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Monday, May 14
Pre-Indy pressure continues to mount
By Jack Arute
ESPN.com
"All I can say about that is he must just be ignorant."
That's the way A.J. Foyt responded Monday to Michael Andretti's complaint that Foyt's driver Eliseo Salazar intentionally stayed on the track Sunday to oil the track and affect qualifying after his engine blew during Salazar's qualifying run.
|  | | A.J. Foyt, right, with driver Robby Gordon, did not appreciate comments made Sunday by Michael Andretti. |
Andretti is making his first appearance at the Indianapolis 500 since 1995, the last race before the formation of the Indy Racing League. The former CART champ has not had an easy time of it at Indy.
A week searching for speed resulted in Andretti posting a disappointing Pole Day effort of 220.747 mph. By Sunday, it was apparent that that posting might put the winner of 40 CART races in jeopardy of being bumped from the field.
But then his Motorola team decided to withdraw the car from the field and attempt to qualify its backup.
Enter Foyt's primary driver, Salazar.
A driving error on Friday left the Chilean with a "black eye," both figuratively and literally.
Before Friday's crash, the current runner-up in this year's IRL points chase also was one of the many favorites to win this year's MBNA pole. A blown engine kept him out of Saturday's Pole Day qualifying. After making repairs on the car and changing engines, Salazar entered the track late Sunday hoping to join teammate Robby Gordon in this year's 500.
On the final turn of his four-lap, 10-mile run, Salazar's engine blew, spewing oil down the front stretch of the track, just moments before Andretti was set to make his requalification run.
When interviewed by ESPN, Andretti questioned Salazar's decision to complete his run with oil spreading across the track.
In Andretti's defense, there was incredible pressure on him when the ESPN interview took place. After qualifying with four of his best laps of the week to earn the 26th starting spot, Andretti revealed his worry.
"I was thinking, 'What have I done wrong to this place? What if I don't make it?'" Andretti said. "It's been a stressful time."
But Foyt's Monday verbal retort might never have happened if Andretti had not angered some of the IRL regulars with what Andretti surely considered a throw-away comment during the formal announcement of his return to Indy after a six-year, self-imposed absence.
"I only wish that I had been here last year to keep Juan Montoya (last year's Indy winner and a CART regular at the time) honest."
Despite some undercurrents of hard feelings, Andretti's time at Indy has not been acrimonious. The Nazareth, Pa., native has been a welcome addition to this year's 500 hunt.
But as pressure builds, the hospitality diminishes. Guys like Foyt want to beat Andretti. Not just because he has led more laps at Indy than any other non-winning driver, but because he and others want to serve the 11-time "500" veteran a large dose of crow.
"That comment about wanting to keep Montoya honest really made a lot us IRL regulars mad," said one of the IRL drivers who asked to remain anonymous. "I guess he found out just how tough our series is." Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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