JOLIET, ILL. -- Amid the euphoria of the Indy Racing League welcoming Toyota, Honda and more defectors from Championship Auto Racing Teams in 2003 is the reality of its little guys.

Sam Schmidt, Fred Treadway, Brad Calkins, Larry Blair, Billy Boat and Robbie Buhl comprise a fourth of Sunday's Delphi 300 field here at Chicagoland Speedway.

They're doing everything possible to stay on the track in 2003 but, as it stands today, none of them have enough sponsorship secured to guarantee their presence.

"Mike Curb is definitely coming back but Mike Curb alone is not enough for next year," said Boat, whose team only sports four full-time employees and a budget of $2 million for this season.

"I think you're going to need $5 million for next year and we might be able to do it for $4 million but we definitely have to find additional support to stay in business."

Buzz Calkins captured the inaugural IRL race in 1996 and the Bradley Motorsports team has answered the bell in all but two races since then. But owner Brad Calkins knows those bargain days are over.

"I think we spent something like $1.6 million the first year we ran but Buzz said it's going to take at least $5 million to run next year and he's scrambling to try and find it," said the elder Calkins, who has spent several million out of his own pocket to keep his team afloat.

"Buzz wants to get to the point where he's got the budget to hire the driver he wants instead of taking money from somebody. But we're not there yet."

Sam Schmidt operates on a shoestring and knows he's going to have to step up or step down in 2003.

"I'm going to need $6 million for a better program than I've got this year but that's certainly not a Roger Penske number and I think we've over-achieved this year with only $2.3 million," said Schmidt, who runs his team from the wheelchair he's been in since a 2000 testing accident left him a paraplegic.

"I don't have a Sam Hornish under contract yet because I've got to work on other things before I can even think about offering anybody a ride. I've got some good people looking for money but it's difficult right now."

Besides having to purchase a new chassis in 2003, IRL teams are facing the engine lease issue. Toyota and Honda want between $1.6-$2 million per car, while General Motors appears to be the most reasonable option at $1-1.2 million.

And there is much trepidation that GM won't be able (or willing) to spend the mega bucks that Toyota and Honda are expected to shell out.

Buhl, an owner/driver who also campaigns Sarah Fisher, had a good deal this year as one of the Infiniti factory teams. He got free engines like Team Cheever. But Infiniti is pulling the plug on its IRL program at the end of this season.

"It changes our budget significantly and it's an uphill scenario but it's reasonable," said Buhl, whose Dryer & Reinbold team has sponsorship from Purex and Aventis but nothing finalized with them yet for 2003.

"Our biggest hurdle is how can they (engine manufacturers) help us with anything to bridge that gap in our budget."

Eddie Cheever says Red Bull will be back as his primary sponsor but his engine situation remains unresolved.

"I've had good meetings with Toyota and they swear they'll have a pool of engines their teams will draw from so that's encouraging," said the 1998 Indy 500 winner. "TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing) isn't out of the picture and I'm not sure they can't re-badge an Infiniti engine that could compete with Toyota or Honda.

"So I may be the last guy to make a dive in the musical chairs of motors but I don't want to be too far down anybody's list because Red Bull doesn't want to run second."

Blair's team has made the most of the IRL's fiscal landscape as Alex Barron owns a victory and nearly stole the Indianapolis 500.

"We started January 1st, we don't have a big budget and we won at Nashville and had a good chance to win two other races so aren't we the Poster Child for the IRL?" said Tom Gloy, the former road racing champion who manages Blair Racing.

"Larry came here for half as much as he spent in CART in 2001 but now we're looking at finding $6.5-7 million for equipment, hospitality, employees, running the season and paying a driver. But it's not going to be easy to find that kind of money in this economy."

Like CART, where there is so much uncertainty with teams and sponsors, the IRL is going to gain three cars from Andretti-Green, two more from Chip Ganassi (total of three) and another from Morris Nunn (total of two). But some of the staunch supporters like Boat, Calkins, Schmidt and Treadway may fall by the wayside.

"The IRL is going to be like CART was in the late '80s," said one crewman for Boat who asked not to be identified. "Owners are going to need money and the American drivers will be driven out because the Brazilians are the only guys who seem to be able to raise money.

"And it's going to take $4-5 million just to run in the back. The days where we can show up and have a chance to win are all but over. The old IRL is dead."

	“	The days where we can show up and have a chance to win are all but over. The old IRL is dead. ”
		— Unidentified crew member of Billy Boat.

Looking at 2003, it's like CART and the IRL switched skins since CART will have spec engines and a much smaller nut. The IRL will have Toyota, Honda and all the marketing clout they bring - not to mention the money they spend raising the bar and the cost of racing.

"CART is coming back and we're going up but I think it's good that Honda and Toyota are coming here," said Calkins. "Fred (Treadway) and I have spent a lot of our own money in this deal and we couldn't keep up with some of those guys the past couple years.

"It's going to get tougher and more expensive. Buzz has a couple of deals that look good and I hope we can continue."

Boat says he's "cautiously optimistic" he'll be able to afford the esculating costs while Schmidt has a number in mind.

"I've drawn a line in the sand," he says. "If I don't get the $5 million mark I simply won't do it."

Cheever figures it will take $14 million to operate a two-car IRL team in 2003 and that includes $4 million for new cars.

"Have the costs doubled? Yes they have," says Cheever. "But the exposure has gone up five times. The bottom line is that the value in the IRL is better."