Brack Struggles, but Still Ends Up as Leader of Pack

LAS VEGAS —  After Sweden’s Kenny Brack clinched the Pep Boys Indy Racing League championship almost by default Sunday, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk put on a brilliant display of high-speed racing for an estimated 30,000 fans to win the Las Vegas 500K at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Brack, who entered the year’s final race with only two challengers, Davey Hamilton and Tony Stewart, had a bad day himself, but not as bad as Hamilton, who crashed, or Stewart, who finished 30 laps behind Luyendyk.

“We had a plan to stay in contention until the end, but it just didn’t work out that way,” said Brack after his 10th-place finish guaranteed him and A.J. Foyt’s team the $1-million bonus as series champion. “I guess I don’t know what it [championship] means just yet. I’m going to stay here with A.J. next year. I still have a lot to learn.”

The championship was the 21st in Foyt’s career as driver and car owner.

Luyendyk, winless since midseason last year, led 88 of 208 laps, including the final 39, to close the season.

Sam Schmidt, a hometown Las Vegas driver who had never finished better than seventh in nine IRL races, was a surprise second-place finisher after borrowing a motor from Tom Kelley’s team Saturday morning. Buddy Lazier, 1996 Indy 500 winner, was third, with John Paul Jr., winner of the last IRL race, fourth after surviving a late race brush with Schmidt.

“I must have held my breath for the last 60 laps,” said Schmidt, who earned a degree in international finance at Pepperdine. “The motor Tom Kelly got me was fantastic all day long. I just couldn’t catch Arie.”

For Luyendyk, the win was redemption for a season of crashes, poor finishes and concern that at 45 maybe he was over the hill.

“When you have a day like this, it makes up for all the other misery,” Luyendyk said. “You get a lot of self-doubt when you have bad races. I had a lot of crashes that weren’t my fault, but you can’t help but wonder if you put yourself in those places to have them [accidents].”

Luyendyk has been rumored to be retiring, but he said he expected to be back next year.

“I’m not sure if I’ll run the whole season or just a partial season,” he said. “Maybe I should retire after a success like this. I look around and see all these young kids, and I feel like a senior citizen.”

Stewart, leaving John Menard’s team and the IRL to drive for Joe Gibbs’ NASCAR team, was disheartened at his final outing.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” the 1997 champion said. “We got the green [start] and the car wouldn’t go. It was a disappointing year for me. I wanted to finish my full-time IRL career on a high note, especially for my guys. I feel bad for them.”

Hamilton, who finished second to Brack in points, was equally disappointed.

“We struggled with the car all day,” he said. “It’s the toughest race I’ve ever run. I thought it was just us, but I saw everybody struggling. We came here to get the pole and win. Losing the championship is the biggest heartbreaker.”

Robby Unser’s 16th-place finish earned him IRL rookie-of-the-year honors and a $50,000 bonus. Unser, three-time Indy 500 winner Bobby Unser’s son, said he hopes to remain with Eddie Cheever’s team next year, but it depends on sponsorship.