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LEBANON, Tenn. -- Chevrolet's proof will be in the power next weekend at Michigan International Speedway.
That's when two-time defending Indy Racing League champion Sam Hornish Jr. will debut the Cosworth-built engine for General Motors, a program approved by league officials Saturday.
Indianapolis-based Panther Racing, for whom Hornish drives, will get the first chance because it is Chevy's flagship team and is the manufacturer's best team (eighth overall in IRL points).
After the Michigan race, the next-best team in IRL points -- likely Cheever Racing and driver Buddy Rice -- will join Panther in using the engine Aug. 10 in Madison, Ill.
If reliability and production issues are satisfied, the other four Chevy cars will get the model at the Aug. 17 race in Sparta, Ky.
IRL senior vice president Brian Barnhart said the multiweek rollout was approved to allow Cosworth the opportunity to try components in small quantities before mass producing the 20-some engines necessary to service the five teams.
Those teams have been at least 5 mph behind rivals using Toyota and Honda engines in the first half of the season.
No Chevrolet had led a lap until Hornish did Saturday night in the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, much less won a race. Hornish had a Chevy-best fourth place in Richmond, Va.
"I'm looking forward to passing all of those Toyotas," Chevy team owner John Menard said. "It's not as fair (of a rollout) as what Brian could come up with, but it's fair in terms of going by points.
"We'll soon know if the power is there and everyone is happy. If the performance is not there, we'll know General Motors made a large mistake in going forward."
It is noteworthy that Chevy's new engine comes from Cosworth, which is owned by Ford. There will be no mention of Cosworth or Ford in official association with the engine.
Every IRL team had the opportunity during the off-season to choose between the three engine manufacturers. Coincidentally, all of the teams that chose Chevys were IRL veterans.
The biggest unknown about the engine design is its reliability. While Panther has tested it three times for about 1,000 miles, it has not competed at the levels required at such high-speed tracks as Michigan and Kentucky.
Rice, who finished five laps down at Texas despite running his engine wide open, is willing to take the chance. He, like other drivers in Chevy's camp, has been quietly fed up with the old model this season.
"I'd rather be right out front and contending if the engine grenades," Rice said. "At least everyone will know the situation."
Ron Hemelgarn said a competitive new engine will help team owners like himself attract companies for sponsorship for next season. The engine will be allowed through the IRL's equipment contract, which expires at the end of the 2005 season.
"Right now you've got to answer questions about why (the poor results)," Hemelgarn said. "Everybody wants to see results."
Barnhart acknowledged the unprecedented nature of allowing a manufacturer to switch engines in midseason. Such adjustments to equipment are more common -- and controversial -- in NASCAR, which has Chevy, Ford and Dodge to balance.
"But I think we're faced with unprecedented circumstances," Barnhart said. "Toyota and Honda have raised the bar for competition, and it's been clear all year long that General Motors has faced a performance deficiency."
FROM INDY STAR
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