Indy 200 Journal

part 4

Sat. 1/27 (Race day):

The good news is that we can sleep in and amble out to meet the press van at 9:00. The bad news is that as soon as we're outside, we hear the unmistakable sound of a Ford-Cosworth and a Menard on the track - which means the track is hot and we're locked out of the infield. A quick call to the press room confirms. It's an unscheduled 15-minute practice just for Cheever and Hearn, who obviously got the Pagan car, so they can do system checks on their new cars.

*****

Out on the pregrid, talk with Hearn crewmen to find out about the car. Led by the capable ex-Walker (Christian Fittipaldi) engineer David Cripps, they pulled an all-nighter to put their engine and suspension in the Pagan backup. Tell us there wasn't time to go fast this morning, but that Richie feels comfortable in the '95 Reynard-Ford. Hearn and Cheever will have to start at the back, behind Johnny Parsons Jr. and David Kudgrave. Jeeze, there'll be nearly a 30 mph speed differential between the last two rows.

Donald Trump and entourage, including a kind of cartoon behemoth bodyguard, are escorted along the rows of the pregrid, stopping occasionally for the photographers and TV cameras. Asked if he's going to be involved in a track, the current rumor, he says yes, he loves racing and hopes to put a track in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Then, sizing up the cockpit of one car, says to one of the officials escorting him, "It's so small. I couldn't be a racing driver, could I?"

*****

Disney's version of the opening ceremonies is LOUD and seemingly played just for the center bleachers on the front straight - TV? Best part for me is the release of a swirling flock of white pidgeons.

Scurry up to the press stand to be in place for driver introductions. They're brought out individually from the garage area, sort of like a football or basketball game. Loudest (and highest-voice) cheer by far is for Lyn St. James. Next most popular is Arie. Foyt gets a big cheer and says over the P.A., alluding to Mario's possible return to Indy cars, "If he comes back, I'll come back, Ladies and Gentlemen. 'Course, I'll have to lose about 30 pounds." Big ones, I think.

12:40, Roy Disney, nephew of Walt, who he does resemble, gives the command, "Lady and gentlemen, start your engines."

12:48, Buddy Lazier jumps the start, then leads Luyendyk, Guerrero, Sharp, and Calkins on the first lap in IRL history. By the third lap, Kudrave is being lapped and pulls in - by prior arrangement?

Hearn and Stewart are both on the move. By lap 9, Hearn has passed 10 cars up to 9th place

Lap 16, Stewart passes Sharp into 5th, teammate Brayton pits, Hearn up to 7th

All alone, Hearn spins in turn two, very slight damage but out. Too bad. Mechanical problem or just lost it? On the re-start, Stewart passes Luyendyk into second and in 5 more laps executes the IRL's first lead change, passing Lazier into 1st - in a Lola- Menard V6! This kid is something.

Lazier in, working on something on the right front corner.

Lap 66, Calkins passes Stewart for the lead, Stewart pits 2 laps later - relatively long stop, 17+ seconds

Lap 100, Calkins leads Stewart. Only two cars on lead lap. Guerrero, Wattles, Alboreto, one lap down, Hamilton two laps down

Lap 178, Hamilton crashes, all alone, in two.

Lap 190, Cheever and Sharp touch in one, both into wall, Stewart JUST makes it through, pinched to wall by safety truck, runs over debris, JUST makes it through and around wreck. JEEZE!

Stewart makes several runs but can't quite get by Calkins, who wins the 1st IRL race and 1st Indy 200 by .8 sec. 3rd is Buhl, two laps back, just half a second ahead of Alboreto, Groff in 6th in A.J.'s only running car

*****

At John Menard's request, photograph Stewart and crew. Everyone's ecstatic. Menard re the last-minute addition of Stewart to his team: "We put this together in 10 days. We were just going to run two. I couldn't be happier." Mari Hulman George comes over to congratulate Menard.

Ask Stewart if he had particular trouble in one, where it looked like others pulled him. "No, we set it up to push through there. I had a pretty good run on him [Calkins] a couple of times, but we just couldn't get it done. We got about as much as there was to get in this car. I'm pretty happy." He should be. He was awsome.

*****

Camera-clad IMS photographer Ron McQueenie fumbles with a stack of hats for Calkins for other photographers to shoot. Kid him about needing practice at hat-changing role

*****

Re everyone's fears, even expectations, of carnage and multi-car wrecks, Mike Deer, Steve Chassey's insurance partner, tells me that this race weekend was no worse than the average for the last ten years, four and a half wrecks.

*****

Calkins: "This was my first (Indy car) race. I wasn't expecting this, but I guess I can't complain. This was the first time I've ever done pitstops. I'm happy we got through it. When I saw that last caution, my heart dropped. 'Oh, no! Not now!'" Asked to compare this with running Indy Lights. "A lot more hoopla and about 2 1/2 times as long as I've ever done in a Lights race"

*****

Foyt, re his race (two cars crashed): "Isn't it a wonderful day? I come all the way to Walt Disney World to shoot craps."