The True Test; Heritage Motorsports officials insist they're in the IRL for the long haul.(Indy Racing League)(Brief Article)

Jimmy Rathmann believes his Heritage Motorsports is the case study for race teams in the new era of the Indy Racing League. He's probably right.

As companies consider investing in America's all-oval open-wheel series, they're studying the first-year team with deep roots in the sport. Rathmann has the strength of his father's 1960 Indianapolis 500 win along with street smarts he developed in car dealerships. His partner, John Mecom III, has an even stronger Indy car background: His father, John Jr., who's also involved with Heritage, is the Texas oil tycoon who once owned the New Orleans Saints. He also fielded some of the top Indy car programs of the 1960s, capped by Graham Hill's Indy 500 win in 1966.

When the Rathmanns and Mecoms started Heritage in January, they had a solid financial starting point (they raised an estimated $2 million) and they made good decisions. Among those: landing one of the nation's top licensing companies (CMG Worldwide, which has such accounts as Marilyn Monroe and James Dean) to orchestrate the program and hiring the experienced Mitch Davis to coordinate the team. With the underrated Jeff Ward driving the car, Heritage looked mighty strong right away, winning a pole and posting top-seven finishes in its first three races.

But after qualifying eighth at Indy, Heritage began to skid off course. Over the next three races, the team's average finish was 17.3. And worse, solid sponsorship never materialized.

Just before the July 8 race at Kansas Speedway, Rathmann told Davis and Ward to park the car until the budget could be supplemented. Thus rumors flew: The owners were fighting and Formula One veteran Johnny Herbert was about to replace Ward.

Not so, the owners said this past weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, where their return to the IRL had a calming effect on the team despite a blown engine in the race. Herbert, they said, is only interested in a testing program so he can compete at Indy next year.

``We're committed to the IRL, we're committed to this team and we're in for the long haul,'' Mecom III says. ``Yeah, Jimmy and I have our differences, but he complements my weaknesses and vice versa. None of [these racing disputes are] bigger than our ...