IRL: NHR returns to Indy

Everyone knew they were coming back and, in fact, last May Craig Hampson, one of Newman/Haas Racing's deep engineering staff said to expect the team's return at the 88th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.

Despite no announcement by the Indy Racing League concerning receipt of an entry, Newman/Haas Racing, the stalwart Champ Car squad declared it will be back at the Brickyard this May after missing the past eight years of competition on the 2.5-mile oval.

A rather nebulous press release simply noted that this year's entry marks NHR's 14th at The Greatest Spectacle in Racing; the team has prepared a total of 20 entries over the years, but has yet to win the 200-lap race.

Mario and Michael Andretti, Paul Tracy, Nigel Mansell have all tried, come close but have not won at Indy. Mario was second in 1985 for Newman/Haas Racing; he also secured pole position with the team in 1987.

No driver or package has been named for the entry, but general scuttlebutt places Bruno Junqueira in a Honda-powered Dallara. NHR did test an IRL package last year with Junqueira and teammate Sebastien Bourdais, using a Panoz G Force/Toyota engine for that exercise.

Taking into account the vagaries of the postal service, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway should declare complete Indy 500 entry reception in the very near future.