Daré Bent on Returning to IndyCars

One may argue one win in 38 starts isn’t exactly a stellar resume, but to former AJ Foyt IndyCar driver Airton Daré, that meant something different: at least, he was winning. Upon leaving American open-wheel racing with absolutely no love lost for the, in his words, “obsolete" four-time Indy500 winner, Daré has been trying to pick his paces in the Brazilian Stock Car V8 series, which uses the same engines of NASCAR’s Busch Series. But as many open-wheel drivers who tried a NASCAR jump have learned, these heavy V8 beasts are a wholly different ballgame. With one race to go in the championship, Daré sits 26th in the standings. “I’m very dissatisfied with my performance," he tells the Brazilian press. “The U.S. provides a much better environment, not only because salaries are higher, but also since the teams, not the drivers, are usually the ones responsible for finding sponsors. Maybe if I were winning races I’d have the motivation to chase the money, but with an 11th as my best finishing position this year, finding the motivation becomes hard," continues the 2002 IRL Kansas City winner, who’s had his IndyCar career cut short by a horrific accident at Texas Motor Speedway in June ‘03 (he broke his right femur, losing the remainder of the season and never getting a chance to return)……….Daré expects to announce his 2005 plans – which he hopes will mean a return to IRL IndyCars – before the end of the year. SPEEDTV.com