Impressive Mutoh Moves To Head Of Rookie Class In Qualifying

Hideki Mutoh qualified ninth for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 in the Formula Dream Dallara/Honda/Firestone.
By Dick Mittman
indy500.com
Monday, May 12, 2008

Only 11 drivers qualified last weekend for the 92nd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race on May 25, but already one newcomer has established himself as a leading candidate for Chase Rookie of the Year.

Hideki Mutoh, a 25-year-old native of Japan, was the lone first-timer to qualify among the top 11 who made it into the starting field Saturday, May 10 on Pole Day, and none of the other 11 rookies had a chance to join him in the lineup Sunday, May 11 since daylong rain wiped out all action. Mutoh qualified ninth.

Mutoh displayed his driving skills by finishing eighth in the 2007 season-ending IndyCar Series race at Chicagoland driving for Super Aguri Panther Racing. He was quickly plucked away from that team, with which he won two Firestone Indy Lights races during the year, by Andretti Green Racing. He has lost little time in displaying his adaptability to bigger, faster Indy cars with finishes of sixth, 11th and sixth at St. Petersburg, Fla., Motegi, Japan, and Kansas, the past three races leading up to Indy.

He holds 11th in the standings only because mechanical problems eliminated him in 24th place in the season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He had started fourth.

"It's awesome," Mutoh said about his 223.887-mph qualifying run for his first Indy 500.

Mutoh got his opportunity to move to one of the league's super teams in the Formula Dream Dallara/Honda/Firestone when an opening came with the departure of 2007 Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti to NASCAR. He said teammates Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti have helped him as much as possible.

"We have been different on the setup on the car, so it is hard to say," he said about how much their advice helped him Saturday. "They tell me to go, where to turn into the corner, that kind of thing. That was very helpful."

Mutoh, who is so polite he bows to media people after interviews, becomes the seventh Japanese-born driver to qualify for the race. Hiro Matsushita was the first in 1991, followed by Hideshi Matsuda in 1994, Shigeaki Hattori in 2002, Shinji Nakano and Tora Takagi in 2003 and Kosuke Matsuura in 2004.

Takagi has the best qualifying and race results with a seventh and fifth, respectively, in 2003. He was named Chase Rookie of the Year.

With Japan's Mutoh and South Africa's Tomas Scheckter making the top 11, six of the seven continents are represented. North America qualifiers: Danica Patrick (fifth), Marco Andretti (seventh) and Ed Carpenter (10th); South America qualifiers: Helio Castroneves (fourth), Tony Kanaan (sixth) and Vitor Meira (seventh); Australia/New Zealand qualifiers: Scott Dixon (first) and Ryan Briscoe (third), and European qualifier Dan Wheldon (second).

Only Antarctica is not represented, but penguins don't drive.

Graham Rahal, bumped by Scheckter late in Saturday's qualifications, heads up the rest of the rookie contingent after his 223.540 run kept him in the battle for the 11th slot.

Ryan Hunter-Reay was next fastest at 223.485, but he later crashed trying to get back in the field after being bumped. Other rookies Will Power, Oriol Servia and Justin Wilson all turned laps in the 222-mph range.

The track is closed until Wednesday, May 14 when practice begins for next weekend's final round of qualifications. Twenty-two spots remain up for grabs.

***

Indy 500 tickets on sale: Tickets are on sale for the 2008 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25, the 92nd running of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

Fans can order tickets online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, or at the ticket office at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.

Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (ET) Monday-Sunday during May, with special hours of 6 a.m.-1 p.m. on Race Day, Sunday, May 25. Online orders can be made at any time. Race Day ticket prices start at just $20.


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