Winning is good thing
INDIANAPOLIS – Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and defending Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon say winning the race gives a driver an edge to do it again. But not every former winner agrees.
“Absolutely,” said Wheldon, who starts next to Castroneves on the outside of the front row Sunday. “Now that I’ve achieved it, there’s a different kind of pressure.
“I would have thought the opposite, but I think I have become more motivated to win because I’ve seen what winning the race has done for me and I don’t want to lose that.”
Castroneves prevailed in his first two Indy 500 starts in 2001 and 2002. Wheldon is trying to join Castroneves, the Team Penske driver, on a short list of back-to-back winners. The others are Wilbur Shaw (1939-40), Mauri Rose (1947-48), Bill Vukovich (1953-54) and Al Unser Sr. (1970-71).
“They know what they did in the past to win this race,” Castroneves said. “You can always use that. It doesn’t matter if it’s 10, 15 or 20 years, you can still use strategy.
“You also know that everybody else is studying you, they’re checking out your line. You would do the same to somebody else.”
But two-time winner Al Unser Jr. sees it differently. He says his victories in 1992 and 1994 have no effect on this year.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “The way the rules are, the way the teams are so knowledgeable with all the instrumentation and the data acquisitions, the information that the crews have can be relayed right to the driver – no matter how many miles they’ve had around here.”
In the old days, drivers often benefited more from stronger engines and time-tested setups not shared with other teams. This Indy Racing League season, cars are all under Honda power and the computer technology inside has helped level the playing field for the 90th race.
Unser, 44, last raced at the Speedway in 2004. He ended his retirement this month, but has struggled to get up to speed and will start 27th in the 33-car field.
So it’s also easy for him to say there’s not much of a psychological edge from a decade ago.
“Those are yesterdays,” he said. “And yesterdays don’t matter.”
Vitor Meira came close to winning last year as a runner-up to Wheldon. The sixth-fastest qualifier said those who know racing realize what it takes to win. The Brazilian suggests it’s really not a secret.
“One, the driver does everything right,” Meira said. “Two, he has the car to do it. Three, he’s been lucky and been in the right spot to do it.”
He also has noticed that once a driver wins, others aren’t so quick to provide tips in general conversation.
“You won it already,” he said, “so you know what to do.”
Wheldon parlayed his 500 victory and IRL series title into a lucrative leap from Andretti Green Racing to Ganassi Racing in the off-season. He was reunited with former PacWest Indy Lights teammate Scott Dixon, the 2003 IRL series champion.
“I would think it gives you more confidence because you’ve done it,” Dixon said of winning the 500. “You’ve completed something that a lot of people just dream of being in.”
Wheldon mentions Dixon when discussing how a driver must make the most of a great car. Dixon was not a factor the last two 500s with a Toyota engine, but has bounced back and will start fourth Sunday.
“You’re not always going to have that equipment,” Wheldon said. “You can’t guarantee you’re going to have that. Look at Scott the last couple of years, he hasn’t had it.”
The humbled Dixon said he would like to find out for himself if being a 500 winner can shift the competitive balance.
“Maybe I can let you know after the race,” he said.