What's in a name?

Top Indy 500 'rookie' qualifier Kanaan a misnomer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Tony Kanaan had to laugh.

He's in his fifth season in the CART series, but because this is his first Indianapolis 500, he's considered a rookie.

"It's funny," said Kanaan, who picked up a plaque and a check for $5,000 on Tuesday for being the fastest among nine rookie qualifiers. "I mean, obviously, thanks to that I'm getting an award before the race."

He will start fifth, from the middle of the second row, in Sunday's race. Fellow Brazilian Bruno Junqueira, last year's fastest rookie, will start from the pole.

"The track is not the kind of track you can say it's an easy one, so I think it's fair to say people who are here the first time are rookies," Kanaan said. "But I've been racing forever, especially the ovals. I've been racing since '96."

Kanaan was the Indy Lights champion in 1997 and the CART rookie of the year with 10 top-10 finishes in 1998. He moved from Forsythe Racing to Mo Nunn Racing in 2000 and came to Indy for the first time this year, as Nunn and other CART teams continued to trickle back to the showcase event of the rival IRL series.

Max Papis, Alex Barron, Shigeaki Hattori and Dario Franchitti are also among the rookies with previous experience in CART. The last two Indy 500 winners, Juan Montoya and Helio Castroneves, also were so-called rookies from CART.

"What you saw this year with the second-closest field, that explains the quality of the drivers and the teams involved," said Papis, who has been racing in CART since 1996 and was the series' most improved driver in 1998.

"It kind of makes me happy to be called a rookie, because you're always like the underdog. Nobody thinks about you," Papis said.

Led by Junqueira's four-lap average of 231.342 mph, the 33-car field averaged a record 228.648 mph. Every car bettered last year's pole-winning speed of 226.037 by Scott Sharp. Junqueira and slow qualifier Billy Boat were separated by 3.2646 seconds over their four-lap runs, just a tick off the record 3.2422 seconds set last year.

"The track was difficult," Kanaan said. "The most difficult part, I think, was the wind. It changes all the time."

The second-fastest rookie in qualifications was Tomas Scheckter, son of former Formula One champion Jody Scheckter, who is driving for former Indy winner Eddie Cheever and will start 10th, on the inside of the fourth row.

An all-rookie sixth row is made up of Laurent Redon, Rick Treadway and Papis. Barron and Hattori are in the ninth row, just ahead of Franchitti. The ninth rookie, George Mack, will start from the middle of the 11th and final row.

"I think I was really a rookie last year because it was just my second oval race of my life. I had no experience," said Junqueira, who greeted Kanaan with a hug at Tuesday's rookie lunch.

"Helio won the race, but he was not a rookie. He had been racing ovals and champ cars. I learned a lot here. I learned to be patient and try to keep the car on the track."

Except for a final practice on Thursday, the track is closed until race day.

Junqueira, who finished fifth as a rookie last year, said the extensive experience by this year's rookie class could make a big difference on Sunday.

He said there's a good chance for "rookies to finish second, third and fourth -- after me, I hope."

 

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