By Jan Shaffer
indy500.com
Monday, May 26, 2003
Editor's Note: Veteran racing journalist and publicist Jan Shaffer is writing a series of stories showing the similarities and differences in the Race Week buildup for the 87th Indianapolis 500 by a large IRL IndyCarTM Series team, Andretti Green Racing, and a small team, PDM Racing. This is the sixth and final installment of the series.
For Andretti Green Racing, the feeling was "bittersweet."
For PDM Racing, there was an overwhelming feeling of success.
But their goals were different in the 87th Indianapolis 500. Andretti Green had a powerful stable of four cars in the show with Michael Andretti in the final race of his career, Tony Kanaan, Robby Gordon and Dan Wheldon in the saddles. The goal was to win. The best finish among them was Kanaan in third.
The PDM goal was to finish in the top 15 with its one-car effort starting in the 32nd hole with three-time veteran Jimmy Kite aboard. And the popular Kite brought it home 13th.
"It really couldn't have been any better for us," said PDM co-owner Larry Arnold. "Jimmy did a heck of a job, stayed out of trouble and brought it home. We were the third Chevy, and we're happy about that.
"We put Jimmy through a difficult situation. He didn't know he had the ride, but he took it well. He's quite a person and quite a driver. We didn't have a car that could run with the leaders, and we got all we could out of it. The teams ahead of us had huge budgets. If you look at it from that standpoint, we probably won. The pit stops were great. We were able to make several under the yellow."
Paul Murphy, the crew chief, said things went according to plan.
"We lost a lap when we pitted early because it was a little on the loose side," Murphy said. "We stalled once in the pits and had a wheel gun stick. But Jimmy kept his head straight and made it finish. To come here with as little as PDM did, to finish the race like this is great."
Kite, for most of the month, was "on the bubble" to drive the car. The reason: Money.
"Thank god they stuck it out with me," he said. "I said my prayers all year long, 'Please let me get in a car in May', then 'Please let me stay in a car for May.' You watch these guys walk in and out of the garage and know they have money. You keep wondering.
"The car was set up great. It as good in traffic. Top 15 was as good as a win for us. We were running 224. I was between (Helio) Castroneves and (Gil) de Ferran for several laps and they threw the move-over flag, but I was actually drafting Castroneves away from de Ferran so they took it down.
"I made the field three years, and you start taking this place for granted. I missed the show the last two years, and I didn't take it for granted this year. Like Little Al (Unser) said, 'You don't know what Indy means.' I do.
"Bittersweet" was the term used by Kevin Savoree, the co-owner of Andretti Green.
"Michael was running so well and had a little problem," Savoree said. "To see him get out of the car and know that he's done was a pretty emotional time.
"Our other three cars were in the hunt all day. We're thrilled to watch Tony (Kanaan) come back from the accident in Japan and finish third at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That was pretty impressive.
"Probably earlier in the day, I thought any of our guys could've won the race. For us now, the race is over and we have a championship to fight for. We have a test in Richmond, then we head to Dallas, and 7-11, one of our sponsors, is headquartered there, and we have to put on a good show for them.
"Like any racer, any time you get beat, you don't feel very good about it. It makes you hungrier. The day we're happy with finishing third, we need to be doing something else.
"I grew up in Paris (Ill.), not far from here. Now I'm part of history at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. To put four cars in the greatest car race is an incredible accomplishment."
For Andretti, it was his final race before retirement.
"Everything was going right, then it all went wrong," Andretti said. "It ended up that the throttle linkage broke. I know I could've won that race, so knowing that makes me feel better. I could've won my last race. There're not a lot of guys who can say when you retire, 'I had a legitimate chance to win the last race.'
For one team, not winning was a loss. For the other, not winning was a win.
Strange but true.
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