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A different role Count of Monte Cristo star to drive pace carPosted: Saturday May 25, 2002 1:25 AM(AP) - There's no retake if Jim Caviezel blows his lines on Sunday. Not at 140 mph. "It's so overwhelming," said the actor, who will be behind the wheel of the Chevrolet Corvette pace car at the start of the Indianapolis 500. Caviezel, who spent weeks learning how to fence for his role in The Count of Monte Cristo and drove a hydroplane for the yet-to-be-released movie Madison, said the key will be to block everything else from his mind. "I want to compare it to when I come out on film day and they'll say, 'Jim, you have one shot. There's all these explosives that are going to go off, there's planes flying overhead, it's up to you to nail your marks and say your lines right,' " he said. With three-time Indy winner Johnny Rutherford sitting next to him, Caviezel will lead the 33 starters on two parade laps and the pace lap in front of a screaming crowd of some 400,000 people. Then he'll pull into the pits coming out of the fourth turn, leaving the race cars as they accelerate on the main straightaway toward the green flag to start the race. Caviezel's heart will be racing almost as fast. "That kind of pressure ... I have an ability to shut it all off and kind of focus on the thing at hand," he said. "That's why I probably won't be able to enjoy it as much as most people would. I'll have to ask them afterward, 'Well, what was it like? How did I do?' " He is the fourth celebrity driver in a row, following Tonight show host Jay Leno in 1999, ER actor Anthony Edwards in 2000, and model and IRL spokeswoman Elaine Irwin-Mellencamp, wife of rock singer John Mellencamp, last year. Caviezel's only training was about 60 laps last month, when he reached a top speed of about 160 mph on the straights and about 125 mph on the curves. "There's nothing that's going to prepare me for the energy of the people going crazy," he said. WHEATIES BOX: General Mills unveiled a new special-edition Wheaties box on Friday, featuring four-time Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt. The box will see limited distribution in Indiana, Michigan and southeastern United States -- but not in Foyt's native Texas. "I didn't realize I was ever that young," the 67-year-old Foyt said, glancing at a 1950s picture of him on the box. "It's a great honor to be recognized among the names you see on the Wheaties boxes." He is the first Indy winner to be pictured on a Wheaties box since Wilbur Shaw in 1936. Most of the other race car drivers on the cereal box have been NASCAR stars, including Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott and, most recently, David Pearson. Foyt, who retired as a driver in 1993 and owns the cars driven this year by Greg Ray and Airton Dare, is celebrating his 45th year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Would he like to drive again? "If I could roll back them young years, yeah," he said. "I'll be honest with you, I do miss it." TOUGH FIELD: Team owner Chip Ganassi and his pole-winning driver, Bruno Junqueira, say Sunday's Indy 500 could be the most competitive in years -- maybe ever. "There are more people that can win the race than ever before," Ganassi said Friday. Junqueira, who finished fifth at the Speedway as a rookie last year, said at least 20 drivers have a chance to win - and nobody would be surprised. "You know, when CART and the IRL split, CART had maybe six, seven real good teams with 10 or 12 very good drivers, and the IRL had maybe one or two real good teams and one or two real good drivers," the 25-year-old Brazilian said. "Now, with the IRL getting strong, there are six or seven very good teams and 10 or 12 very good drivers. And CART has sent some of its good teams and put eight strong drivers in the field at Indy." Besides Junqueira, other drivers from CART include Tony Kanaan, Max Papis, Jimmy Vasser, Kenny Brack, Michael Andretti, Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy. OLDTIMERS' DAY: Arie Luyendyk is the oldest of six fortysomething drivers in Sunday's Indy lineup. A decade ago, 11 drivers -- a third of the field -- were at least 40. "A lot is made of the young drivers and the rookies," Luyendyk said. "But they all have a lot of experience. They've all been around a long time, starting with Go Karts when they were 8 years old."
Luyendyk is 48, still nowhere near the record set by A.J. Foyt,
who was 57 in his final race as a driver in 1992. Other Indy
seniors this year are Al Unser Jr. and Jeff Ward, both 40; Raul
Boesel and Eddie Cheever, both 44; and Mark Dismore and alternate
Billy Roe, both 45.
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