 |  |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Plan well, be ready 'Daily Double' vet John Andretti on Stewart's attempt
Posted: Thursday May 27, 1999 03:35 PM
Editor's note: In 1994, John Andretti drove in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. It was the first such attempt, and the following are his reminisces, plus his thoughts on what Winston Cup rookie Tony Stewart faces during his 1999 attempt at the "Daily Double." "I was pretty worried when I went to bed that Saturday night. The weird thing was I usually go to bed worrying about the race car. That night, all I worried about was the weather. I was worried that it might rain in Indianapolis and it might not rain in Charlotte. A rain delay at Indianapolis was going to make it really tough to make the start of the race in Charlotte. A rain delay at Charlotte, at least at the start, was going to make it a little easier. "When I woke up Sunday morning and saw the sun shining in Indianapolis, I was pretty relieved. I knew then we could pull it off and get everything done. We could run all day at Indianapolis and still have time to make the race at Charlotte. Once I saw that sunshine, race day became the easiest part of the whole deal. "Most of it was good planning and being ready. For example, I ate on the plane from Indianapolis to Charlotte, mostly fruit and stuff easily digestible and light. I also took two full bags of IV, just the saline solution. Still, I showed up at Charlotte feeling like I hadn't even done a race. I felt pretty good. "We had finished 10th at Indianapolis, and that wasn't too bad. We finished the race and ran to a helicopter pad, zipped off to the airport and flew to Charlotte. I was hoping for a pretty decent run at Charlotte, even though we were starting at the back of the field because I had to miss the drivers' meeting. I felt good when I got to Charlotte, and didn't feel too bad physically when the night ended. "The Indianapolis part is totally different now. For one thing, the month isn't a month anymore but a couple of weeks. The 600 starts later than it did, too, which should help Tony out a lot. Remember, I missed the drivers' meeting because I was still on the plane from Indianapolis to Charlotte, and had to start at the back of the field. He should have enough time to at least stop at the bathroom on his way in. "The real ringer for me was California. We raced Sears Point the same weekend as Indianapolis pole qualifying. I went to Sears Point, practiced and qualified Friday there, then flew to Indianapolis on Saturday for pole qualifying, then flew back to Sears Point that night for the NASCAR race on Sunday. Now that was a tough weekend. It was a heck of a lot tougher than race day and probably the most nerve-wracking. "I only had one day I could qualify for Indianapolis, which was that Saturday. I was sitting there in line and was the next to go out, and it started raining. I couldn't believe it. I knew they had forecast for rain and I knew it was a possibility, but I couldn't believe I was sitting there, ready to go, and the rain started falling. It was one of those deals where, if I didn't go out that day, I wasn't going to get to go. The next few hours were some of the hardest in my life. We were fortunate. About three o'clock or so, they got the track dried and I was able to qualify [Andretti started 10th in the 1994 Indianapolis 500]. They didn't finish qualifying all of the cars that day but I did get in. "It was pretty ironic. When I was fifth or sixth to go for qualifying at Charlotte, it started raining then too. I had to be back at Indianapolis the next day. Again, we got it in but it was pretty hairy for awhile. I qualified ninth there [in an unsponsored car owned by Billy Hagan] but that was kind of meaningless in the long run. I knew I'd miss the drivers' meeting and knew I'd go to the rear of the field. "It's funny in that not a lot of people took it very seriously when we first talked about doing it. Nobody had ever done it before, tried to run both races in the same day. I guess nobody thought it could be done. I was doing just the one Indy race, the Indianapolis 500, and was with an unsponsored Winston Cup team at the time too. But once I had qualified at Charlotte, everything kind of changed. The calls from the media really started coming in. We started getting a lot of attention. Before that, it wasn't like it is now where everybody wants to know about it. "The thing is, I really didn't know if it was going to happen, either. So many factors were involved in running both races. One little thing going wrong here or one little thing going wrong there could have kept it from happening. We didn't have some big-name sponsor behind it or anything. I was running both because I really wanted to run both. I don't like them having races without me in them. It still bugs me that NHRA has drag races without me there. I'm not too keen on them running swamp buggy races without me either. "I wish Tony a lot of luck in trying it. I'm glad he is going to do it, and it doesn't bother me a bit. My feeling is we did it when nobody thought it could be done. We did it just because I can't stand them running a race without me. We did it because I love NASCAR racing and I love the Indianapolis 500 and I always want to be part of both of them. "Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. In fact, I've been checking mileage and jet logistics for the big NHRA race that weekend. Hey, the Indianapolis 500/World 600 double has been done. I'm thinking we might be able to pull off the triple of a lifetime."
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
