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Vision Racing’s Rock ‘n Republic Reprise

Tony George’s Vision Racing, historically a backmarker in the Indy Racing League, is a decidedly fashionable choice these days.

The partnership between Vision Racing and Rock & Republic formed for the 90th Indianapolis 500 will continue this weekend in Dallas for the Bombardier Learjet 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The Saturday night race under the lights will mark the second consecutive start for the designer jeans and youth-oriented apparel-maker with Vision Racing, and the collaboration is expected to continue for additional races this season.

The team, co-owned by IRL founder Tony George, wife Laura George, and actor Patrick Dempsey, also has seriously raised expectations of its racing performance. With two full-time IRL regulars behind the wheel, and a third veteran in the wings, Vision has for the first time fused a nucleus of talent and competitiveness that it lacked in the past.

Tomas Scheckter, who won last June’s TMS race at the 1.5-mile oval from the pole, will drive the No. 2 Rock & Republic Racing Honda-powered Dallara in the flashy gray and white livery similar to the look Townsend Bell’s No. 90 car (above) sported in the 500, while Ed Carpenter’s No. 20 car will carry Rock & Republic on the sidepods. Bell will drive the third Rock & Republic Vision Racing entry at select events.

Speaking of his team’s performance in the Indy 500, George remarked that two of his cars should have finished in the top ten and the third one just barely missed. Both Scheckter and Bell suffered race-ending incidents and placed 27th and 22nd respectively, while step-son Carpenter managed an eleventh place finish. The team was surprisingly strong throughout practice the entire month of May, generally managing to beat the average of other teams with more substantial bloodlines and experience to draw from.

“We have a very dedicated group at Vision and I was very proud of our team for putting a competitive, three-car effort on track for the entire month of May,” George said. “It would not have been possible to do in three weeks, as we did, without a dedicated, focused and committed partner like Rock & Republic.”

One key factor in Vision’s success thusfar in 2006 has to be the recruitment and retention of long-time racing team director Larry Curry. Curry was hired at the end of the 2005 season and over the winter orchestrated a strategy that is returning dividends for a team that historically has not had a great track record. The three Vision Racing drivers so far this season combined have prizes near the million dollar mark, and rank in the middle of the pack among all drivers individually in winnings.

While the season is still far from over, the aim at Vision is clear: run fast, finish races, and rock and roll over the competition.

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The 2006 IRL IndyCar Series continues with the Bombardier 500k at 9 p.m. (EDT) on June 10 at Texas Motor Speedway. The race will be televised live by ESPN and the IMS Radio Network. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be carried by ESPN Deportes. The IMS Radio Network broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio channel 145 “IndyCar Racing” and www.indycar.com.

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