Scheckter hoping Chevy will change mind

UPDATE This is absolutely, positively, Chevrolet's last season in the Indy Racing League. Unless, of course, it isn't. Panther Racing put the IRL's only two Chevrolet-powered cars on the front row for Saturday night's Bombardier Learjet 500K at Texas Motor Speedway, then pole winner Tomas Scheckter backed it up with a dominating victory. Just as he did last month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he was consistently fast in practice, Scheckter said after winning the pole and then the race that his goal is to get Chevrolet to reconsider.

"I hope we can carry this momentum and win a lot of races for these guys," he said. "If we push very hard and get some wins for them, (maybe) we'll be able to change their mind."

So, is their mind changeable? Joe Negri, director of General Motors' IRL program, said before the race he has heard nothing from company officials that would indicate a reversal is in the works. "But that being said, decisions are changed all the time," Negri said. "There's no set requirements that if we win three races, we'll stay. It's a business decision based on the conditions at the time. Personally, all of us directly involved in the program would like to see the decision changed. But I don't see anybody (in the GM hierarchy) jumping up and down saying we need to do it. When you see 25,000 people laid off, it's tough," Negri said. "If we sold some cars, it would help."

Negri said the recent surge of interest in the IRL ignited by Danica Patrick is promising but inconclusive. "If this blows up and all the numbers get better, GM is going to pay attention," he said. "If the return on investment doubled, I'd be crazy not to take that back to management." Indy Star [Editor's Note: Champ Car and Cosworth owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe would like nothing better than to see Cosworth retain the Chevy contract in the IRL.]

06/10/05 "One thing needs to be mentioned. There is an increase in viewership, for whatever reason, and I think we know what the reason is. I hope that keeps Chevy in. And I'm hoping that if we push very hard and get some wins for them that we'll be able to change their mind." Tomas Scheckter