Wednesday, May 21, 2003 | 10:09 a.m.
Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at [email protected] or (702) 259-4089.
Jimmy Kite might have been the most relieved driver when the gun was fired Sunday to mark the end of qualifying for the 87th Indianapolis 500.
Kite qualified 32nd in the 33-car field with a four-lap average speed of 224.195 mph and put an end to a yearlong nightmare.
Last year at Indy, Kite was sitting in his car waiting to make his qualifying attempt when a rainstorm hit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The showers didn't subside in time for Kite to get on the track and he was forced to sit out his second consecutive Indy 500.
"I've been waiting a year for it to stop raining," Kite joked after he safely was in the field. "Last year, that sound (of the gunshot marking the end of qualifying) was the worst thing I had ever heard. This year, it was the best."
Kite, who drives for PDM Racing, on Sunday will be making his fourth career Indy 500 start. He finished 11th in the 500 as rookie in 1998 but was forced out of the race early in both 1999 and 2000 with engine failure.
"The PDM crew did an awesome job and I'm just thrilled to be in the show," Kite said. "I'm ready to go racing. I've missed race day here for the last two years and I'm ready to go."
Although PDM Racing is running this year's Indy 500 on a shoestring budget, Kite said he is optimistic heading into the race.
"We've had limited track time because the budget isn't there to just go do hundreds of laps like Ganassi or Penske," Kite said. "We have to use what we have to the maximum and no one can get more speed for the dollar than (team owners Paul Diatlovich and Larry Arnold).
"The car we have might not have all the bells and whistles but I can promise you no one could come over here and do any more with it than we are. I'm looking forward to Sunday so we can reward all of this hard work with a strong race. It'll take care of some unfinished business for all of us here."
The race will be the 70th for the Unser family. Al Unser Sr. leads the family with 27 starts, Bobby Unser made 19 races, Al Jr. will be making his 16th start and Johnny Unser (five), Robby Unser (two) and Jerry Unser (one) also have competed at the Brickyard.
The Unsers have a combined nine Indy 500 victories, with Al Sr. winning four times, Bobby Unser -- Little Al's uncle -- winning three times and Al Jr. twice.
The 33 drivers entered in the race qualified at an average of 227.125 mph. Last year's field -- at 228.648 mph -- was the fastest in history and the 1996 field -- the last in which turbocharged engines were used -- qualified at an average of 227.807 mph.
Series points leader Lasoski finished sixth and Steve Kinser fifth and are separated by only 43 points going into this weekend's two-night show at The Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.
Lasoski has seven victories in 27 starts while Kinser leads the series with nine victories in 27 races.
archive
