Navajo racer hopes to be hero to Indians

Paul Newberry

Thursday, May 3, 2001 | 5:25 a.m.

Cory Witherill gets plenty of attention when he shows up at an Indian reservation - especially when he brings along his race car.

Still, he always has a lot of explaining to do.

"They'll ask me if I know Jeff Gordon," Witherill said, standing alongside his open-wheel Indy car. "I have to tell them I don't drive in NASCAR."

Witherill, a 29-year-old member of the Navajo nation, is trying to give American Indians a hero of their own at 200 mph. He competed last week in his first Indy Racing League event and will attempt to qualify this month for the Indianapolis 500.

But racing is just a part of Witherill's life. Three years ago, he went so far as to deck out his car and suit with "Yes on 5" stickers, supporting an initiative that would allow California Indians to continue offering regulated gaming on tribal lands.

The measure passed after one of the most expensive campaigns in state history.

"I was just a spokesperson for it," said Witherill, a regular in CART's Indy Lights developmental series. "I didn't have all the headaches and work like everyone else did."

He is in tune with issues affecting the Indian community and relishes the idea of being a role model to an ethnic group that produced Jim Thorpe but has few athletes to cheer for at the highest level these days.

One of the few Indians to break through is golf's Notah Begay, a friend of the racer.

"A lot of Native Americans don't have any role models," said Witherill, the youngest of 10 children, eight of whom were adopted. "My family always helped a lot of people. When I started racing, I was invited to do some stuff. It went from there."

He finds a lot of racing interest on Indian reservations, even if most of the residents don't understand the nuts and bolts of the sport.

"They ask a lot of questions," Witherill said. "A lot of times, I take my car to the reservation. They're all fascinated with that."

Witherill had a scary ride in his first IRL race, last Saturday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. His car apparently had engine problems coming through a high-banked turn, setting off a fiery, frightening crash that took out 11 cars but caused no serious injuries.

"My car spun around, then I saw the wall coming at me," said the driver from Santa Monica, Calif. "Another car flew over me. It was like something straight out of the movies."

Witherill had one of the slower cars in Atlanta, and having to repair a battered car will make his low-budget bid to qualify for the 33-car Indy 500 field even more improbable.

Plus, he has to contend with five drivers from the CART series and two-time winner Arie Luyendyk, coming out of retirement to race again at the Brickyard.

"That makes it harder and harder to get in," Witherill conceded. "There are a lot of guys that have experience doing it. I'm sure that helps."

But he has passed his rookie orientation test and wants to fulfill a dream he's had since he began racing dirt bikes at age 15.

"I love the 500 and I've always wanted to race there," he said.

Qualifying at Indy begins May 12. If Witherill can find enough speed, he will be the first Indian to start the race since Joie Chitwood, a Cherokee, competed seven times in the 1940s and '50s.

Witherill has been racing on the Indy Lights circuit since 1998. As a rookie, he finished fourth at Fontana, Calif., in his first race on a 2-mile oval.

This year, he had top-10 finishes in his first two races but skipped the third event to race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He figures it's time to try the top level of Indy-car racing, though he still must find a primary sponsor.

"If we have a good showing in the 500, maybe someone will help us out," said Witherill, who isn't picky about racing in CART or the IRL. "I like ovals. I like road courses. I would be happy doing either."

He doesn't think in the color of his skin will have any impact on his career.

"In racing, there's so many other nationalities," Witherill said. "There's no advantage or disadvantage to being a native American. It just makes it unique in America."