Darland Wins Chance at Indy Car Test

As the Indy Northern Light teams gear up for the final race of the season, the Excite 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, one team was trying out a new driver. Hemelgarn Racing owner Ron Hemelgarn made an offer while at a USAC Sprint Car race at Toledo Speedway to give the winner a chance to test in an Indy Car. That winner, USAC open-wheel star Dave Darland not only won the race, but on September 12 passed his rookie test at Texas Motor Speedway. Darland drove the Indy Car that was driven by Buddy Lazier last season in IRL competition.

Darland was the winningest driver in the USAC Sprint Car series in 1999 and also has driven midgets and been victorious in such events as the Belleville Nationals. He also was the Coors Silver Bullet champion during 1999. With that kind of experience and his great rookie test results, could it be that Buddy Lazier has a new team mate for the upcoming season? Darland's experience would make him a natural for a ride in an Indy Car. His sprint and midget history is reminiscent of earlier Indy drivers, such as his supervisor for the rookie test, three time Indianapolis 500 champion Johnny Rutherford.

The Hemelgarn team was also active this week as Buddy Lazier tested at Texas in preparation for the Excite 500. Lazier, who has a 38 point lead over Scott Goodyear in the chase for the IRL championship, finished 7th in the last race at Texas, the Casino Magic 500, held in June.

Lazier commented, "Winning the Indy 500 validated my career to my family and friends, but winning a championship would be a much different feeling for me." With that in mind, he is doing everything possible to put himself in a position to win on October 15th. "Texas Motor Speedway is an awesome facility," Lazier stated. "We were one of the first teams to ever test here. It is one of the most challenging high-banked ovals we race on. It produces two and three-wide racing, which is very hair-raising for the drivers."

Next year, the race, the season finale for the Indy Northern Lights Racing Series moves up two weeks to September 16th as part of an expanded 13 race schedule. The addition of three new races should give more exposure to the IRL and therefore help the reputation of the series. Additionally, all of the races next season will be televised on either ABC television or ESPN.

Go To Page: 1