Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Schmidt expects to have second car in Indy 500

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at [email protected] or (702) 259-4089.

Sam Schmidt plans to double his chances of winning the May 26 Indianapolis 500 by fielding a second car for veteran driver Mark Dismore.

Dismore, who has been without an Indy Racing League ride this season after being released by Kelley Racing, will drive a Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara/Chevrolet with sponsorship from Grill2Go. Dismore will be teamed with Schmidt's regular driver, Anthony Lazzaro.

"I'd say it's about 90 percent (done)," Schmidt said of the deal. "We've got sponsorship from Grill2Go, who was on Scott Goodyear's car this time last year. They wanted a veteran driver so we think it's a fantastic opportunity to do something with Mark because he's got a lot of laps around (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and had a good chance to win the race last year."

Dismore, 45, has made 52 IRL starts and posted his lone win in 1999 at Texas Motor Speedway. The Greenfield, Ind., native has made six Indy 500 starts since 1996 with a best finish of 11th in 2000. Last year, Dismore qualified fourth and led 29 laps before a mechanical problem forced him to the pits for several laps. He finished 16th, five laps off the pace.

Schmidt said his biggest challenge is trying to put together a second team for Dismore while not taking away from Lazzaro's effort.

"That's the difficulty," the Henderson resident said. "That's what we're trying to deal with this week -- put together two quality efforts and not dilute Anthony's effort. Looking at the entry list, it's going to be mighty tough this year so we've got to go with both barrels loaded and make sure we do both of them properly.

"It takes a while to build chemistry and get everybody to work as a cohesive unit. We've got that with the one group that's working on Anthony's car, but trying to do that from scratch on another car would be what we're trying to deal with now."

Lazier, who suffered a lower spinal fracture and a concussion, went to Indianapolis for further evaluation. Scheckter sustained a concussion and a bruised lung when the two cars collided on lap 123 of the 225-lap race.

Lazier said he hoped he would be able to drive in next month's Indy 500.

"We'll find out here soon about the 500, but I'm hoping there's a chance I can still be there for it depending on what all the tests show," Lazier said.

Joint managing director Trevor Foster and head of engineering Tim Holloway leave the team immediately while chief operating officer John Putt will depart after guiding the company to its new management structure.

"Jordan has always been at its best when lean and efficient," CEO Eddie Jordan said. "Once you sense complacency creeping in, or costs become exorbitant, a prudent business needs to take action.

"These changes will generate a more efficient structure at a time when our focus is on the performance and reliability of our cars."

Jordan drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Takuma Sato have failed to win a point in the four F1 races held this year. Last year, Jordan finished fifth in the constructors' standings.

Lasoski leads Steve Kinser by two points after 13 races. Mark Kinser is in third place, four points behind Lasoski.

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