By Dick Mittman
indy500.com
Sunday, May 11, 2003
Calling a new driver in the Indianapolis 500 a rookie is a misnomer in the 21st century.
They're young, but fast. They come to win, not just to make the field. They're savvy and suave. They fit right in with the veterans.
Juan Pablo Montoya of Colombia was a "rookie" when he won the race in 2000. Then came the exciting Brazilian Helio Castroneves in 2001 with the same newcomer tag hung on him. All he's done is win two straight races and the MBNA Pole for the 87th running of this year's Indianapolis 500 on May 25.
In 2002, American Alex Barron finished fourth as a first-timer, leading seven laps. South African rookie Tomas Scheckter led the most laps, 85, and Brazilian rookie, Tony Kanaan, led 23. Bruno Junqueira won the MBNA Pole in just his second year at Indy.
After Sunday's MBNA Pole Qualifying, it appears this year's rookie crop may be equally as awesome.
Eight new drivers earned high spots in the starting field with speeds ranging from Scott Dixon's 230.099 mph to A.J. Foyt IV's 224.177. In between are England's Dan Wheldon at 229.958; Japan's Tora Takagi, 229.358; American Tony Renna, 228.765; American Roger Yasukawa, 228.577; Japan's Shinji Nakano, 227.222; and American Buddy Rice, 226.213.
Foyt became the first 18-year-old ever to qualify for the race. Foyt, the grandson of legendary four-time Indianapolis 500 champion A.J. Foyt Jr., spun and steered his car backward safely down the backstretch in his first qualifying attempt. He returned late in the day and put the famed No. 14 Conseco/A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara/Toyota/Firestone fielded by grandpa in the field.
That speed was 81.047 mph faster than what elder Foyt qualified at for his first "500" 45 years ago.
Foyt IV, who will celebrate his 19th birthday on Race Day, faced more pressure than any of the other drivers since the eyes of the racing world were on him. After all, Foyt is the most famous name at Indy.
"I know what this place has done for my grandfather and it really made his name," Foyt said. "To come here and try to carry on the name and tradition is just a great opportunity for me."
The opportunity at Indy was equally high for the other rookies. In years past, rookies usually started with a low-budget team hoping to impress a big team with a strong Indy performance. Drivers like 1996 Indy winner Buddy Lazier and former pole winner Greg Ray came up that way.
"I think you've got to give credit to a lot of team owners," said Wheldon, who drives the No. 26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone as a teammate to Michael Andretti, Kanaan and Robby Gordon on the Andretti Green Racing team. "They're giving rookies a chance.
"And certainly Michael, Kim Green and Kevin Savoree have given me a great opportunity. That could sound like a PR. piece, but it's not at all. I can't think of any other team I'd rather be with. I love this team and definitely want to be part of their future."
Wheldon, 24, noted that Dixon got the same opportunity with the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team. At 22, Dixon's already won a race both in CART and the IRL IndyCar™ Series. He'll start on the inside of the second row next to Wheldon.
MBNA Pole Qualifying positions for the other rookies are Takagi, seventh; Renna, eighth; Yasukawa, 11th; Nakano, 15th; Rice, 19th and Foyt IV, 23rd. Thirty-three percent of Sunday's qualifiers were first-timers.
Gordon, who is doing the double on Race Day with the NASCAR Winston Cup Coca-Cola 600, praised his teammate Wheldon and jested that he was a "little cocky," as was Gordon when he first came to the Speedway in 1993.
"I'm pretty happy I got to push him down just a little bit right now," Gordon said, "because he's been ragging me all week long in the garage about being a fat, old race driver."
Renna, from Deland, Fla., outqualified his more illustrious teammates, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. and 2001 Indianapolis 500 MBNA Pole Award winner Scott Sharp. Earlier in the day, Sharp, who qualified next to Renna in row three, spun into the wall in his first qualifying attempt.
"Tony's been really good," Unser said. "He takes it very methodically, takes his steps one step at a time. He's not overly aggressive out there and he's just taking it day by day.
"He gradually built up the speed charts out there and put four real good laps together. So Tony's been doing a super job."
Rice joined Eddie Cheever Jr.'s Red Bull Cheever Racing team last summer at Michigan International Speedway and chased new teammate Tomas Scheckter home in second with a brilliant drive. Many of the Indy rookies have moved up through the racing training grounds to the IRL together, Rice said.
"Renna and I, we ran a little last year (in the IRL), and that definitely prepared us for coming into this year," he said. "And to come here to the Speedway, it definitely helped us.
"To say we're rookies, I think for the term, yeah, we are, because we've never been here and known what it's going to take with the way everything's going."
Chip Ganassi's father, Floyd, was here with his son when Chip was an Indy rookie in 1982. Chip drove in five races with a best finish of eighth in 1983. The senior Ganassi sees a vast difference in the rookies of today.
"Over the years, the youth have brought a heck of a lot more speed," Floyd Ganassi said. "I don't know if this is the result of hand-eye coordination with the video games they've had over the years, but I'm very, very surprised of the quality of drivers that are here.
"They're really making a name for themselves in very, very quick order."
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