The number 99

A little while back this email showed up in my Inbox.

To start I am a huge IndyCar fan, been one since the start. But, when champ and the IRL merged I think it's only right that we bring in some of the commitments that Champ Car committed to. CART/ Champ Car retired the #99 in honor of Greg Moore, but if you notice Townsend Bell's car is #99 at Indy. There are plenty of other numbers to choose from in the array of numbers that are open. It would just hurt me to see something that the one open wheel community retired come back because of the closing of their series… We need to do this as a community so one league's honor is not forgotten. Is there anyway we can start a grass roots petition to have them change the number by May?


Now as a general rule your humble host doesn't try to start petition-type stuff because, well, I'm not a torch and pitchfork kind of guy. Being an IRL fan where there has been no number retired the official stance of My Name Is IRL is that of apathy, not for the legacy of Greg Moore but for the entire concept of number retiring. I'm just not big on that kind of thing in any sport so it's difficult for me to get all worked up about this.

As popular as Moore was in CART the fact is several teams have already used #99 at Indy since Moore’s tragic death in 1999, the most recent being 1996 Indy 500 champion Buddy Lazier last May. That being said this subject still deserves some attention because the entire “Champ Car did this but the IRL doesn’t” debate will likely occur more than once in the near future.

For his perspective I asked our buddy Oreo, who unlike many of us actually knew Moore, about this subject in his most recent ESPN.com chat.

That's a tough one and it pretty much depends on where your loyalties lie. Moore was on the way to a phenomenal career before he was killed. He was electrifying to watch, especially on ovals, and it's an absolute tragedy that he never competed at Indianapolis. But for that reason, he doesn't have much stock with the IRL or its post-1996 fans. Imagine Moore's record had he been in that #3 Penske car for the last eight years....

I have also inquired with Curt Cavin on his Q&A but he hasn’t yet responded.

The fact is it’s probably too late to change Townsend Bell’s number for this year, but I suppose if enough people speak out the number could eventually be re-retired. Consider this an open invitation to express your thoughts on which if any numbers should be retired in the newly unified world.