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IRL Tests at Two New Tracks

© Seth Ronald Eichhorn

Several teams have been doing testing at a couple of the new 2001 Indy Northern Light Series tracks this past week. Scott Sharp tested at the new Chicagoland Speedway and found the track incredibly smooth. Track president Joey Chitwood, of the thrill show family, gave credit for the smooth conditions to an incredible month of perfect weather as the paving was being done. In another note on this testing session, Sharp was joined by NASCAR's new Dodge entry from the Petty stable. It's driver, from another famous family, John Andretti, also commented on the smooth conditions. Sharp and Andretti both felt the new track would provide some really exciting side-by-side racing actions for the fans in the midwest.

Further south, Mark Dismore and Greg Ray tested at Homestead-Miami Raceway and found the same kind of conditions that Sharp did, an incredibly smooth track. Dismore is quoted as saying, "I love the track. The first thing I noticed is it’s super-smooth with not a bump out there. He continued, "It’s really challenging. It’s going to be tight racing, I guarantee that. I imagine the whole field will be covered by six- or seven-tenths of a second. I’ve only seen this track on television before today, and it’s awesome."

In other IRL news, it looks like three drivers from the USAC Sprint Car circuits will be trying to pass their rookie tests at Kentucky Speedway. Tracy Hines, Derek Davidson and Kasey Kahne will have to opportunity to test in an Indy Car. The opportunity is made possible by Pennzoil and Panther Racing, and is offered to top USAC open-wheel drivers. Hines just clinched the Coors Light Silver Bullet Sprint series title on October 29th. Davidson and Hines finished in the top five of the USAC Stoops Freightliner Sprint Car Series. Kasey Kahne comes out of the USAC Midgets, where he holds a commanding lead in the season's points standings. Hopefully we'll see one or more of these drivers find an IRL ride for next season.

Sam Hornish Jr. was hospitalized for four days recently after he was bitten by a spider. He was taken to the Emergency Room of a local hospital near his home in Defiance, Ohio, with difficulty walking. He is recovering well, and is taking antibiotics for his wound.

Finally, Indy Car veteran Jimmy Kite has a unique hobby. He builds scale model sprint cars. No, not with a kit, but from scratch, using toothpicks, cardboard and a lot of skill and talent, he is able to build exact replicas of many of the winged sprinters that he likes. He recently built a replica of the sprint car he drove in Farmington, Missouri in 1999 and gave it as a gift to a friend.

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