Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Local drivers qualify for spots in field of 33

The 88th running of the Indianapolis 500 will take the green flag on Sunday with a full field off 33 cars, including a pair driven by Henderson residents Al Unser Jr. and Richie Hearn.

Hearn was one of seven drivers to qualify for the Indy 500 during Sunday's final day of qualifications at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and will start 30th. Unser, a two-time winner of the race, qualified on Saturday, May 15, and will start 17th.

Hearn, who will be starting his fifth Indy 500, will be competing in his first Indy Racing League event of the season and will be driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Schmidt, also a Henderson resident, leased a Toyota-powered Panoz G Force from Penske Racing in order to help fill the field for Sunday's race; Lucas Oil Products will sponsor the No. 33 entry.

"Once again, Penske Racing and Toyota have provided me with the opportunity to compete for racing's greatest prize -- the 2004 Indianapolis 500," Schmidt said. "I look forward to competing in my fourth Indianapolis 500 as an owner and hope to improve on our finish of last year."

Hearn, who finished 28th in last year's race, was the fifth of seven drivers to make a qualifying attempt Sunday and averaged 213.715 mph for his four qualifying laps.

"If I only did one race a year, this would be it, and I would be happy," Hearn said of the 500. "I appreciate what Sam and the people from Lucas Oil have been able to do to give me a chance to get my fifth 500 here. It came together very late, and I still held out hope and then here we are."

This will mark the third time Hearn and Schmidt have teamed up for the Indianapolis 500. In 2002, Hearn started 22nd and finished sixth while last year, Hearn started 28th and crashed out of the race on lap 62.

Hearn's best finish in the 500-mile race came in his first attempt, in 1996. Driving for Della Penna Motorsports, Hearn qualified a career-best 15th and finished third. His lone IRL victory came in 1996 in the inaugural race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"I've run very well here," Hearn said. "It's just one of the few tracks I enjoy driving. I respect the place but it doesn't scare me to where it keeps me from focusing on what I need to do."

Schmidt already has had a successful month at Indianapolis.

On Saturday, Thiago Medeiros piloted a Sam Schmidt Motorsports entry to victory in the IRL Infiniti Pro Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"Those last five laps were pretty emotional," Schmidt said of the IPS race. "All I ever wanted to do since I was 5 years old was come to this place. Rick Mears was my hero and I would love to be sitting where he is (with four career Indy 500 victories as a driver), but this is kind of the second-best thing.

"You know, after everything me and my family have been through for the last five years, this is pretty special."

Schmidt became a quadriplegic in January, 2000 when he crashed during a test session at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla. Like Hearn, Schmidt's lone IRL victory as a driver came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1999.

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