Team Penske will win em all

There seem to be some people who think Team Penske will have easy sailing in the IRL next year.

One of the things that is characteristic of Team Penske and Roger Penske is an attention to detail surpassing that of their competitors.

I don't think there is any doubt they will win some races. I will be suprised though if they contend for the championship.

One other bright spot possible for the IRL would be for an exclusively IRL team to win Indianapolis in 2002. I would surely put Team Penske at, or very near the top, of my list to be able to pull that off.

I doubt they will win them all, but they are going to expose the IRL engine program for what it is. Already Penske has formed an alliance with Ilmor and Kelley Racing and they have spent beaucoup dollars developing the engines last year. Kelley spent over $US 1.2 million developing a soft rev limiter with Ilmor. They and Penske are going to end up being the haves and the lesser teams will be the have nots. At least with a lease program you know that the team in the next pit stall has the same powerplant you do if they lease from the same manufacturer. The IRL places a price cap on the engine as from the factory, not how much you want to spend on it making it go fast.

Every racing series has its haves and have nots. Always has, always will.

Is there any word yet on IRL 2003 engine specs?

Penske will struggle in 2002. Neither driver has many wins on ovals. Helio has the Indy 500 and Gil has Nazareth(2000) and Rockingham.

Originally posted by hakkiman
Penske will struggle in 2002. Neither driver has many wins on ovals. Helio has the Indy 500 and Gil has Nazareth(2000) and Rockingham.

I wouldn't say Gil & Helio are great oval drivers from what I've seen in CART, but I doubt the IRL will have the depth to overcome them. Gil would've won the Phoenix race last year if he wasn't punted off and Helio was looking good too when his engine let go. Indy was a 1-2, so they're already proven. They won't win all races but I will be surprised if they don't win the championship.

Gil may be a little old, but I have a feeling Helio stil has some yearning to race in Formula One. If this is the case, his first mission will be to get out of IRL asap. The oval races may entertain a few Americans, but beating a bunch of nobodies isn't goign to help either of their careers. In fact, I would say it is the end of them unless they can either get out of or wait out their contracts with Penske. By then, it might be too late though.

I'd be very surprised if either of them re-signed with the team for 2003. But Roger's got deep pockets. And CART may be in such a state of disarray that they might find themselves in the right place at the right time.

And as for any predictions for the upcoming IRL season? I honestly feel that the Penske pilots are going to walk away with it. 1-2. And don't try telling me that these guys can't drive ovals. Maybe the numbers don't show up in the "wins" column, but they've been known to lead a lap or two. Helio looked like a sure win at Michigan in 99. That's the only example that I can come up with, probably because I was there for that one. But these guys are two of the best, and can outdrive a New York taxi driver, much less 90% of the IRL field.

I wouldn't be surprised if Helio tries to line up a swap. A swap with Kenny would make some sense, put Helio in the #4 Ganassi car and Kenny in the IRL Penske. I feel sorry for him, beign forced to race in a second rate series which does not represent his career targets, jsut because of some sponsor issues and power politics.