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Rookie woes Ross Cheever has to sit and wait until Eddie qualifies
Posted: Sunday May 14, 2000 08:11 PM
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a tough enough place for veteran drivers. For a rookie trying to make the Indy 500, the sprawling Brickyard can be overwhelming. Eddie Cheever, the 1998 Indy winner, is shepherding younger brother Ross through the rookie process this year. "Being a rookie here can be difficult," the elder Cheever said. "I remember the first time I came to Indy I was very anxious." Cheever, who had come from the Formula One series and was then driving for Chip Ganassi, survived his first visit to the speedway quite nicely, qualifying 14th and finishing eighth in the race in 1990. The older brother, now 42 and six years older than Ross, is in his fourth season as a team owner as well as trying to qualify his No. 51 Dallara-Infiniti for his 11th Indy 500 start. There is no other racing event with as much buildup as Indianapolis, where a full week of practice leads up to two days of qualifications, followed by a week of hype and promotions before the race. "It's important to pace yourself," Eddie said. "The fans are here every day to see the racing drivers and teams and there's a real sense of excitement and anticipation." Cheever said that the drivers must be able to remove themselves from the hoopla and concentrate on the technical aspects of finding enough speed to qualify for the race. That's especially hard for a rookie. "A driver can't focus on the fact that there are thousands of people watching, or on the fact that it's the Indianapolis 500 because this place will eat your lunch if you don't pay attention," he said. Even to focused drivers, nasty things can happen on the 2.5-mile oval. On Saturday, the opening day of practice for the race May 28, Cheever became the first crash victim of the month. He spun and slammed into the wall when a broken part caused his brakes to lock. "I went out to perform the routine checks, but for some reason I couldn't get up to speed," he explained. "My chief mechanic, Owen Snyder, radioed for me to pit, but I didn't sense the urgency in his voice and I stayed out for another lap. "As I began to slow down to come into the pits, something in the left rear wheel locked up and I spun in turn two. That was an unfortunate reminder of how quickly things can go wrong here. This is a serious business." Cheever, who escaped without injury, said wrecking his $370,000 Indy car cost the team $80,000. "We were lucky to escape with only that much damage," he said. The wreck was something of a setback to Team Cheever's plan to have Eddie ready to qualify and then concentrate on his brother's ride. Ross ended a five-year retirement over the winter, becoming a test driver for his brother's team. "Testing is not something you want to put into a rookie's hands," Eddie said. "Even though my brother was relatively a rookie when it came to ovals, he had had a lot of experience in Japan and under very difficult and trying circumstances in the Japanese Formula 3000 series. "We gave him a shot at testing and he impressed everybody right from the beginning." The younger Cheever is expected to get his first opportunity to practice in one of the team's 1999 Dallara-Infinitis either Wednesday or Thursday. "He'll be doing some running in the 2000 Dallara, as well," Eddie said. "Once the 51 car is qualified, then all the effort will go on to him. The intent is definitely to run two 2000 Dallaras with Infiniti engines." And what of the anxious rookie. "I'm excited and I'm a little impatient, but I'm just going to try to take it in stride and one step at a time," Ross said. Sunday was busy day on the Indy oval, with 1996 race winner Buddy Lazier leading the early going with a fast lap of 218.386 mph. Next came Scott Sharp at 218.238, followed by IRL champion Greg Ray at 218.070. Al Unser Jr., a two-time Indy winner and Saturday's fastest driver at 217.223, was seventh on Sunday's speed chart at 216.181. Sarah Fisher, a 19-year-old rookie trying to become only the third woman to race at Indianapolis, made her debut with a fast lap of 212.992.
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