Mo Nunn Racing expands into IRL.

Mo Nunn Racing became the second CART FedEx Championship team owner to confirm a full-time operation in the rival Indy Racing League series when he announced a deal to run 2001 IRL rookie of the year Felipe Giaffone in a Hollywood sponsored entry in addition to a single car CART team sponsored by Pioneer/WorldCom.

Shortly after leaving Treadway-Hubbard Racing along with Brazilian sponsor Hollywood, 2001 Indy Racing League Rookie of the Year Felipe Giaffone inked a deal with Mo Nunn Racing to be the team's first IRL driver throughout the 2002 IRL season. Veteran team boss Nunn has elected to downgrade his Champ Car operation to one car after just a single season with two machines for Tony Kanaan and Alex Zanardi/Casey Mears.

Nunn joins Derrick Walker as the only team owners to have full-time teams in both CART and the IRL and his move goes some way to demonstrating the current instability within CART following a year of increasing discontent amongst the teams against the CART board. The Giaffone/Hollywood/Nunn alliance also puts Tony Kanaan one-step closer to a place with the Target Chip Ganassi FedEx team as Hollywood currently sponsor his Mo Nunn Racing Reynard-Honda.

In addition to the Hollywood team competing for the IRL championship, Mo Nunn Racing also confirmed that it will field two entries in the 2002 Indianapolis 500. The driver and sponsor of the second car at the Indy 500 will be announced at a later date as will engine and chassis details for both cars. Giaffone used a G-Force-Aurora package to great acclaim in 2001 but for 2001 Aurora have been replaced by fellow GM brand Chevrolet.

"This is certainly great news for our organization and having the ability to take two cars back to the Indy 500 is very exciting for the whole team," said Nunn. "We will continue to field the Pioneer-WorldCom car in CART in 2002, but with the CART situation as it is right now, we felt a real need to spread our wings. I am delighted that Hollywood has chosen to make this move to the IRL with us and we look forward to providing Felipe with all of the tools necessary to win a championship."

The deal is also indicative of the current financial uncertainty facing CART and motor racing as a whole as sponsors prune their efforts. This year Hollywood was an active sponsor in CART (where it has been for almost a decade) and the IRL but in the wake of the September 11th tragedies there is only enough money to compete in one of the two series next year, and IRL proved to be a better proposition than CART...

"This is a great opportunity for Hollywood," said Mark Hulit, consumer-marketing director for Souza Cruz, the parent company for the Brazilian Hollywood brand of British American Tobacco. "We are delighted to continue our strong partnership with Mo Nunn Racing and about continuing in the Indy Racing League. We feel the IRL has a great future. The series is very professional, cost-effective for sponsors, and it is carefully planning for the future. And, the series continues to develop and strengthen with each season under the leadership of Tony George. Mo Nunn Racing and Felipe Giaffone will be a solid combination in our efforts to achieve results in 2002 and into the future."

Hollywood has a long history of motorsports sponsorship over the past 30 years in a variety of series and countries. It has been involved in the CART series since 1994 and has backed a number of Brazilian drivers including Mauricio Gugelmin, Luiz Garcia and Kanaan.

"We value our eight years in CART, but we feel the timing is right to focus on the IRL for the future," Hulit said.

A group led by championship engineer Morris Nunn formed Mo Nunn Racing in December of 1999. The team, based in Indianapolis and Nunn is one of the best-known and most successful engineers in Indy car racing history. While serving as chief engineer for Alex Zanardi in 1996, 1997 and 1998, he helped guide Zanardi to Rookie of the Year honours (1996) and back-to-back CART FedEx Series Championships (1997-98). In 1999, Nunn teamed with current Formula One star Juan Pablo Montoya to win that year's CART FedEx Series Championship. Nunn also guided Emerson Fittipaldi to an Indy car championship and an Indy 500 victory in 1989.

The 15-event Indy Racing League schedule for 2002 begins March 2 at Homestead, Fla. The 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series schedule has yet to be announced.