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closeWill Rick Mears be Penske's ace in the hole?
MIKE BRUDENELL
The Detroit Free Press
Friday, May. 09, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS – If Helio Castroneves or Ryan Briscoe snatches the pole on Saturday for the Indianapolis 500, the winner will likely acknowledge the Master of Faster for part of his success.
Rocket Rick Mears, one of the most admired competitors in the history of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has taught many a driver about how to tackle the mysteries of the Brickyard and how to get around the 2.5-mile track as fast as possible.
Mears won a record six poles at Indy and a record-tying four 500s in a celebrated career with car owner Roger Penske. At 56, he is now a Team Penske adviser, who works with Castroneves, a two-time Indy 500 champ, and Briscoe, who is in his rookie year with the team.
"I try to do overall more than getting into driving the car," said Mears of his teaching methods. "It's more of a mind-set and staying relaxed, and patience, patience and patience."
During the past 15 seasons, since his retirement in 1992, Mears has helped Team Penske drivers and engineers score 67 victories, including six Indy 500 wins, 73 poles and four championships.
This year's 92nd race is May 25.
"It's definitely a huge bonus coming into this game with the experience around me, and Rick from even last year at the 500, you know, keeping an eye on us," said Briscoe, who finished fifth here in 2007 for Luczo Dragon Racing after receiving coaching from Mears.
"As Rick has said before, it's not about telling us how to drive the car and stuff but just little bits of advice here and there and talking about patience and not to get ahead of ourselves and really keeping an eye on the big picture."
Mears may well have been the greatest of all open-wheel oval racers. As a qualifier, his smoothness, consistency and pace were unmatched at the Speedway. While it appeared effortless, Mears says otherwise.
"I always said that qualifying here (putting four laps together) is one of the toughest things I ever did," said Mears, who set a world closed course speed record of 233.401 m.p.h. at Michigan International Speedway in 1986. "But it is also one of the most fun, most rewarding. Qualifying, you have to be ready, there's no second chance, and it's time to go."
After three days of rain at Indy, Saturday's battle for the pole should be fascinating, with some teams better prepared than others. Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon are genuine pole contenders, as are the Andretti Green Racing trio of Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti.
But Castroneves, who won the pole last year and in 2003, and Briscoe, who has been consistently fast in limited practice this week, could make it 15 Indy 500 poles for Penske by the end of the day.
"I'm ready to go," Castroneves said. "I love to be under pressure because that makes me, you know, really precise, makes me go for the limit and try to achieve the impossible."
