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Notebook Schmidt watches race; Edwards pilots pace car
Posted: Sunday May 28, 2000 06:36 PM
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Sam Schmidt blinked and tried to cope with the drizzle before the start of the Indianapolis 500. Finally, someone arrived with an umbrella, but Schmidt couldn't grab it or shield his face from the rain that delayed the start of the race Sunday. He's been paralyzed from the neck down and in a wheelchair ever since a crash during testing in Orlando, Fla., in January. “It's a little bittersweet,” he said of his return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “I miss it quite a bit. It's hard to put into words.” Schmidt, who started in three Indy 500s, joined Treadway Racing after Arie Luyendyk retired last year, and he won his first IRL race in September in his hometown of Las Vegas. “I really feel confident that I'm going to walk away from this,” he said. “I feel pretty fortunate, actually. I didn't sever my spinal cord anywhere. There's no guarantees with spinal cord injuries, of course.” Schmidt has been going through four to five hours of daily rehabilitation in a St. Louis hospital and hopes to return home in about a month. He even talks about racing again, although “my wife would probably kill me if I did.”
New commandThe traditional pre-race command was changed Sunday to “Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!” in recognition of the first Indy lineup with two women. The phrase made famous by the late speedway owner Tony Hulman was changed to “Lady and gentlemen” when Janet Guthrie became the first woman in the race in 1977. Guthrie was in the race for three years, and the revised command was used again after Lyn St. James joined the field in 1992. Hulman's daughter, speedway chairman of the board Mari Hulman George, issued the command to the 31 men, St. James and 19-year-old rookie Sarah Fisher on Sunday.
Bad omenWhen Anthony Edwards first turned the key to start the Oldsmobile Aurora pace car, the windshield wipers came on. “I guess Oldsmobile knew something that we didn’t,” the ER actor said during a rain delay before Sunday's race. Edwards, who plays Dr. Mark Greene on the NBC TV show, drove the pace car at the start of the race. Jay Leno was the pace car driver last year. “I did a celebrity race in Long Beach. There was a course you take there to learn about the cars,” Edwards said of his interest in auto racing. “I was able to meet some of the drivers and the teams and I was just impressed by the way this whole motorsports works.” He has no plans to broaden his career, however. “It's just recreational. ... I'm truly just a race fan,” he said. Edwards said he wasn't nervous about performing in front of the huge audience at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “I'm watched by 36 million on Thursday nights, so 400,000 I can deal with,” he said.
New roleRick Mears, a four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, was working for a rookie on Sunday. Mears was a spotter for Jason Leffler, whose primary sponsor is United Auto Group, a retail auto dealership that is part of car owner Roger Penske's business empire. Mears, who retired as a driver in 1993, is a consultant for Penske Racing, which competes in the rival CART series and did not enter the 500.
Rain delayDuring the three-hour rain delay, drivers had to find ways to kill time. “You can't beat Mother Nature,” Donnie Beechler said. “You've just got to wait it out.” Some drivers headed back to their motor homes to catch a quick nap, while others stuck around their garages in Gasoline Alley with their crews. They passed the time watching television, eating and chatting with fans. “You get all pumped up for it, you're ready to go, you're psyched up and then it's like, 'Oh,'“ Beechler said. “But it doesn't take the drivers long to get psyched up again.”
Early wake-up callUp since 4 a.m., some members of the Purdue band had a hard time staying awake during the rain delay. The band, which played as part of the pre-race festivities, was at the speedway by 6:45 a.m., but with the race delayed three hours, they had nothing to do but wait. Camped out near Victory Lane, two players from the horn section napped in a golf cart, while a couple of others dozed sitting up, leaning against each other. The majorettes were the smartest of the bunch, seeking shelter - and seats - inside.
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