IROC gets vote of confidence
It wasn’t long ago that doomsayers were indicating that the International Race of Champions was a series just waiting to go away.
Well, you won’t hear that any longer. Late last month, officials of IROC, which is sponsored by Crown Royal, announced that the renowned series would again run a four-race schedule in 2005 with the champion earning a $1 million prize. The series matches 12 of the best drivers from different divisions of auto racing in equally prepared cars to battle for supremacy. The drivers who don’t win the championship receive $80,000 for their efforts.
The series kicks off for the 25th year at Daytona on Feb. 18, 2005, and will re-visit the same tracks from 2004, namely Texas Motor Speedway in April; Richmond International in September; and the finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway in October.
Jay Signore, president of the IROC Series, says, “The IROC season-opener at Daytona during Speedweeks is like a homecoming every year, and it’ll be extra special celebrating our 25th race at the Speedway.”
Why then, the negative comments about the series? Some say it was a lack of top-name drivers from other than NASCAR’s Cup series competing in IROC. However, that problem erased itself when the champions from IRL, USAC, Sears Craftsman Trucks and World of Outlaws agreed to run in 2004.
NASCAR’s Matt Kenseth won this year’s title at Atlanta under the lights. Kenseth’s victory came compliments of WOO star Danny Lasoski, who laid enough front air dam on Ryan Newman’s bumper to stop the former open-wheel dirt champion from passing Kenseth on the final lap of Atlanta’s 65-lap race.
Lasoski’s presence in the series, along with fellow WOO series champion Steve Kinser, rates high on the fan appreciation meter, as the “Dude” finished third at Atlanta and won the Texas IROC event in grand style.
What’s next? Don’t be surprised to see a big-name NHRA driver join the series in 2005, specifically Ron Capps, driver of the Skoal Chevy Monte Carlo Funny Car for Don Prudhomme racing. Capps has been taking some serious road course and open-wheel training, winning races and running up front in just about every car he’s driven. (He also went upside down in a midget, so he’s already paid his dues in that area.)
“We were very close to inviting Ron Capps to compete in the 2004 series,” said George Signore, whose father, Jay, has been at the helm of the IROC series. “Things just didn’t work out for one reason or another, but we’ll be looking ahead to 2005 and try to invite someone from as many series as we can.”
Invitations for the driver roster in 2005 will surely include Tony Kanaan, the new IRL Champ, and defending champ Matt Kenseth. Perhaps drivers from the Champ Car World Series and ALMS can also be invited, rounding down that “NASCAR heavy” roster for the better.
The cars, meanwhile, need body updating. IROC still uses the Pontiac Trans Am body, a vehicle that is now in its third year of non-production. Let’s hope a manufacturer from GM, Ford or Dodge steps up, but don’t count out Toyota. What a natural to begin its quest for joining the Nextel Cup series in the future.
Regardless of who will drive and in what car (we really don’t mind the Trans-Am because it’s a great race car), look for the IROC series to be more popular than ever next year. SPEED Channel will televise the series and will announce the TV schedule early next year. It’s worth every minute of watch time.