Credit: Autostock

Busch Series ready for rough-and-tumble IRP

CLERMONT, Ind. -- The contrast between Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Raceway Park couldn't be more striking. The Brickyard is a world-class facility, hosting the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR's Brickyard 400 and Formula One's United States Grand Prix.

IMS is a mammoth 2.5-mile track, with lap times topping 180 mph in a stock car and 230 mph in an IndyCar. Side-by-side racing is a rarity at the flat track, and the only reason cars touch would be completely by accident.

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IRP, meanwhile, is a bump-and-grind short track with enough room for two racing grooves. The pole speed for the Busch Series race last year was 110.690 mph.

While more than 300,000 people watch races at the Brickyard, fewer than 30,000 can cram into IRP.

If the Brickyard is caviar and champagne, IRP is beer and hot dogs.

And the Busch Series drivers love it. Many consider Saturday night's Kroger 200 to be their favorite race of the season.

Johnny Sauter

"IRP is one of the coolest tracks that we go to," said Johnny Sauter, who came out on the losing end of a thrilling finish in Friday's Craftsman Truck Series race. It's an 'old school' track, the kind of place where most drivers learned the ropes. It's got character, attitude -- everything that's right about racing.

"It's a short track, so there's close competition all night long, a lot of bumping and banging going on. I'd be surprised if the winner's car is in one piece at the end of the race. It should be a fun race for the fans and the drivers, too."

Indianapolis Raceway Park is .686 miles in length, with 7.5 degrees of banking in the corners. That makes it the second-flattest track on the Busch Series schedule, behind Nazareth Speedway. But Nazareth is a 1-mile track, meaning IRP is the flattest short track.

Unlike most short tracks, though, the fast way around is the high groove. But the lower groove works well, too, meaning there is plenty of racing room for everyone. And that makes drivers happy.

Kenny Wallace

"I am really excited about racing at IRP," Kenny Wallace said. "It brings all of us drivers back to our roots of racing under the lights on Saturday nights at our local short tracks. I think it is neat that NASCAR still lets the Busch Series race at IRP. It shows that they still remember what got us where we are today."

But just because IRP might be fun doesn't mean it's easy. While running side-by-side happens a lot, passing is still difficult. And when you consider 43 cars will be packed on the small track, completing a pass can be a chore.

"IRP is without a doubt the toughest short track we run on," David Green said. "Winning at IRP is a huge deal in the Busch Series, even though we share the weekend with the Cup guys at the Brickyard. It makes a statement that your team is the No. 1 short track team in the Busch Series."

If Green is right, The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team was the best last year because Brian Vickers won the race. But it wasn't without a race-long struggle with Shane Hmiel.

"It can be tough to pass here, which you saw in last year's race between Brian and Shane Hmiel," said Kyle Busch, Vickers' replacement. "I thought that was some of the best racing I've seen in quite awhile. Those guys were going door to door for a long time, and neither guy was giving an inch. It was pretty awesome."

Series leaders Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch

The Kroger 200 is also unique because the drivers practice, qualify and race in the one day. Heat won't be a problem this year, as Indianapolis is in the midst of a cool spell, with highs in the mid-70s.

But one-day shows are still tough on drivers and teams.

"These one-day shows really test how you communicate with your crew chief," Casey Atwood said.

Normally, teams are able to change setups after qualifying, but that won't be the case Saturday. The cars are impounded after qualifying is completed, so if you were loose during time trials, you'll be loose at the drop of the green flag.

"The one day shows make for long days, and you've got to get your car set up right before it's impounded," said Steve Grissom, who won in 1990. "You don't want it too loose in qualifying to get a decent run, but it's also got be free enough during the day so it doesn't get too tight at night when the track cools down."

Robert Pressley

If you set your car up for race runs and ignore qualifying, you could start at the rear of the field and get lapped before you figure out how to spell Hoosier. So there has to be a balance.

Then, you have to have good strategy to stay up front, and you have to stay out of all the messes. "I love short tracks, and Indianapolis Raceway Park is one of the great ones on our schedule," Robert Pressley said. "You have to miss all the wrecks, make sure you're part of the fuel-mileage game and find a way to create track position. The car has to be good, the race team has to be perfect, and the driver has to be on his game just to survive 200 laps of racing."

There is one thing that unites IRP with the Brickyard. Winning is never easy.