Gidley trying to make Indy 500 with limited resources

Mike Harris

Wednesday, May 17, 2000 | 4:41 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS - Talk about bucking the odds. Rookie Memo Gidley is trying to make the Indianapolis 500 with a year-old car, one engine, a borrowed crew and a $30,000 budget.

The 29-year-old Californian, a veteran of 13 races in the CART series, had no plans to give Indy a try this year until Dale Pelfrey offered him a ride for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Rookie Orientation Program in April.

Gidley sailed through the test, completing it in 59 laps and so impressing Pelfrey - who also has a new car entered for Billy Boat - that he offered to let Alan McCall, a longtime Indy-car mechanic, try to put Gidley in the big race set for May 28.

McCall, a New Zealander who first came to the speedway in 1966 with race runner-up Jimmy Clark, understands what he is up against.

He shook his head and grinned as he watched his volunteer crew work on the bare, white car in their virtually empty garage.

"We gave Memo his rookie test and Dale got quite excited," McCall said. "He had originally entered the car for Sarah McCune, but she decided she wasn't ready and Dale said we could have that car and one of his engines and see if we could develop something."

Until last week, it was just McCall and Gidley trying to put things together for this effort.

The four crewmen began the year working for CART team owner Jerry Forsythe on a car to be driven by Bryan Herta. But Forsythe withdrew the team from competition over a franchise issue, leaving the crewmen with time on their hands.

Gidley's ragtag bunch has been working on pit road alongside the four-time CART champion Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, a team with dozens of crewmen, clad in matching red uniforms, all the new equipment they could wish for and a multimillion-dollar budget for the month of May.

"If you've got lots and lots of money, you spend lots of money," McCall said. "If you don't have a lot of money, you still have a set of tires and an engine and a car. I can see the difficulties with a '99 for qualifying, but not for racing."

It appears that Gidley will need a four-lap qualifying average around 220 mph in time trials Saturday and Sunday to have a shot at qualifying for the 33-car starting field.

Rain ended Wednesday's practice after just over one hour of track time. Gidley got in only 13 laps on the 2 1/2 -mile oval. His top speed was just 212.173.

"Yesterday, we had the wrong gearing. Today, we've still got too much understeer," Gidley said, referring to the car not wanting to turn. "But this place is all about momentum. When we get the balance figured out, we'll get through the turns and we'll be fast."

The question remains, with more rain in the forecast for Thursday and Friday, can the team get the old Dallara balanced in time?

"We're going to give it one heck of a try," Gidley said.

One person convinced the shoestring operation will get it right is Tom Gloy, who drove to a 14th-place finish in 1984 in his only Indy 500 appearance.

The longtime racer decided to spend a couple of weeks in Indianapolis helping out McCall, who once was his crew chief.

"I guess you could say I'm a consultant. Unpaid, of course," Gloy said. "Whatever these guys need, I try to find it.

"This is as grass roots as it gets, but the good thing about this kid is he's a huge talent and he just loves driving race cars. The feedback he gives us is phenomenal."

Before the rain came Wednesday, Ganassi driver Juan Montoya, the defending CART champion and another Indy rookie, turned the fast lap of the day at 221.566.

Buddy Lazier, the 1996 Indy winner, was next at 221.510, followed by Scott Sharp at 220.885, Mark Dismore at 220.395, Montoya's teammate Jimmy Vasser at 219.800 and defending Indy Racing League champion Greg Ray at 219.674.