Last shot for Menard V6

By Ron Kantowski

Friday, Sept. 13, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

A lot of words have been written about the Menard V6 racing engine, but it is three distinctive sounds -- a roar followed by a bang and then a plunk -- that perhaps best define it.

* The roar is the sound the V6 makes en route to setting all those "new track records" of which Indianapolis Motor Speedway public address announcer Tom Carnegie always speaks.

* The bang is what is heard sometime after the race begins and almost always before it finishes. It is the sound a V6 makes when it expires.

* Then comes the plunk -- the sound of John Menard putting down more good cash to replace another used-up V6 with a fresh one.

John Menard is to the Indy Racing League what Roger Penske is to the rival IndyCar series, at least in the perception of what he spends on his race team. He has blown a bundle trying to put the V6 in victory lane since he began refining the engine formerly known as Buick in 1992. He has yet to succeed.

This weekend is his last chance.

With the IRL adopting new chassis and engine rules for 1997, the Menard (nee Buick V6) will sing its swan song at Sunday's first Las Vegas 500K at the new Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It is a situation that everybody in the Team Menard garage seemed to be conscious of as the IRL crews continued preparations for Sunday's $1 million event.

Practice began today, with qualifying set for Saturday at the still-unfinished 1.5-mile superspeedway situated between I-15 and North Las Vegas Boulevard adjacent to Nellis Air Force Base.

"I don't think we've talked about it, but everyone knows this is the last chance for it," said IRL star Tony Stewart, who will drive the No. 2 Menard's/Glidden Special Lola-Menard in the Las Vegas inaugural. Team Menard will field two cars for Las Vegas, with Mark Dismore assigned to the No. 3 Menard's/Quaker State machine.

"It's real important for us to win this race and try to get at least one win under the belt for the V6."

Stewart came oh-so-close the last time out, at last month's True Value 200 at Loudon, N.H. The reigning USAC sprint car, midget and Silver Crown champion completely dominated the race, lapping the entire field nearly twice before the V6 seized within sight of the checkered flag.

According to the boxscore, it was an electrical problem that put Stewart out. The bottom line is that the engine was not running at the end.

Stewart has led all four IRL races this season and an astounding 40 percent of the total laps run. But he isn't discouraged despite not winning.

"If we were running at the back of the pack and not finishing, that would be a different story," said the talented 24-year-old, whose aggressive driving style already has invoked comparisons to the great A.J. Foyt.

"We know we've been competitive at every race, we just have to catch a couple of breaks. In racing, there's a lot of luck involved. We can't control every piece that goes on the race car. Sometimes, stuff just breaks."

Like a team manager's heart. Larry Curry, the veteran Indy-car crew chief who serves Team Menard in that capacity, said he often wonders how fate would have embraced the team had it chosen a more standard engine package.

"Had we been running Cosworths, maybe we'd have won some races, maybe not," Curry said. "But you have to remember that everyone is in this sport for different reasons, and John (Menard) likes to do things a little different.

"There's a lot more gratification in winning when you kind of create the package, rather than just by going out and getting the same thing everybody else has and then doing it."

But there is also a lot of gratification in going faster than anybody else, which the Menards are prone to do. They are given an extra 15 inches of turbocharger boost under the United States Auto Club engine equivalency formula, an allowance which makes the V6 tough to beat on pole day.

The engine or one of its derivatives has qualified on the pole at Indianapolis four times. Pancho Carter did it first in 1985, followed by Roberto Guerrero in 1992 and the late Scott Brayton in 1995 and again this past May, in a Menard-powered Lola. Gary Bettenhausen posted the fastest qualifying time with a Buick under the cowling in 1991, but as a second-day qualifier, was not eligible for the pole.

But the high-revving V6 generally has had problems going the distance at Indy. Or for that matter, anywhere else.

Al Unser Sr. gave the Buick/Menard its best Indianapolis ride when he came home third in 1992, subbing for the injured Nelson Piquet. More recently, Arie Luyendyk finished seventh as the last car on the lead lap in 1995.

"We've certainly put a lot of time and effort into the project and it would be sad if we weren't able to put it into the winner's circle," Curry said. "But you have to look at some of the positives, too. We've led every race we've been in with the IRL and we have two poles in a row at the Indianapolis 500, so it hasn't been all for naught.

"But winning a race is something that certainly needs to happen."

That goal might be even tougher here. With a 312-mile distance rather than the usual 200 and the cars able to run flat out all the way around the new speedway's 12-degree banking, the Menards' reliability may be even more suspect in Las Vegas.

Curry said Team Menard will approach the 500K as if it were a 500-mile race.

"If we can lead the race easily without abusing the equipment, we will," he said. "If we cannot, we will sit back and run the pace we think is necessary to win. We will make our move in the later stages of the race rather than go out and be the rabbit."