Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Crash at Indy 500 takes Junqueira out of title chase

Wednesday, June 1, 2005 | 9:38 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.

Bruno Junqueira's quest for his first Champ Car World Series championship ended 77 laps into Sunday's Indianapolis 500.

Junqueira, who had assumed the Champ Car points lead with a victory the weekend before the Indy 500, likely will miss a handful of races as a result of injuries he suffered in a crash Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Junqueira was listed in fair condition at Methodist Hospital after undergoing surgery Monday to repair two fractured vertebrae. He is expected to remain hospitalized until the end of the week.

"It was a big crash, but I will recover fast to race again as soon as possible," Junqueira said Tuesday through a team spokesperson. "This is disappointing for the Champ Car championship because I was leading and very confident about the next races. I was the fastest at the Milwaukee test and the Newman/Haas cars were so good in Portland.

"It's a disappointment but I am thinking positive and can improve myself to come back even stronger than ever."

The Champ Car World Series resumes this weekend at The Milwaukee Mile and as of this morning, Newman/Haas Racing had not named a replacement driver for Junqueira. A 28-year-old Brazilian, Junqueira has finished second in the Champ Car championship standings each of the past three seasons.

Junqueira and Newman/Haas Racing teammate Sebastien Bourdais were the only two Champ Car regulars who were competing in the Indy 500, which is sanctioned by the rival Indy Racing League.

Junqueira was running sixth on Lap 77 when he made contact with the car of A.J. Foyt IV, who was five laps down at the time, going into Turn 2.

"I was saving fuel and going further than everybody," Junqueira said. "I was just behind Dan (Wheldon), drafting him for good fuel mileage. Unfortunately when I passed A.J., he didn't see me."

Bourdais, the reigning Champ Car series champion who is second in points this season, also was involved in an accident late in the 500 but was not injured.

"The race was really crazy and wild," said Bourdais, who finished 12th in his first Indy 500 start. "I should have been taken out five times before I was. Accidents happened right in front of me and I was able to avoid them. The race was obviously quite difficult; I had a lot to learn."

BIG BUCKS: Dan Wheldon earned $1,537,805 for his victory in the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500 while Vitor Meira pocketed $656,955 for his runner-up finish and Bryan Herta earned $457, 505 for third place.

Las Vegas resident Patrick Carpentier, making his first Indy 500 start, took home $231,055 for 21st place and Henderson's Richie Hearn earned 202,305 for his 25th-place finish.

Larry Foyt, who completed 14 laps before crashing, earned $189,305 for finishing last.

SPEED EYES TESTING ROLE: The Red Bull Racing Formula One team is considering naming American Scott Speed as its third driver during the F1 North American swing this month, a team official said.

Speed, 22, would not compete in either the Canadian Grand Prix or the United States Grand Prix but would serve as the team's test driver during the Friday practice sessions in Montreal and Indianapolis.

An American driver has not been a part of an F1 weekend since Michael Andretti finished third in the 1993 Italian Grand Prix.

OUTLAWS UPDATE: Steve Kinser won his 10th World of Outlaws main event of the season and 523rd of his career Monday night at Lebanon Valley Speedway in New York.

Kinser increased his lead in the WoO standings to 205 points over Craig Dollansky. Jason Meyers, Kraig Kinser and Danny Lasoski round out the top five in points.