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Saturday, May 12
Penske quickly back on top at Indy
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS -- Roger Penske won't need a ticket to see his
first Indianapolis 500 in seven years.
Not after Saturday.
|  | | Gil de Ferran, left, qualified fifth on Saturday for Roger Penske's team. |
Both of Penske's drivers -- Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves --
qualified early Saturday, assuring Penske of two starting spots in
the 85th Indianapolis 500, his first entries in the race since
1994.
"My worst nightmare was not being able to qualify for the
race," Penske said. "But as I arrived Thursday and saw how we
were running Friday, my confidence went up."
After watching Castroneves scrape the wall in practice Friday,
Penske's concern grew.
But he didn't need to worry for long Saturday, and he nearly
earned a front-row seat -- just like old times.
Thirty-five minutes into qualifying de Ferran bumped Arie
Luyendyk off the pole by going 224.406 mph.
De Ferran was later knocked off the pole by Scott Sharp, but
Penske didn't seem to be bothered.
"We weren't coming here really considering the pole," he said.
"We're really concerned more with the race."
Later in the afternoon, Penske received more good news, when
Castroneves avoided the wall and clocked 224.142, which also put
him solidly in the field.
De Ferran will start fifth on May 27, Castroneves 11th.
The qualifying runs marked a glorious return to a race where
Penske has won a record 10 races, and to a venue he once seemed to
own.
"I think it demonstrates and shows how good this team is,"
Penske said, referring to Saturday's qualifying successes. "What
we have to deal with now is the race."
The race was something Penske didn't have to deal with the last
time he was in Indianapolis.
After winning the 1994 race with Al Unser Jr. in the driver's
seat powered by a Mercedes engine, 1995 proved much more difficult.
Penske found himself scrambling just to qualify, and Unser Jr.
even resorted to pulling his race-winning car out of the speedway
museum. Everything failed.
"It was a panic situation," Unser Jr. said Friday. "We were
in a panic situation for three weeks in '95, and nothing we did
seemed to work."
Penske left Indianapolis before that race, and the next year
marked the beginning of the IRL-CART split.
Penske stayed away for five years -- until his return Thursday.
"The track didn't change," Penske said. "Certainly the
environment is different. I used to memorize where all the garages
were for everyone, but now it's a matter of us just getting down to
business."
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