to make the switch back to the IndyCar Series.

"The manufacturers, the big teams and most of the established drivers are going to be in the IRL so I think that's the environment I want to race in," Brack said. "I had a great time in CART -- I liked the tracks and everything -- but I think this is best for my future right now.

"I like road racing, for sure ... but in the end, as a driver, you want to be driving for established big teams and you want to drive for an engine manufacturer and you want to be in the most competitive environment possible -- that's the first priority. The second priority would be the tracks and the majority of the tracks the IRL races on are really nice facilities."

Although Brack is stepping into a familiar situation in returning to the IndyCar Series with Team Rahal, he said he doesn't expect to have an edge over the competition this season.

"Personally, I think the IRL is going to be extremely tough competition," Brack said. "If you look at the cars and the amount of resources all the engine manufacturers are going to put in and the big teams and the drivers and their resumes, you have so many winning combinations (that) it's going to be extremely competitive.

"It's not easy to find any real advantage anymore, plus the rules are so restricted that if you find a good change these days, it's not going to make you three-tenths of a second quicker, it's going to make you five-hundredths (quicker). You can probably count 15-20 combinations of drivers and teams out there that can win races and that's extreme in a top-level open-wheel series."00