Young Talents Hope To Capture England's Attention At Indy
By Dick Mittman
indy500.com
Friday, November 7, 2003

Ten years ago, Nigel Mansell, the reigning Formula One World Champion from England, came to the Indianapolis 500 and nearly won as a rookie.

In 1993, Dan Wheldon, Mark Taylor and Darren Manning were teen-agers just starting their racing careers in the United Kingdom. On May 30, 2004, all three could be starting in the 88th Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

It would be the largest contingent of English-born drivers to start in the "500."

All three drivers will compete with grade-A teams. Wheldon, who made his rookie debut with a 19th-place finish in the 2003 Indy 500, will return with Andretti Green Racing after winning the Bombardier Rookie of the Year award in the IRL® IndyCar® Series this year.

Taylor drove to seven victories and the Menards® Infiniti Pro® Series championship in a Panther Racing car the past season and will join Tomas Scheckter as a second car teammate with the same team in the IndyCar Series.

Manning claimed ninth place in the CART series during 2003 in the cockpit of a Walker Racing car and has moved to Target Chip Ganassi Racing to replace the late Tony Renna.

Both Taylor and Wheldon list the late Ayrton Senna as their racing hero when they were growing up, but Taylor says Mansell's decision to come to America and race after winning the F1 championship was headline news throughout England and had young drivers there thinking about America as another direction for their racing careers.

"He was known for his Formula One exploits," Taylor said of Mansell, "and it was very big news when he came over to do the '500.' Everyone was very excited.

"Of course, everyone thought he was going to be able to come over here and dominate it."

Mansell joined Mario Andretti on the Kmart/Texaco Havoline team in 1993 when Michael Andretti went overseas to test the F1 waters as Senna's teammate at McLaren. Mansell suffered a back injury in a crash at Phoenix and was delayed appearing at Indianapolis for a few days after undergoing surgery. When he did show up, there was a huge contingent of English journalists on hand to chronicle his exploits.

Mansell qualified eighth at 220.255 mph. In the race, he showed he was in a class with the best. But his inexperience in oval racing also cost him a victory.

Defending F1 champion Mansell led when a caution period started late in the race. As the green waved for the restart on Lap 185, Mansell was slow on throttle response. Cagey Indianapolis 500 champions Emerson Fittipaldi and Arie Luyendyk zipped past Mansell and forced him to accept third at the checkered flag instead of first.

Mansell returned for the 1994 race and was in the hunt for victory on Lap 95 as he drove through the warm-up lane for a pit stop during a caution. He was minding his own business when suddenly rookie Dennis Vitolo charged in too fast, ran up over John Andretti's rear wheel and landed on top of Mansell's car.

An irate Mansell never returned to the Speedway, ending his Indy-style career at the end of that season.

That's why Taylor believes anything can happen at Indianapolis.

"I mean, Johnny Herbert came over to America to, in his words, he was going to come over and show the Americans how to drive around Indianapolis," Taylor said.

"He got a big shock when he did it. And it's just one of those things that until you come over here, it's another ballgame, a different feeling, and it's one that's very difficult to overcome to be able to win the '500.'"

Herbert, a Formula One veteran with three career victories, came to Indianapolis for the 2002 race. He was signed to drive with the new Duesenberg Brothers team. But he failed to qualify on Pole Day, and then the second day was rained out. Committed to race in the American Le Mans Series the following weekend in Northern California, Herbert was unable to secure a private jet to get him back to the Speedway in time to attempt to qualify on Bump Day.

George Robson and Graham Hill are the only English-born drivers to win the "500," triumphing in 1946 and 1966, respectively. Of course, Scottish-born Jim Clark won in 1965. Prior to Mansell, the previous Englishman to start in the "500" was David Hobbs in 1971, 1973, 1974 and 1976.

Manning, 28, was born in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. Wheldon's hometown is Emberton, and Taylor was born in London, but now resides in Tonbridge when not in Indianapolis. Wheldon and Taylor both are 25.

The interesting thing about their challenge for a spot in next year's Indianapolis 500 starting field is that each will compete with a different brand of engine.

Wheldon will have a Honda powering his Klein Tools, Inc./Jim Beam Dallara/Firestone. Taylor will have a Chevrolet behind him in his Menards/Johns Manville Dallara/Firestone, while Manning will be putting his foot to the throttle of a Toyota in his Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz G Force/Firestone. ***

2004 tickets: Tickets are available for the 2004 Indianapolis 500. For information, log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, or call the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY or (317) 492-6700.


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