INDY 500: Ray makes 4th consecutive Indy 500 front row
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
May 14, 2001
The day was a long one…in fact, as Greg said, “The whole day has been stressful, stressful, stressful.” The Qualifying Day began with morning practice and Greg’s speeds in the 2T car were 226.108. At 11:02 a.m., the first driver (Luyendyk) moved into the qualification line with track temperatures of 96 degrees. --12:38 p.m. -- Greg rolled out the 2T Johns Manville/Menards/ Dallara/Oldsmobile/ Firestone and took his warm up laps. After a first lap speed of 224.862, Greg waved off and we pulled back to the pits to wait for what seemed like an eternity. In the meantime, the #22 car sat in the qualification line and rumors circulated that we might take that car out first. The time seemed to slow down and we waited until 1:37 p.m. for an all practice session. At 4:00 p.m. the track temperatures were at 117 degrees and winds were blowing northwest at 20 mph. Qualifications resumed with Dismore making his attempt at 4:35 p.m. This is when we all felt a tense just waiting to see who was in line, where we needed to be and also praying that the winds would calm down some. At 5:11 p.m. Ray rolls out and now it’s finally our time. In fact, the field of 22 cars were already set and we held our breath as the first lap was completed. Lap 1: 225.227, Lap 2: 225.636, Lap 3: 225.405, and finally Lap 4: 224.512…our average 225.192….we made it and on front row for the fourth year in a row.
Here’s what Greg had to say about it:
GREG RAY (#2T Johns Manville/Menards Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone): "I'm very proud of Team Menard. I'm honored to be a part of this team. I'm pleased with the car. That is all we could get out of it. The conditions on the track didn't match the car at all. I don't know where (Scott) Sharp pulled that rabbit out of his hat, but I have to tip my hat to them. I'm proud for them. It's pretty exciting, more than I ever wanted it to be. I don't think under any conditions we could have done a 226 (mph) plus. When I saw Sharp do it, I thought: 'Oh, no. It's going to be a long day at the office.' I have five starts and four front rows. Every qualifying gets a little more fun. Today we lost the balance of the car. It was really loose, but I was able to hold onto it. I'm pretty happy with it. There was nothing left we could do with the car. We added all we could to the car. I'm very proud. I'm proud for Team Menard and our sponsors Johns Manville, Quaker State and all the associated sponsors, plus my hometown/helmet sponsor EDS. The conditions were different today than they were mid-week. Everyone tells you that all four corners here are the same, but I'm here to tell you they are not all the same. This was a tough ride."
(About starting in the back vs. the front):
"Anytime you start up front it's a good thing, especially here. I remember back in '97 when I started at the back row of the Indy 500 you see all the sand and haze. You can't breath back there. That haze is from the pavement being thrown up on you. My eyes were burning and tearing up because of all the methanol. I'll tell you, I never ever want to be back there ever again. That year they stopped the race at 10 laps because of the rain. When I got out of the car, I literally had a pound of sand in my lap."
Text provided by Kathy Prather
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