Columnist Jimmy Vasser: ‘I think our race car feels great’

Jimmy Vasser

Friday, May 24, 2002 | 10:18 a.m.

Editor's note: Jimmy Vasser of Las Vegas will start his seventh Indianapolis 500 on Sunday in a Dallara/Chevrolet fielded by Rahal/Letterman Racing of Hilliard, Ohio. This is the fifth in a series of columns he will write for the Sun during the three weeks of practice, qualifying and the race.

We had our final practice today for Sunday's Indy 500. And I'm feeling good about our chances.

The Miller Lite car felt really good and we made it through the two-hour session Thursday without any surprises. We ran 224 (mph) right out of the box and then we changed a couple of things and ran 224 again.

I have said all month that I thought we had a good race car despite not qualifying as well as we would have liked. I think today bore that out to us as we ran only 18 laps and were in the top five most of the practice. Then we ended up seventh fastest for the day.

Our Miller Lite car has been great in traffic and my crew has done a helluva job the whole month. They have given me a car that will be competitive on Sunday.

I think we are as ready for the race as we can be.

After practice, we competed in the 12-team Pit Stop Challenge and we won the first two rounds as we beat Scott Sharp's crew and then Sam Hornish's team.

In the semifinals, we lost to Jeff Ward's team with the Target Ganassi guys. Those guys are good. I know because they used to pit for me a few years ago. But the Team Rahal guys were good, too. They were the CART Craftsman Pit Stop champions last year.

Needless to say, this event is such a big race for any driver. I couldn't tell you how much it would mean to win the Indianapolis 500.

I know that Bobby (Rahal, Vasser's team owner) has told me many times that winning Indy put him on the racing map and took his career to another level.

Coming to Indy with Bobby and a big sponsor like Miller Lite which has a rich history here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and in motorsports overall is special.

Plus to have David Letterman as a team owner and that he is a local boy here in Indiana, there is a lot of meaning for us to do well here this weekend. Our team operation is high profile and a lot of effort, time and money has gone in to this one-off race. We still have many races to run in the CART FedEx series including the next three weeks after Indy.

It has been pretty cool to see all of the Miller Lite Racing billboards around town with Bobby and my picture on them that say, 'Guess who's back in town?'

I've never been too struck by that kind of stuff normally, but with Bobby and David involved, it is a big thing around Indy right now.

But we just need to do our job and run a good, fast race on Sunday. Then all of the excitement and hoopla will take care of itself.

On Sunday, I predict race speeds to be in the low 220 range or the high 210s. But it depends on where you are in the pack. Track conditions will dictate the speeds of the race. The cars out front will have clean air and will run quicker.

We're coming from the seventh row so we'll have to see how the pace of the race goes. But I feel good about our car right now. As the race goes on and cars fall out, the race speeds will probably go up to 224 or 225.

There are so many factors that can affect your car like track temperature, wind, tire wear and the track surface itself. If it's hot and slippery, you have to adjust quickly to move to the front of the field.

But I truly believe we are prepared for all of the scenarios on Sunday.

I have finished fourth here at Indy twice and I just want that top position this time. I'd like to drink that bottle of milk in victory lane.