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Tuesday, May 8
Many feel 500 is bigger than ever
ESPN.com news services
INDIANAPOLIS -- There is a distinct feeling in the air that only happens during the month of May in Indiana. It's the sense of anticipation of something big, something exciting and something special.
It's the feeling that precedes the Indianapolis 500 -- one of the world's great sporting events.
|  | | CART stars like Gil de Ferran are bringing extra attention to this year's running of the Indianapolis 500. |
From Union Jack Pub in Speedway, Indiana to one of the many Steak n Shake restaurants that dot the downtown intersections to the rolling fields of the Hoosier Heartland, there is a feeling this year's Indianapolis 500 is back as the biggest of the big, the best of the best.
The reason for that sentiment is based on the return of three teams from the rival CART series -- defending series champion Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves at Marlboro Team Penske, Target/Chip Ganassi with CART's Jimmy Vasser and NASCAR's Tony Stewart, and Team KOOL Green's Michael Andretti.
But in a sense, that type of attitude belittles the drivers in the Indy Racing League, which have competed in the Indy 500 every year since 1996, when CART teams essentially decided to boycott the world's biggest race over the creation of a rival series.
The teams and drivers of the IRL are happy to have the extra attention and competition that these teams have brought to this year's race. However, they would like a little credit for staging some pretty competitive Indy 500s over the last five years.
"To say that the Indianapolis 500 is back only because teams from CART are here, that wouldn't be a fair quote because this race has always been competitive, even when they were not here," two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk said. "To say that, you are selling Eddie Cheever short, Scott Goodyear and Al Unser Jr. A lot of guys have been successful whether it was CART or the IRL. You have to look at the true picture."
Roger Penske is the winningest team owner in Indianapolis 500 history with 10 victories, but his cars haven't taken the green flag in this race since 1994. That year, Penske's cars dominated the race, with Unser Jr. winning his second Indy 500.
The following year, neither Unser nor Emerson Fittipaldi were fast enough to make the 33-car starting field, saddling Penske with one of his lowest moments in racing. When the IRL went into operation in 1996, CART teams stayed unified in their objection to the new series and Penske remained loyal to CART.
But it's obvious that CART teams have suffered by not competing in the Indianapolis 500.
"What I ask myself is, what took them so long to come back? Why did they wait that long?" Luyendyk asked. "This race hasn't changed over the years as far as prestige and appeal. I think they finally realized they need to be back. Some teams have gone to great expense to come back, like Chip Ganassi last year and Penske this year.
"There always has to be one team that shows the way and Chip Ganassi did it in a certain way last year, although ahead of him, Galles was a CART team that ran here and (Derrick) Walker was a CART team that ran here and A.J. Foyt and Dick Simon were CART teams that came over here. There have always been CART teams and drivers represented in this race since then. Ganassi and Penske being here has caught the attention of the press, but that's because some of the press doesn't pay that much attention any way."
Luyendyk is a former CART driver who has been in the IRL since its inception. He retired following the 1999 Indianapolis 500 but has returned after a one-year hiatus in quest of his third victory in the world's biggest race.
He first won here in 1990, when the field was comprised mostly of CART teams. He won his second Indy 500 in 1997, when nearly every driver was from the IRL.
"I probably didn't get the attention and the respect for that second win initially, but over the years have gone by it has because people in general realize none of my successes here were ever a fluke," Luyendyk said. "In 1990, the comments were he came out of nowhere, now he won that race. But I was up there even before 1990.
"When I won in 1997, that was as hard-fought a victory as any that I've had. It was close, it was fierce and intense and it was guys who were really good and who have proven themselves to be really good here. Jeff Ward has proven to be a good driver and Scott Goodyear and Tony Stewart and Buddy Lazier. We had good competition and we won the race. I was as excited then as I was in 1990."
At this point, the Indianapolis 500 has the momentum, even if the IRL does not. CART teams have admitted the value of the biggest race in the world. So when will some of the Indy 500's momentum rub off on the rest of the races in the IRL?
"I think people always look at the Indianapolis 500 as a separate event, and event on its own," Luyendyk said. "I think it has always been like that, even when the Indy 500 had most of the teams in it from CART. Everything that happens here in a positive way will have a positive effect on the IRL, but in a certain way, it will have a positive effect on CART as well.
"I have no feelings of wanting to see one prevail over the other. I wish both would be successful and have a bright and successful future. I want to see the best for both. I don't wish anything bad on both series."
Two years ago, CART attempted to unify its series with Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George, the founder of the IRL. Although that did not happen, it appears unification is taking place at the Indianapolis 500.
"It's like maybe this is where we can meet and come to terms," Luyendyk said. "This is where we can get together. The fact that Penske and Ganassi and Michael Andretti are here, it means they really want to run here really bad."
Actually, this year's Indianapolis 500 may have more to offer than the race did before 1996, when the field was the entire CART lineup plus Team Menard and Hemelgarn Racing.
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This race has never left. Anybody who has won since 1996 has proven to be a worthy champion of the Indianapolis 500. I beat Michael Andretti here as a rookie and maybe this year, I will beat him here again.” |
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—Eliseo Salazar |
This year's race features the best of the IRL against the best of CART and with perhaps the best driver in NASCAR Winston Cup racing -- Stewart -- thrown into the mix. There is something for nearly every race fan.
"If you want to have the most competitive situation at Indy, it would be every IRL team and every CART team out here," Luyendyk said. "That's not going to happen. ... But if you look at the competition now, it will be one of the closest, tightest, most competitive fields in the 500 ever. All of the IRL teams have stepped up their programs and there are a lot of good teams."
Walker is a team owner in both CART and the IRL. He has Tako Taguri as his CART driver and Sarah Fisher in the IRL. Walker is able to offer a unique perspective on the two series and why it is important to run in the Indianapolis 500.
"I think it's inevitable before more CART teams come back," he said. "It takes times to make those decisions and act on them. They couldn't do that overnight. It has taken five or so years to get over the split and now it's time to get on with racing. That is what always happens, the racing mentality brings us together in some form.
"If you look at what was the Indy 500 before the IRL and before CART, it was about a very unique event in the world and the competition to win that race has always been historic. We might think we had ownership to that whether it was CART or the IRL, but in reality this institution had this race and we came and played here. When they say it's back, it's the competition."
Eliseo Salazar of Chile competed in Formula One before joining CART in 1995. He finished fourth in his first Indy 500 that year and started on the outside of the front row the next year when the race was part of the IRL. He has been a front-row threat for qualifications every year he has been at Indy and started and finished third in last year's race.
"Last year, we got beat by Juan Montoya, who is one of the best drivers in the world," Salazar said. "I really take offense when I read Michael Andretti's quote that he saw last year's race on TV and said he would have kept Juan honest. That's the biggest bull I've heard in my life. Why didn't he do that to Montoya in CART?
"I'm glad they are here, I don't have any grudge against them. This is going to be maybe the best Indy 500 in the last 20 years because of the competition. But, I take offense to them thinking they are coming in here to take candy away from a little kid."
Salazar's competitive fire has never left and it burns strongest in Indiana in May.
"This race has never left," he said. "Anybody who has won since 1996 has proven to be a worthy champion of the Indianapolis 500. I beat Michael Andretti here as a rookie and maybe this year, I will beat him here again." Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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