Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: De Ferran decides to retire at peak of career

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at [email protected] or (702) 259-4089.

Two concussions in a seven-month period and fractures in his neck and lower back weren't enough to drive Gil de Ferran out of a racecar.

Instead, leaving the sport at the peak of his career and maintaining his place in history as one of the top open-wheel drivers of his time led de Ferran to announce he would retire from racing at the end of this season.

"For me, the decision (to retire) was more about not wanting to go through a decline," de Ferran said Tuesday. "The very fact that I was questioning whether I should continue or not was a sign that perhaps at some point in the near future, I was about to turn a corner.

"I really couldn't live with the thought that I am not doing as good a job as I did in the past. I thought it was important to leave while I was at the peak of my career."

In that respect, de Ferran's timing is impeccable. After leading Penske Racing's resurgence in CART by winning championships in 2000 and 2001, de Ferran made the move with Penske to the Indy Racing League last season and was in contention for the IRL championship until injuries he suffered in an accident sidelined him for the final race of the season.

De Ferran was involved in an accident in the second race of this season, suffering another concussion and the neck and back fractures, but returned to the cockpit in May and won his first Indianapolis 500. With three races remaining in the IRL season, de Ferran trails Penske Racing teammate and series leader Helio Castroneves by only 25 points.

The decision to retire first struck de Ferran, he said, even before the start of this season. He informed team owner Roger Penske after the race at Kansas Speedway in early July of his decision.

"I think this thought (of retirement) was bouncing in my mind since very early this year," de Ferran said. "To be honest, even before the season started, it was something that I was thinking about and I guess the very fact that I was thinking about it I didn't perceive as being a good sign."

Although he said he would have preferred to wait until the end of the season to announce his decision, de Ferran said it was important to him to let Penske know as soon as he had made up his mind so that the team could hire the best available driver. Penske on Monday announced that he had signed two-time IRL champion Sam Hornish to replace de Ferran beginning next season.

"Certainly, after we won the Indy 500 this year and as we were approaching the middle of the season, I felt it was important for me to make a call whether I was going to continue or not," de Ferran said. "I don't think it was fair for me to wait until the last race of the season to finally say, 'Well, that's it, I have finished,' which, to be quite honest with you, from a purely selfish standpoint, it probably is what I would have preferred to do."

De Ferran said he would like nothing better than to close out his racing career by winning the Indianapolis 500 and a series championship in his final attempts.

"I think there's a very concrete possibility," said de Ferran, who has two victories this season and 11 in his open-wheel career. "I think we have been having a very competitive season and I think our position in the point standings reflect that. But, you know, certainly that will be no walk in the park, let us put it this way.

"I guess from a personal standpoint it would be great to look back and thank God -- I won my last race and I won my last championship and I leisurely came out on top. So, I guess we'll wait and see and it will be a fighting end to this season, that's for sure."

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