Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Rahal has tasted good and bad at Indy

Friday, May 3, 2002 | 9:50 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the site of Bobby Rahal's most memorable moment in racing -- and his worst.

After a six-year absence brought on by the CART-IRL split, Rahal returns to the Brickyard this weekend with driver Jimmy Vasser to begin practice for the 86th Indianapolis 500. And the 48-year-old team owner said he couldn't wait.

"I am looking forward to coming back to Indianapolis," Rahal said this week. "It has been a long, long time and it's a great event -- always has been -- and, of course just being there, being part of the scene during that month of May is something I always remembered. I look forward to enjoying some of that again."

Rahal experienced the best of what the famed 2.5-mile oval has to offer when he won the Indy 500 in 1986 for owner Jim Trueman, who died a few weeks later. Rahal, who won three CART championships and 24 races during his 17-year career, called that win the greatest of his life.

On the other end of the spectrum, Rahal endured one of the lowest points of his racing career when he failed to qualify for the Indy 500 in 1993.

Rahal equated being away from Indy the past six years to the feeling he had in 1993 when he was forced to watch the race from the sidelines.

"In '93, when I didn't make the race, I had to be there anyway because all of our sponsors were there," he said. "That was not a comfortable or a fun time and it was a very emotional moment for me because I knew that I did not belong where I was; I belonged in a car out on that racetrack and I really felt that way the whole time (we were away from Indy).

"I raced for another three or four years after (CART) left Indy in '95. I didn't retire until '98 and I think there were still probably opportunities for me to win the Indy 500 during that time."

Rahal is optimistic about his return to Indy with Las Vegas' Vasser as the driver of his Miller Lite-sponsored Dallara/Chevrolet that is co-owned by David Letterman.

"One thing I am sure of is that we have all the ingredients (to win)," Rahal said. "It's just a matter of us doing our job throughout the month of May and if we do so, the opportunity is there to succeed. I go in there ... feeling as though we have to really go out and work hard every day. We're not walking into this place thinking that it's a sure bet. Naturally, we fully expect we'll be in there, but we don't, I guess, underestimate the challenge.

"You know, I have the experience of not qualifying and I can tell you that there's nothing worse. If nothing else, I don't want Jimmy to ever have to go through that."

"We looked at all the options as well as our sponsor obligations and feel this is the best decision to maximize the competitiveness of the entries," Schmidt said. "PDM already had an established team and experience working with rookies, especially at Indy.

"Additionally, this will not cause any impact to the preparations or work load on my other entry or for Treadway Racing."

Sam Schmidt Motorsports also is fielding a car, in conjunction with Treadway Racing, for Mark Dismore in this year's 500.

Lazier will wear a back brace for 8-12 weeks and could be out of competition for up to six months.

Sadler dismissed rumors that he wanted to leave Wood Brothers Racing to drive for Dale Earnhardt Inc. next season.

"The only official thing right now is that, Sunday night, I did ask for my release from the Wood Brothers so that I can pursue other options for the 2003 season," Sadler told NASCAR.com. "All that other stuff about (Dale Earnhardt Inc.) or anyone else is way too premature at this point."

Hendrick underwent surgery on March 6 to repair the injury and missed six races. He was given clearance to return to racing after a test session this week at Concord Motor Speedway in North Carolina.

Akin, who crashed in a 1988 Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo during testing for the Walter Mitty Challenge, suffered a broken neck, left leg, right arm and left shoulder and had third-degree burns over 15 percent of his body.

Akin won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1979 and 1986 and made six starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with a best finish of fourth in 1984. He won the IMSA World Endurance Championship in 1986.

NASCAR Doctor: "All right, we checked you out and you look to be all right. You will still be able to have kids."

Earnhardt: "Just not tonight."