Scheckter is confirmed!

[R_Mears_Fan]

After throwing us for a loop on when he will announce his 2nd driver, Eddie Cheever finally did it on Tuesday. Tomas Scheckter, IRL ROY candidate, will drive the #52. Now everyone can relax and enjoy some spectacular racing from a talented, young guy.

Now the question remains, who will be the third driver for the Indy 500? Max Papis is on a short list. Who else?

[Eagle104]

Good deal. If Eddie hadn't signed him, I would have had to start my own team and signed him!

[Fueler]

Hard to argue with his performance in the car! Team Cheever just became a very serious contender in both cars. Tomas will add a lot to the IRL.

[BSJracing]

If Tomas' dad gets involved, can we expect a 6 wheeled Dallara in the near future???

[EdJVuky]

Another talented driver the average race fan knows nothing about. Good for Tomas.....not so good for our sport.

[astrodude]

Marketing, Marketing, Marketin.
That is what the IRL must do for its up
and coming stars: Sam Hornish, Jacques
Lazier, Tomas Schekter. The average person
in this country still hadn't heard of
Juan Montoya until a series of ads by
Target brought some personality & fame
to the name. Time for Red Bull and Penzoil
to market the heck out of their rising
stars.

[ZenMan]

I just hope Scheckter sticks around long enough to make a name in the IRL.

[gofastturnleft]

The kid is really something on the track. I was very impressed. If he doesn't stick around for five years though it will not be a great investment for Cheever.

He is my pick for ROY right now.

[OutKast]

The 'CARTization' of the IRL continues. Why this F1 reject would get a seat ahead of a good American like Al Unser jr. or Buddy Rice is beyond me. Whatever happened to helping young Americans get a ride? Can someone tell me the difference between this and CART?

[hdolan]

"Can someone tell me the difference between this and CART? "

Probably not...

[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: hdolan ]

[Eagle104]

Fine, guys..we'll take him.

(Besides, we'll pr'y get him next year, anyway...)

[Racemind]

Originally posted by OutKast:
<STRONG>Can someone tell me the difference between this and CART?</STRONG>

1. There's someone in charge.
2. Decisions get made.
3. The races run on the day they are scheduled.
4. There are no stockholders.

Just to name a few...

[jmart]

Rice had his chance during a test. Scheckter ran better and as was pointed out earlier, Eddie's decison was influenced by Scheckter's ability to provide useful feedback during testing. While AUJ would have also been a good fit, he was never known for his qualifying prowess and maybe Eddie plans to start more races this year closer to the front of the pack. Two good shoes increases your chances of getting closer to the front. Before everyone chimes in with how great AUJ was on raceday, lets give Scheckter the benefit of the doubt. While Hornish showed talent his rookie year, I'll bet there are few that predicted how much success he was in store for his sophmore year. My point being, sometimes a talent comes along that is so recognizable right away to teams trying them out that they just jump on it.

Anyway, this looks to be an outstanding choice, probably the best driver coup the IRL has come up with in the last couple of years (the other being the final recognition of the talented Jaques Lazier and pairing him with a team capable of propelling him into the winners circle repeatedely). Cheever will be a premier team this year and there is no reason they won't be able to contend for the championship.

As Eddie stated earlier, when Penske came over, the bar was raised. Well, he responded like professionals do -- he got a good sponsor, a good package, and a good #2 driver. As an added plus, Team Cheever also has continuity in that they have been working together for a couple of years now, just one of the factors thought to be big contributor to Panther's and Hemelgarn's success. Lastly, while some here continually persist in bashing the IRL by insinuating it is minor league stuff compared to other series, if one gauges the IRL's relevance by the level of professionalism and talent of the participating teams, Cheever just filled that square, big time. JMHO.

jmart

[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: jmart ]

[Dr. Austin]

Originally posted by Racemind:
<STRONG>

1. There's someone in charge.
2. Decisions get made.
3. The races run on the day they are scheduled.
4. There are no stockholders.

Just to name a few...</STRONG>

5. there are no circus clowns.

[OutKast]

I never thought I would see the day when IRL fans would make excuses for a foreigner to get a ride over a deserving American. Buddy wasnt even invited to the TITW! :mad: