Rookie, veteran sharing wheel for IRL team

By Tom Reck
Tribune-Star Correspondent

March 19, 2008 10:51 pm

— A rookie and veteran will be driving the cars for Dale Coyne Racing in the IndyCar Series this season.
Bruno Junqueira, who has driven in four Indy 500 races, is the veteran for one of the teams that has been competing in the Champ Car Series and Mario Moraes is the newcomer.
Both are testing this week at Sebring in Florida in preparation for the season opener March 29 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
It will be first race for Moraes on an oval in addition to the first night event and the first for him with cars going more than 200 miles per hour.
“It will be a big step for me. The biggest differences are the size of the cars and horsepower,” Moraes said on a teleconference prior to running some tests.
Coyne commented on making the change from the cars used in the Champ Car Series to the Dallara-Hondas of the Indy Racing League.
“In the end, they're open-wheel cars. Our biggest challenge will be to be prepared for the first race. My hat is off to those who put in the hard work to unify the series … we need to take open-wheel racing where it should be,” said Coyne, who has had cars in Champ Car since 1984.
Junqueira is in his second year with the team. He was on the pole for the 2002 Indy 500 and but had problems at the start. He finished fifth in 2001 and 2004 and was 30th in his last 500 in 2005 when he was involved in an accident.
“I love Indianapolis. Each time I get in a car, I want to win. We want to finish the first few races and be on the lead lap,” he said.
Coyne has hired some people with IRL experience for his crew.
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• Veterans on TV team — Former driver Scott Goodyear and Marty Reid will be start their third year together on the ABC-ESPN broadcast team for the opener.
This year, all telecasts will be in high-definition with some new equipment being used. “The cost will be high,” says Charlie Morgan of IMS Productions.
Goodyear said a new in-car camera will allow viewers to watch entire passes being made during the races.
He expects the teams from the Champ Car Series to compete quickly for race honors. “Some very good drivers are coming from [the series],” said the driver who competed in 11 Indy 500 races.