Four stars for the IRL's Lone Star outing mix some new names with some old ones. Jeff Ward's 0.011 sec win over Al Unser Jr. and Airton Dare was the closest Indy Racing League finish in history. It reflected a changing tide in the IRL as well.

Al Unser Jr.

	Unser Jr.

"Second place, we're the first ones to lose," was the two-time Indy 500 champion's post-race assessment.

Unser's performance reflected the continuing maturation process that he and his new engineer Mike Colliver. "Hard work is paying off for myself and for the crew. The car was fast coming off the trailer, it was fast all month long at Indy, and they gave me my best qualifying spot that I've in the IRL, which was third. And we almost got a win. So we're knocking on the door real hard, and we will go from there."

Unser never practiced around Ward and admitted that he didn't realize just how fast Ward was. You can be sure that after Texas, Jeff Ward will be high on Unser's list of guys he needs to measure during practice sessions.

Airton Dare

	Dare

There is a remarkable change in A.J. Foyt's team. Before the Indianapolis 500, you could see that communications was still "in development" between "Super Tex" and his young Brazilian driver. "The first week of Indy, I wasn't sure how to talk to A.J.," recalls Dare.

The month of May created a bond between Foyt and Dare, and his third-place finish affirmed their decision to join up after Donnie Beechler crashed in Miami. The Harrah's car was strong all night. It was the first time that Foyt's operation was a real player since the first race of the season.

A strong finish at Texas is the foundation from which Foyt and Dare can now build a winning season.

"I'm just happy because I know, now I know that we work together with the team, and we're at a point that we can, I know we can win a race. That's what you work for." Dare said.

Tomas Scheckter

	Scheckter

After the wreckage produced by his protégé in the first part of this season, Eddie Cheever Jr. has playfully nicknamed Tomas Scheckter "Bam-Bam." It is not derogatory. Instead it is a humor-laced way to encourage the young South African's continuing education.

Scheckter was fast at Texas. He was the dominator and were it not for a failing clutch, would certainly be accepting the accolades as the Texas winner. So dominating was his Red Bull Infiniti, that he was close to making the Boomtown 500 the race with the widest margin instead of the narrowest margin of victory.

"I came in for the final pit stop, and the clutch was soggy. I didn't have a radio, so I couldn't tell the team. I put in the clutch, the gear engaged, the car lurched forward, and it died. " Scheckter lamented. "I don't know what I have to do to win a race."

Tomas, just keep doing what you are doing and that win will be coming your way shortly.

Shigeaki Hattori

	Hattori

Shiggy Hattori doesn't have a great command of English, but his sixth-place finish after leading 28 laps -- the first time he led an IRL race in his career -- didn't need a long speech. "It was good. The car was good, so I am happy," said a beaming Hattori immediately following the race while his Calkins/ Bradley Epson crew swarmed him.

All weekend Hattori raised eyebrows by keeping his Infiniti powered Dallara near the top of the speed charts. Brad Calkins was smiling, his son retired IRL winner and team manger Buzz Calkins beamed joking that we would need to spent a lot of time in his pit during the race telecast.

Handling issues plagued Hattori early in the race but his crew led by David Cripps continued to make adjustments.

The showing could not have come at a better time. Hattori and Calkins meet this week to determine whether or not to continue their coupling for the rest of the season.