Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Countdown to the Superbowl of motorsport

The buzz is back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as a

wide-open field for Sunday's 84th Indianapolis 500 has created renewedinterest in the world's most famous race.

Most of the reason for that is the return of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner
Al Unser Jr. and the arrival of the best team in the CART FedEx Championship
Series- Target/Chip Ganassi Racing.

Unser returns to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since he won the
race in 1994. A year later however, he became the first defending Indianapolis
500 winner to fail to qualify for the race the following year. From
1996 onwards, he was denied an opportunity to return to Indianapolis because of the
ongoing battle between CART and the rival Indy Racing Northern Light Series.

Unser returned to the Indianapolis 500 last year as a spectator to support
his two cousins, Johnny and Robby, who both competed in the event. Unser was
so impressed with the quality of last year's Indianapolis 500 field that he
was determined to return this year. When CART team owner Roger Penske decided
he would have two new drivers in 2000, Unser set his sights on returning to
the Indianapolis 500 by joining Galles ECR Racing in the IRL.

That in itself would be enough to generate interest in this year's
Indianapolis 500 because Unser is one of the most popular drivers in the
history of the world's greatest race.

But the arrival of Target/Chip Ganassi Racing and it's two drivers -
defending CART champion Juan Montoya of Colombia and 1996 CART champion Jimmy
Vasser has increased the intensity level.

Throw in defending IRL champion Greg Ray, who will start on the pole and IRL regulars
Eliseo Salazar, Scott Sharp, Jeff Ward, Eddie Cheever, Mark Dismore, Scott
Goodyear, Buddy Lazier, 19-year-old rookie Sarah Fisher and NASCAR Winston
Cup driver Robby Gordon, and there is a tremendous buzz of excitement leading
into the 84th running of the world's biggest race.

'Anybody in the first three rows has a shot at this thing,' Unser said. 'We
can go back deeper in the field and I hope I have a shot at this thing. There
are a lot of teams, a lot of drivers.

'The one thing I did learn and I learnt it back in 1985 when Danny Sullivan
spun that car out and went on to win the race, when it is your day, it's your
day. That is the way the Indianapolis 500 falls. All you try to do is prepare
all month long to make it your day on race day.'

A deep field of drivers with some of the biggest names in the sport has created a
buzz of excitement and put the focus back on the Indianapolis 500.

'There seems to be a more positive buzz nationally,' said Tony George, the
president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the founder of the IRL. 'I
guess the only way I have to gauge it is by walking around the track and this
year I haven't had one guest yell out, `When is CART coming back?'

'Most people have been looking forward to this year and there seems to be
more of a general excitement and buzz from the spectators than it has been in
the past.'

Ray won the pole last Saturday with a four-lap average of 223.471 miles per
hour. That knocked CART driver Montoya off the pole. Vasser will start on the
inside of the third row - within easy striking position of the lead early in
the race.

'From a fan and media perception, it's great for the sport,' Ray said. 'There
are a lot of great drivers and it's nice for the drivers to drive against each
other. Guys in the IRL were looked at as second rate. How can you say Kenny
Brack was not a superstar until you bring everyone together?

'If you finish first, second, third or 50th, as long as you do your best and
feel good, that's all that matters. I would like to see everyone in the same
arena on a weekly basis.'

Ever since he began as an Indy car driver in 1983, Unser has been a member of
CART. Now, he is a member of the IRL and will try to use his experience to
help drive through the pack from the outside of the sixth row.

He knows how competitive Vasser and Montoya can be and what a force the two
could be in Sunday's race, giving the CART series bragging rights by winning
the Indianapolis 500.

'I don't see it as this side and their side to begin with,' Unser said. 'I
see Target Racing as one of the tough competitors you have to go out and pass
to win the race. They are equal in what Greg Ray's team is doing, what Kelley
Racing is doing and so on. These are the top teams in the business. What they
have done is come in and they have done a great job and we expected that.

'Will they walk away with it on race day? I don't know. It's something we
will have to wait and see. But if they do, then they have earned it and will
have bragging rights for a whole year.'

Vasser is here to win the race for himself and his race team, not necessarily
for the CART series.

'I would love to view a victory, but as far as flying any CART flags,
personally, for me, it's not like that,' Vasser said. 'You know, I don't feel
like `Oh, you've got a lot of pressure on you for the CART guys.' I don't
feel that way at all. We just come in here to race, simple as that. There are
no political statements or anything like that. CART opened the window and
Chip said, `Hey, guys, should we run Indy?' and we said, `yeah.'

'If we don't make the CART guys proud, we're going to make them cry when we
show up at Nazareth or Milwaukee like we've been doing to them for four
years, so we're racing for ourselves. I'm doing this for my race team.'

It took the bold act of his team owner - Chip Ganassi - to bring Vasser back
to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 1995. It took a major career
decision by Unser to return to the race he loves the most.

'I have to thank God for allowing us to run in this race again,' Unser said.
'Putting it in the show really meant a lot. That was our main focus going
into it. I was a little bit too easy on my first lap because of how cold it
was in qualifying, that we've had a good qualifying run, we're in the show,
we are starting 18th and have a long ways to go, but this is a long race and
you can win it from any where.'

Unser was the first qualifier in last Saturday's qualifications, which helped
ease the tension and the anxiety.

'It was great to be the first one in the show,' Unser said. 'That put
everything to rest from what happened in 1995 when we didn't make the show.
Then to come back the very next time that I'm here and I'm the first one to
put it in the show.

'Really, I wish I could have seen some other guys run first so I could have
leaned on my tires on that opening lap. I thought I was the Guinea Pig out
there and once those other drivers saw another driver put it down, they knew
they were all right. But just making the race was the main focus and that is
what we did.'

With a chance of cooler conditions on Sunday over the hot weather that was
prevalent in Thursday's final practice session, car set-up will be important.

'If it's a cool day, we will be shedding off downforce right away,' Unser
said. 'If it is a hot day, we'll leave the car alone.

'There is nothing that will make up for experience, especially in racing. The
more experience you have, the better off you will be. When you get these cars
as equal as they are getting out there, there really is no 150-mile race or
50 mile race, you work all day long to lead this thing. If there is any race
you want to lead, it's this one. Keep in mind the one lap that pays the money
is the last lap. But you want to go out there and put yourself in an
offensive position to be there at the end. You have to think about your car
and with the pit stops, you have eight or nine times to make the car better
than it was before.

'The ultimate goal here is to lead that last lap. The sooner we get out front
and are in a position to have the race come to us or dictate the speed, that
is what we are going to do.'

Unser did that in 1992 when he was able to defeat Scott Goodyear by just
.043-seconds in the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history.

'I've been on both sides of that equation,' Unser said. 'Sometimes, you eat
the bear and other times, the bear eats you. The main thing to do is work all
day long to be in a position where you can go for the win.'

One of Unser's great qualities is his loyalty. When he was a member of CART,
he defended his series, but continued to hold a high regard for the
Indianapolis 500.

'It was a hollow feeling the whole month of May with practice and qualifying
going on, it was an empty feeling not being here,' Unser said. 'At least this
year, we are in the race and I'm very excited about that.'

The Indianapolis 500 is the ultimate dream of any race driver. The keys to
victory are preparation and focus, but far too often, the determining factor
can be luck.

'We have done everything we can think of to prepare for this race and we are
going to go out there and try to run our own race,' Unser said. 'If we can do
that without any mistakes and we can make it until the end of the race, we
will be contenders for the win.'

Now, wouldn't that create a buzz at the Indianapolis 500?

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Eliseo Salazar, by Bruce Martin
Next article Greg Ray on the Indy 500

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe