Oldsmobile Aurora V8:  Best in the West

PHOENIX,  -- It wasn’t the OK Corral, but when the smoke cleared and the dust settled after a 200-lap shootout at Phoenix International Raceway, Oldsmobile’s IRL Aurora V8 was still standing tall as the top gun in the Pep Boys Indy Racing League. Scott Goodyear outgunned a field of 26 rivals to score his breakthrough first IRL victory in the MCI WorldCom 200 with his Oldsmobile-powered Pennzoil Panther G-Force.

For the third straight year, Oldsmobile’s IRL Aurora V8 was the "Best in the West" on the fast one-mile Phoenix oval. Goodyear notched Oldsmobile’s 21st consecutive IRL race win in the heat of an Arizona afternoon. Jeff Ward trailed Goodyear across the finish line stripe by 4.7 seconds in his first start with the revamped Pagan Racing team’s Oldsmobile-Dallara.

Oldsmobile withstood Nissan’s strongest challenge yet to the IRL Aurora V8’s dominance in IRL competition. Third-place Robbie Buhl posted Nissan’s first podium finish in more than two years. Local hero Billy Boat ramrodded A.J. Foyt’s Oldsmobile-Dallara from the 23rd starting spot to fourth at the checkered flag, and Scott Harrington rounded out the top five in an Infiniti-equipped entry.

"I’m elated!" Goodyear exclaimed. "My Oldsmobile engine was very strong at the end. We used the same engine all weekend in practice, qualifying, and the race. We could run 21-second laps at the finish."

Goodyear demonstrated the power of his IRL Aurora V8 engine built by Indianapolis-based Speedway Engine Development when he broke away from the field after the final caution period ended on Lap 196. "The guys at Speedway, from (co-owner) Rick Long on down, have done a great job," said Goodyear. "They worked hard over the winter and they stepped up the engine program. I probably drove them nuts looking for little improvements in the electronics and fuel management, but it paid off."