By Dave Lewandowski
indy500.com
Monday, September 22, 2008
"Where's the stereo? Where's the air conditioning?" Russ Mitchell gasped as he peeked into the cockpit of the Indy Racing Experience two-seat IndyCar.
"It doesn't have those, but you do have people screaming in your ear just like on your set," quipped Panther Racing's Dan Wheldon, who delivered the ride of a lifetime for CBS News anchor Mitchell on Sept. 22 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Mitchell's visit with Wheldon, sporting the camouflage National Guard firesuit for the first time since signing with Panther Racing earlier in the month, and subsequent experiences on the famed oval were filmed for a segment on "The Early Show" scheduled to air Friday, Sept. 26.
After a few minutes of instruction from 2005 IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 champion Wheldon, Mitchell also drove the Indy Racing Experience single-seater. Though considerably slower than strapping in behind Wheldon, the exhilaration of having that much horsepower at his control and the aura of driving alone on the Speedway almost left Mitchell speechless.
"You start out and say, 'Am I going to be able to do this,''' he said, "and by the first time you make it around it's, 'Oh, yeah, let's get going.' It was so much fun. The faster you go, the faster your heart beats."
Mitchell was in store for more fast times just a few minutes after leaving the single-seater on pit lane.
"My goal is to make you throw up," Wheldon said with a laugh before lighting up the sticker tires on the Delphi National Guard two-seater. "There is a panic button back there, but I'll ignore it if I see the light on my dash, and I'll laugh real hard."
After a few laps, Wheldon guided the car to a stop at pit out.
"You almost accomplished what you set out to do," Mitchell said while being helped out of the car. "We did three laps, and I think I lost 10 pounds."
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