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Handicapping Indy 500 favorites
Posted: Friday May 26, 2000 02:39 PM
By Mark Bechtel, Sports Illustrated One of the big beefs race fans have had with the good folks at the Brickyard the past couple of years is that the Indy 500 has been devoid of interesting stories. Ever since the CART-IRL split, the race has been unable to conjure up enough drama to hold the interest of many fans. As a result, it has become less of an event (remember when it was on TV in prime time and you spent all day trying to avoid finding out who won?) and more of a regular old race. This year, though, great stories abound. Included in the field are a pair of Unsers (including Al Jr., whose last Indy 500 race experience was winning in 1994 and whose last Brickyard experience was missing the field in '95), a pair of women, Lyn St. James and Sarah Fisher, and a pair of interlopers from the CART circuit, each of whom drives for the powerful Target Ganassi team and each of whom has a real chance to get milk. Let's take a look at the favorites: Juan Montoya: The defending CART champ came dangerously close to winning the Indy pole this year as a rookie. The 24-year-old Colombian loves to stand on the gas from the get-go, which might hurt him in a 500-mile race. He'll have a hard time driving away from the field, but if there's a dogfight at the end and this kid's in it, he's going to be tough to beat. Jimmy Vasser: Montoya's not-so-sassy but steadier teammate won a CART title in 1996 and has Brickyard experience. The smart money might be on him. Robby Gordon: Had the race won last year before running out of gas on lap 198. This year he bolted for NASCAR (where he has struggled), but will return to Indy before jetting off to Charlotte for the Coca Cola 600 immediately following the race. He lined up a good ride for himself, driving for Team Menard, and if he's going to win on Sunday, it's going to be at the Brickyard. Greg Ray: Gordon's teammate with Menard is the defending IRL series champ and will start from the pole. The biggest thing working against him seems to be bad Brickyard mojo. He bowed out last year after clipping Mark Dismore coming out of the pits under caution, and water pumps and gearboxes have stymied him before. Al Unser Jr.: The Unser clan has a rep for running well at Indy, and Little Al hasn't done anything to hurt that. He won in `92 and `94, but hasn't raced there since. He struggled on the CART loop the past couple of seasons and left for the IRL this year. Skeptics snickered that he was seeking solace in a lesser league, but tell that to Al and he'll respond, "Come race us." He's starting 18th, but that's largely because he had a bad first qualifying lap. Don't count him out. He knows this place, and 2000 has been a pretty good year for racin' Juniors. Others to watch: Teammates Eliseo Salazar and Jeff Ward will start nose to tail (third and sixth, respectively) for another guy whose name carries some weight in these parts: team owner A.J. Foyt. Besides Unser, the only past winners in the field are Buddy Lazier (he won in `96, starts 16) and Eddie Cheever (`98, 10th). Fisher will start in spot 19, which is also her age. My pick: Vasser.
Click here to send Mark Bechtel a question.
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