IRL: Jeff Ward in Postion to Win at Orlando

[Motorsport News International]

TALENT, TESTING, TEAM PUT WARD IN POSITION TO WIN AT ORLANDO

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Jan. 18, 1999 -- Jeff Ward and his family
will join thousands of visitors at Walt Disney World this week.
Ward and his wife, Candice, will follow their son Brandon around
the Magic Kingdom as the 6-year-old bounds throughout the park with
18-month twin brothers Ayrton and Alain in tow.
The Wards are anxious to return to the Orlando area, but Jeff Ward
has some reservations about the trip.
"My son loves to go on all the rides, and I get dizzy being on
anything that goes upside-down," said Ward, about to start his second
full-time season as a driver in the Pep Boys Indy Racing League. "I stay
away from that stuff. I get dizzy from playing computer racing games on
TV."
That's a strange confession from one of the brightest stars on the
Indy Racing League circuit, who remains a legend in the world of
motorcycle racing for his daring flights over hill and dale en route to
winning seven American Motorcyclist Association national motocross
championships.
"I don't even like roller coasters," he said. "I guess because
it's out of my hands, and I'm just a passenger."
Ward will be in complete control when the 1999 Pep Boys Indy
Racing League season starts Jan. 24 with the TransWorld Diversified
Services Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway, a 1-mile tri-oval located
just inside the gates of the Magic Kingdom. It's the first of 11 races for
the world's premier open-wheel, oval-track racing series this season.
Despite his trip this week to the Magic Kingdom, the only line at
Disney World that Ward is focused on is the finish line of the 1-mile
tri-oval. He wants to improve on last year's runner-up finish in Orlando
and claim his first Indy Racing League victory in the ThermoTech-ISM
Racing G Force/Aurora/Goodyear entry, which has associate sponsorship from
Ceasefire!, ProLong Super Lubricants, National Car Rental and Simpson Race
Products.
Ward finished a strong second to winner Tony Stewart a year ago at
Orlando after starting from the 26th spot. Ward was forced to the back of
the starting grid when rain washed out qualifying, and starting positions
were determined by the previous year's drivers standings.
"We made it through that mess, but I don't like starting in the
back because of problems you can run in to," said Ward, who entered 1998
with only three Indy Racing League races on his resume.
Ward's determination to escape a back-row start was evident at the
next race when he won the PPG Pole for the Dura-Lube 200 at Phoenix
International Raceway and finished fifth.
It was an early indication of the impact Ward would make on the
Pep Boys Indy Racing League season.
He finished 1998 season sixth in driver standings and seventh in
money earned. He was second for the year in laps led (326) that
contributed to leading eight of the 11 Pep Boys IRL races. He started on
the front row four times and compiled four top-five finishes.
"That was my rookie year even though I wasn't classified a
rookie," said Ward, who will turn 38 on the opening day of the TransWorld
Diversified Services 200 weekend.
"Going into last year I was overwhelmed with the situation I was
in and ran very conservatively. At the end of the year I got a lot more
aggressive. This year I know I'm going to pick up where I left off. We're
going to be up front every race. We're way stronger.
"We had some bad breaks and bad luck last year, but we're going to
continue the good things we established. We're just going to win some
races this year.
"Everybody is pretty much ready to go. We ran really well last
year. We were strong in every race, and that was with a new team. It's
going to be a good year. I have tremendous confidence in the team and the
car. I hope the results pay off for how hard our team has been working."
Bob Hancher, co-owner of ISM Racing along with Gary Sallee, echoes
Ward's enthusiasm.
"One of Wardy's quotes is that when he was in bike racing it took
him a number of years to get his first win, but when he got one he reeled
off a whole bunch," Hancher said. "I think he's in a position now where he
knows he can win and should win. This is going to be a real promising
year.
"We can actually be better this year. This year we feel like,
'Bring it on.'"
Hancher and Sallee have kept the team intact and busy since the
end of the season.
Since the Las Vegas season finale, ISM -- with Ward in the cockpit
for every lap -- has tested twice at Phoenix International Raceway, and
once each at Disney World, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor
Speedway.
"We've made so many advancements that we feel like we are so much
better," Hancher said. "Everybody is working together, and we are so much
more prepared than we were a year ago. There were times (last year) when
we were rushing around like chickens with our heads cut off. During the
season you just don't have the time or the energy to test."
ISM Vice President of Racing Mitch Davis agrees.
"We had a lot of things to test and we thought there would be
gains, and we now know we can be better than we were last year," Davis
said. "For example, we have been just as fast in race trim as we were with
last year's qualifying setup at every track where we've tested."
Another advantage for the ISM team is continuity.
"It's the same old, same old," Hancher said. "Everybody knows
everybody. We've all lived together for a couple of years, and everyone
knows what's on each other's mind. We don't have any egos, so everything
flows."
The only major change for ISM has been its selection as a Goodyear
Tire test team.
"We're getting a lot of help from Goodyear as one of its main
testing teams," Ward said. "We have 20 days of testing lined up and being
a Goodyear test team helps the budget. We'll also go testing on our own at
open test dates."
Tire companies need to maximize their testing efforts, so it is
imperative for their teams to run consistently and possess reliable
equipment.
"I'm a pretty aggressive driver on cold tires," Ward said. "This
situation gives me a lot more confidence and experience on cold tires.
It's a win-win situation for me. Drivers pay to go testing and to be in
the car, and they're putting on sticker tires every time I come in.
Drivers love having new tires every time they come in, and you don't
normally have that when you're testing on your own bill."
And there's nothing like track time.
"You like to stay in the car as much as possible," Ward said. "It
probably only takes a couple of runs to get back to the comfort zone.
(Testing) is more for finding data and trying things."
Continuing with the Aurora engine combination and G Force chassis
also bolsters Ward's confidence. The only preseason hitch had been a delay
in receiving the 1999 chassis upgrade kit. Heavy snowfall in the Midwest
contributed to that.
"All the update kit will do is add more downforce," Ward said.
"Your car will work the same only it will have more grip and that will let
you move you up into the corners deeper."
While few changes have been made to Ward's car, the resident of
San Juan Capistrano, Calif., took "tune-up" personally.
"I'm in better shape this year," said Ward, who is 5-foot-7 and
weighs about 160 pounds.
"I've lost 10 pounds, and in a race car that computes to quicker
times. I'm a pretty husky guy. When I quit racing motocross I bulked up
because I wasn't doing as much long-distance training, and I was still
lifting weights."
Ward, a former biathlon and triathlon athlete, limits most of his
two-wheel riding these days to his mountain bike where he gets his
cardiovascular training by scaling nearby mountains and hills.
As a Kawasaki factory rider for 13 years, Ward was the only rider
to win every AMA National motocross title. His 20 career Supercross wins
are second best among retired riders, and his 55 motocross victories are
the most ever.
Before joining the Indy Racing League, Ward devoted five years of
competing part-time on the Indy Lights circuit to ease the transition from
his motorcycle racing to Indy-style cars.
Ward made his Indy Racing League debut two years ago as a
substitute for injured Davy Jones for Galles team at Orlando. Starting in
eighth position, Ward was sidelined by gearbox problems after 63 laps,
finishing in 16th place. His best finish that first season, and thus far
the highlight of his Indy Racing League career, was a third-place finish
in the 1997 Indianapolis 500 that caught the attention of the four-wheeled
racing world. He was named Bank One Rookie of the Year at Indy.

TRANSWORLD DIVERSIFIED SERVICES INDY 200 NOTEBOOK

Let's get ready to rumble: Announcer Michael Buffer, famous for
his call of "let's get ready to rumble!" at boxing matches, will introduce
every driver in the starting field Jan. 24 during prerace ceremonies.
Schedule: The TransWorld Diversified Services Indy 200 starts at 1
p.m. (EST) Jan. 24.
PPG Pole qualifying starts at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 23. Practice
sessions take place at 10:15 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. Jan. 22, and 9:45 a.m. and
4:30 p.m. Jan. 23.
The USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet Series race, held in
conjunction with this event, starts at 2:30 p.m. Jan. 23.
On the air: ABC will televise the TransWorld Diversified Services
Indy 200 on a one-hour delay basis starting at 2 p.m. (EST) Jan. 24.
SpeedVision will televise PPG Pole qualifying live at noon Jan. 23.
The IMS Radio Network will broadcast the race live at 1 p.m. Jan.
24, with a prerace show starting at 12:30 p.m. A qualifying highlights
show will be broadcast on the IMS Radio Network at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 23.