Mark Dismore was leading comfortably with five laps
left in '98 IRL opener at Orlando before pitting for fuel
and finishing fifth. Started last three Indy 500s.
Versatile driver has won championships in karting,
Formula Atlantic and sports cars. Owns record 14
Formula Atlantic victories.
Dismore emerged as one of the top drivers in '98 with
one of the top teams and had legitimate shots at victories. He nearly won at
Orlando, and he and Scott Sharp profit from the big funds at Kelley Racing.
Dismore's best race of the 1996-97 season came in the finale at Las Vegas, where
he led 43 laps en route to a fifth-place finish. Until then, the season was a rocky
one for the Hoosier. He started the season with Team Menard but was replaced
by Robbie Buhl. However, Dismore and car owner Tom Kelley joined PDM
Racing to field a car from Indianapolis to the end of the season. He finished only
28th at Indy after being rammed by another car, but came back with 11th-place
finishes at Texas, Pikes Peak and New Hampshire. He finally found competitive
speed at Vegas. He returns to Kelley Racing in 1998.
Dismore got his start racing karts in 1968 and won 40 grand national kart races
through 1989. He made his Indy car debut at Mid-Ohio in 1989 and won the
Formula Atlantic Pacific Division championship in 1990. He came to Indy but
did not qualify in 1992-93.
He won the 1990 Formula Atlantic Pacific title and co-drove to victory in 24
Hours of Daytona in 1993.
At the 1992 Indianapolis 500 he made one attempt in the Concept Motorsports
entry and was yellow-flagged after two laps. He made other attempt in D.B.
Mann entry and was yellow-flagged after three laps.
Dismore won the 1992 Formula Atlantic race at Long Beach and both Formula
Atlantic races at Laguna Seca to increase his total FA victories to 14, beating the
series record formerly held by Gilles Villeneuve.
Sources: Star/News and SpeedNet staff reports.
