Schmidt update: Starting seventh is good place for team

Monday, May 24, 1999 | 12:24 p.m.

Editor's note: Sam Schmidt of Henderson is at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this month, preparing for his third Indianapolis 500. Schmidt qualified seventh fastest at a four-lap average speed of 222.734 mph in his Unistar/Sprint PCS/ Treadway Racing G-Force-Aurora. This is another in a series of columns he is writing for the Sun as he prepares for the 83rd running of the 500.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Well, the qualifying is over and the whole team, myself included, is very happy with the way we qualified.

This is my third start at the Speedway. Two years ago, I was back in the field, starting 26th. Last year, I started sixth, which greatly improves your chances in the race. So, we're in good shape starting seventh on Sunday.

I feel awesome going into the race. I felt good going into qualifying, because we knew the car was fast. We spent the week working on a race setup, and on Friday our goal was to make long race-like runs during that final practice day. We ran some laps at 221 mph, which I think is a very fast race pace, so it's a real good feeling. I believe we have a car that can win this race.

This week is primarily a social time. I'm lucky to have family here, and I'm looking forward to spending time with them, relaxing and enjoying the fact that I'm in Indianapolis, I'm at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and I'm qualified for the greatest race in the world. My mom and dad, my wife Sheila and my daughter Savannah are all very excited.

I'm also looking forward to working with our sponsors at charity events here during the week. I'll spend some time with our primary sponsor, Unistar Auto Insurance, and our associate sponsor, Sprint PCS, helping with fund-raising activities for charities, plus we'll be involved in some of the more traditional events like Saturday's parade downtown.

This has probably been my most memorable week at the Indianapolis 500. My teammate, Arie Luyendyk, has announced he will retire from the Indy-style cars after this race, and he won the pole. The crowd and the other teams competing here were all so happy for him. Myself, I think what Arie did was fantastic. He means so much to the Indy Racing League and motorsports. What he did was really like a Hollywood story. He's accomplished so much over the years.

So, we have a week before the 83rd Indianapolis 500. I'm going to relax a little bit, but we still have one more practice session on Thursday. Then it's time to go racing and let the chips fall where they may. We're doing everything we can to make sure they fall in our direction.