Did Lil Al have mechanical problems?

[MoparsRule]

And... are we to assume that those mechanical problems were due to "Diz being too hard on equipment" as we heard from many here ALL of last year?

[GlennH]

Kelley curse...(?)

I'm very disappointed that Diz isn't driving, but happy that he's not at Kelley.

Not meaning to criticize Kelley, but something's just not right there on their 2nd car. (well, Sharp's car too in this particular race).

[Ren Butler]

The only guy lately who can rival Dismore's curse is Robbie Buhl. Blowing engines with laps remaining, bad pit work, spinning going for the lead at Indy, etc.

[mnkywrch]

It's not a "Kelley curse".

It's more like "Kelley can't prepare equipment properly, and it breaks".

[Tim_racefan]

I'm not too quick to bash Kelley, but I won't submit its not warranted at the same time.

The guy appears to be dedicated. But don't expect people to line up by their example either.

I would however, submit, that if they do get their act together, we will know it. AUJ is still a great shoe.

[Mr. Offy]

Before we start ripping on Kelley Racing boys, lets not forget that they have won several events with Mr. Sharp. I suspect that Al will run up front this year, and maybe win a couple. Did anybody notice Mr. Knapp calling the shots for him Saturday?

[DanH]

I think heard that Al was suffering electric gremlins.

Anyone?

[mario]

Electrical problem. Unfortunately, I saw nothing this weekend to indicate to me that Al will be "running up front." If he had a good car and it broke, at least there would be reason for optimism. However, the fact that Buddy Lazier also qualified and ran poorly does suggest that the Miami race might not be indicative of what is to come.

[ March 04, 2002: Message edited by: mario ]

[hdolan]

"Now I don't know what we're doing, and I'm having a hard time making a decision." - Tom Kelley, who supposedly is in charge of what's supposed to be one of the IRL's top teams

Interesting isn't it...

[bing]

what sort of reputation does mr. knapp have as an engineer? is he respected or just another guy trying to make a living with race cars.

[Jim Cluny]

Originally posted by DanH:
<STRONG>I think heard that Al was suffering electric gremlins.
Anyone?</STRONG>

In all fairness Al did have electrical problems early on. I don't know what the verdict was for not doing anything much after the problem was corrected. And again, perhaps the problem was not totally corrected.

The marriage of Kelly and Unser was a hasty thing at best. Have to be patient and see if the baby lives. Some points this year but somewhat sparodic. Normal.

[jandj]

I know "electrical problems" are used to cover a wide variety of ailments. AJ was having problems with Eliseo's car in practice that cut the rpm's. If this was the type of problem Al was having , it would explain the lack of speed . Foyt didn't have the problem when he tested at PIR , but it showed up in practice at Miami. Same thing could well have happened here.

[BADGER]

I distinctly heard a massive drop of revs everytime Al entered the corners, so other than mechanical, what could cause that?

[jandj]

Maybe a car that wouldn't turn?

[mario]

"In all fairness Al did have electrical problems early on. I don't know what the verdict was for not doing anything much after the problem was corrected. And again, perhaps the problem was not totally corrected."

They had to replace the "black box" and Al lost about 10 laps. After that, why push it? He just drove around and got some seat time in the car.