Friday, May 23, 2003 | 10:32 a.m.
SUNDAY ON TV
Memorial Day weekend is to auto racing fans what Christmas morning is to children.
Two of the most grueling oval races in motor sports -- the Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Winston Cup Coca-Cola 600 -- take center stage Sunday, providing racing fans 1,100 miles of high speed and, more often than not, high drama.
The most famous race of all -- the Indy 500 -- will be contested for the 87th time at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway while the Coca-Cola 600 will stage its 44th running at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Both races will have a definite local flavor as four drivers and one car owner with ties to Southern Nevada will compete at Indy while Las Vegas native Kurt Busch will race in his third career 600-miler.
As pole-sitter Helio Castroneves attempts to make history by becoming the first driver to win three consecutive Indianapolis 500-mile races, Henderson residents Al Unser Jr. -- a two-time Indy 500 winner -- and Richie Hearn and Las Vegans Jimmy Vasser and Tony Renna will be out to halt Castroneves' streak.
Sam Schmidt, a Henderson resident and former Indy Car driver, is Hearn's car owner and was a late entry in the 33-car field after leasing a car from the famed Penske Racing stable. Schmidt, who never won the Indy 500 in three attempts as a driver before he was paralyzed from the chest down in an accident in 2000, said he believes this is his best chance to finally win at Indy.
"We just have a heck of an opportunity," Schmidt said. "This is clearly the best car-driver-engine combination that I will ever have to win this race.
"There's quite a bit of buzz around here; there are definitely a lot of people expecting, after what we did last year with limited resources, that we can honestly win this thing. If you would have asked me last year, I would have said, 'yeah, yeah, we have a chance of winning,' but all of the stars would have had to aligned last year. This year, we just need to make sure we're around at the end and we have as good a chance as anybody else."
Hearn, who finished sixth last year while driving for Schmidt, is equally optimistic.
"The car is good enough to win the race, I know that," said Hearn, who finished third at Indy as a rookie in 1996 and will start Sunday's race 28th out of 33 cars. "I've been pretty lucky here in the past to stay out of trouble. If I can continue that and steadily improve during the race, there's no reason why I shouldn't be in the top 10 near the end of the race and then race it from there; really, that's the plan."
Vasser, who will be starting his eighth Indy 500, also said he is in his best position to win his first 500.
"This is the best car I think have ever had going into the Indy 500," Vasser said. "The comfort level and the competitiveness and the package with the Honda engine has been fantastic.
"Certainly, it would be better if I didn't have to start 27th but I feel like we have a car that can get to the front and once we get there we can stay there."
Like Hearn, Kurt Busch said his plan for the Coca-Cola 600 -- the longest race on the 36-race Winston Cup schedule -- is to put himself into position to make a run for the lead in the closing laps.
"The key of the race for the Coca-Cola 600 is to be competitive at the end of the race," Busch said. "I'd say the last 100 miles is the most important part of the race -- but you have to stay on the lead lap for the first 500 miles."
Busch, 24, has six wins on the Winston Cup circuit, including two this season, but has yet to find Victory Lane at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He came close, however, last Saturday night when he finished second in The Winston all-star race. If recent history counts for anything, Busch's car owner, Jack Roush, has won the past four 600-mile races at Lowe's.
"The last couple of times we've been at Lowe's, we just seem to get better and better," Busch said. "That's keeping me looking forward to this race. I know it's the longest event of the year and it can be grueling but it's all worth it when you have a shot at the end of the race."
Busch learned last year just how grueling a 600-mile race can be on a driver -- and how important it is to be in peak physical condition.
"Last year, I was a bit under the weather, feeling sick, and it was probably the toughest race on me," Busch said of his 31st-place finish in 2002. "I lost about 12 pounds (during) the race and it took me a good two weeks to recover.
"It's a race where you have to prepare about a week in advance, right after The Winston, and just continue with the nutritional programs that will get you through such a duration of time, sitting in a car, one place at one time, and you have to stay hydrated, that's the key."
That is a piece of advice that Robby Gordon is taking to heart this weekend. Gordon, 34, is the only driver who will attempt to run both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.
This will mark the fourth time Gordon has attempted to run both races. Last year, he finished eighth at Indy and 16th at Lowe's later that evening.
"I think the hardest part last year (was) I did get a cramp in my stomach (at Lowe's) ... and I am sure that was because of the g-forces and dehydration," Gordon said. "Last year, I did not take the IV between the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. I felt so good after Indy and had that adrenaline running. I felt I was fine and I refused it.
"This year I will take that. Eleven hundred miles is a long ways. I have done the Baja 1000 (off-road race) by myself many times (and) I do not ever have time for a two-hour break or three-hour break. So with the Coca-Cola 600 and Indy 500 double, I do have that break time and if I am, one, in physically good enough shape when that time comes and, two, eating right, getting good sleep and take the IV, I do not foresee a problem doing the effort this year like I did last year."
Castroneves, whose victory last year at Indy was marred in controversy after Las Vegan Paul Tracy's last-lap pass of Castroneves was ruled to have come after a caution flag had been displayed, this month has been downplaying his run at history.
"There are so many variables in motor racing that you never know what's going to happen," Castroneves said. "Records are made to be broken and right now I'm in a situation that I might be doing another one. Hopefully we can do that. If not, it's not meant to be."
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