Jacked-up Gil

De Ferran basks in spotlight of Indy 500 win

INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- One day after winning the biggest race of his career, Gil de Ferran was able to reflect on why winning the Indianapolis 500 brings grown men to tears.

"It's the trophy," de Ferran said. "The money is always nice, but the sense of accomplishment that comes from winning the Indianapolis 500 is really overwhelming."

De Ferran received a check for $1,353,265 out of a race record $10,151,830 purse at Monday's Victory Awards celebration at an Indianapolis hotel. While that amount of money is impressive, it's the immortality that comes with winning the world's biggest race and having his face added to the Borg-Warner Trophy along with the past winners of an event that began in 1911.

"It's not about the check, it's about savoring the moment," said the 35-year-old Brazilian. "It brings great joy."

Prior to winning Sunday's 87th Indy 500, de Ferran was usually referred to as a two-time CART champion. For the rest of his life, that title will be replaced by the term "Indianapolis 500 winner Gil de Ferran."

The lure of the Indianapolis 500 is dramatic for anyone who has actually attended the event. Despite the controversy that has come with the split in open-wheel racing that has diminished interest in the sport in general, race day at the Indy 500 is one of the most dramatic days in sports.

The star power was back at this year's race as numerous celebrities, including former United States Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton and former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, were in the crowd that approached 400,000.

But the real star on Sunday was de Ferran, who extended team owner Roger Penske's race record to 13 Indy 500 wins. The famed team owner also joined Lou Moore (1947-49) as the only men to own the winning car in three-straight Indy 500s.

De Ferran's margin of victory over teammate Helio Castroneves was the third-closest in the history of the race - 0.2990 seconds.

The winner was a bit bleary-eyed from lack of sleep when he had the official victory photo taken at the "yard of bricks" on the frontstretch of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday.

The demands that come with winning the race, the numerous interviews and other obligations, left little time for the winner to celebrate Sunday night. He estimated that he slept three or four hours.

"It's been incredible," de Ferran said. "Nonstop really. I hardly had time to really take it all in and realize what has been going on. It's just been one thing after the other. I'm really still sort of floating in the air. Haven't really sat down and said, 'Oh, my God, you know, this is really happening.' So I don't know. I think it will take a few days."

De Ferran's victory was also a triumph over physical adversity.

He was beaten up after a hard crash with Michael Andretti in the first turn wall in the closing stages of the Indy Racing League's 200-mile race at Phoenix on March 23. He suffered a concussion and back injury which forced him to sit out the next race in Japan on April 13.

It was de Ferran's second concussion in seven months. He also suffered a concussion when he crashed at Chicagoland Speedway last September.

Although his status for the Indianapolis 500 was never really in doubt, de Ferran wasn't cleared to return to competition until late April.

"Well, I'm a big believer that you shouldn't worry about things that you don't control," de Ferran said. "When I was sitting in -- I should say lying in -- the hospital there on that Sunday night after the accident, for me it was a matter of taking things one step at a time. I had the doctors telling me on the subsequent days that I had yet another concussion and broke a couple of vertebras, and at that point I didn't really know what was going to happen.

"Priority No. 1 in my mind was just to get myself fit again, get my head straight, get my bones healed, just one step at a time. And I think that kind of serves me well."

Until race day, de Ferran was a forgotten figure. His more flamboyant teammate's quest for a third-straight Indy 500 dominated much of the attention as well as Michael Andretti's final race as a driver.

The victory was another monumental accomplishment for Penske Racing. To best prepare the operation, they used both Dallara and G Force chassis in testing and the opening week of practice. Once the team discovered the chassis were very close, Castroneves qualified for the race in a Dallara while de Ferran used the G Force.

That meant the team prepared eight cars for the two drivers including backup racers in case there was a crash in practice or qualifications.

To add to the work load, de Ferran destroyed a car in his crash at Phoenix and Castroneves' stuffed one into the wall at Japan in a two-car crash.

"To put that together with the fact that we build our own engines and we need a lot of engines for Toyota for the month of May, just seeing all this come together from our organization and logistics was really incredible," de Ferran said. "They were developing, trying to develop and understand two types of cars, putting in enough parts and everything together to run two types of cars. It's really unbelievable to see it all coming together."

That's the Penske way. With resources and experience unmatched in the Indy Racing League, Penske always has a commitment when it comes to the Indianapolis 500. That is why he is the most successful team owner in the history of the event.

And now, de Ferran joins an impressive list of names that have won the 500 for Penske including Mark Donohue (1972), Rick Mears (1979, '84, '88, '91), Bobby Unser (1981), Danny Sullivan (1985), Al Unser (1987), Emerson Fittipaldi (1993), Al Unser Jr. (1994) and Castroneves (2001 and '02).

"Gil needed this and we were really behind the 8-ball when we started here," Penske said. "On Carburetion Day, he got in that car and only went 14 laps and said this car was perfect. We only made a minor change during the race with the wing. He was back on track, you could see it in his eyes. The results speak for themselves."

It was also the third-straight win at Indy since Tim Cindric took over as president of Penske Racing. At 32, Cindric has a remarkable record of success and helped return the team to the top of the sport.

"Tim is a remarkable man for his young age," de Ferran said. "He's a tremendous leader, extremely mature. He always has a unique perspective to everything that's going on."

With the best team in the history of his sport, the final key to victory was the man with his hands on the steering wheel.

And de Ferran drove like a true champion.

"Certainly the Indy 500 is as great an accomplishment as one could hope for," de Ferran said. "Racing in front of 400,000 people is something extremely special. But in driving and in racing, there is a very selfish pleasure there, which is challenging yourself and just the pure pleasure of going around a turn at over 200 miles per hour and with the car right on the edge and sliding all the way through.

"I love it whether anybody is watching or not."

 

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