Guest Columnist Jamie Little: Unpredictable weather can throw a wrench into the best laid plans

Friday, May 13, 2005 | 9:48 a.m.

Editor's note: Jamie Little, a Green Valley High School graduate, is in her second year as a reporter for ABC Sports and ESPN. She will be writing a weekly diary during Indianapolis 500 week exclusively for the Las Vegas Sun.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The sun is shining, the raindrops are falling, the wind is blowing and the weather is 65 degrees.

And it's happening all at once in this magical place called Speedway, Ind. This quaint little town outside of Indianapolis comes to life this month for one particular celebration. It's called "the Greatest Spectacle in Racing." The Indianapolis 500.

The weather in Indianapolis is unlike any place I've ever been. One day it's 90 degrees and humid and the next it's thundering and lightning with tornadoes touching down just miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And this year is no different.

I arrived for my second Indy 500 on Wednesday night, just in time for a downpour complete with a thunder and lightning show. But somehow it makes me feel right at home. After experiencing Indy last year as a rookie, working as the first-ever female pit reporter for the 500-mile race on ABC Sports, I grew to love this place! Everywhere you go, from St. Elmo's Steakhouse downtown, to Conseco Fieldhouse to witness a Pacers' playoff game or just driving down the street, racing is welcomed with open arms. Everyone you talk to has been touched in some way by this momentous race. Whether as a child or as an adult in the workforce, they all have a story. And nobody can talk about the 500 without a smile on their face. Open-wheel racing was born here and it's everywhere.

The weather is just another factor that makes the Indy 500 so prestigious, challenging and unique. With varying weather you have varying speeds and setups. And although the teams roll into the Speedway at the beginning of May and the festivities and track practice begin three weeks before the actual race, the weather creates some uncertainty throughout the garages. No matter what you "think" will happen with the weather or on the track or how you "think" you should set up your car, chances are you'll have to change things on the fly and come up with a Plan B come qualifying and race day.

If you remember back to the 88th running of the 500 last year, we made history as the longest "live" broadcast on ABC Sports at 8 hours, 22 minutes. Thanks to the weather, I had the longest, most challenging but gratifying day of my life. When the action on the track comes to a halt with a weather delay, we pit reporters pull out our arsenal of "stories" and insight to keep the broadcast moving. Needless to say, with about four hours total of fill time, I didn't leave a stone unturned. We milked every story dry!

As we get ready for the 89th running, we have about 36 hours of live television coverage coming your way for qualifying over the next two weeks between ABC Sports, ESPN and ESPN2. Our coverage begins on Saturday for Pole Day at 1 p.m. EST on ESPN, continues on ABC at 4-6 p.m. EST and then concludes on ESPN2 from 6-7 p.m.

We have some exciting stories we're following leading up to Pole Day. First and foremost, we have a woman driver who has a good chance of sitting on the front row or even getting on the pole. Her name is Danica Patrick. She's a rookie both in the IRL IndyCar series and here at the Indy 500. She's catching on quickly, as she was the second quickest on the speed charts Wednesday and then backed that up by being the fastest of the day Thursday with a speed of 227.633 mph. She is staying very quick and consistent. It helps that the driver of the Rahal/Letterman/Honda No. 16 is teammates with reigning 500 winner Buddy Rice. But this girl is the real deal. Not only is she beautiful, she can drive a race car. She has the team, equipment and attitude to win races.

Speaking of her teammate, Buddy Rice, he hasn't had the same luck as Patrick this week. Wednesday Rice backed the Argent/Pioneer No. 15 into the wall at over 200 miles per hour, suffering a mild concussion, a contusion on his back and a required overnight stay at the local hospital. His chances for his second Indy 500 pole position are over but he hopes to be back in the car for practice next week to attempt to make the field on the third day of qualifying.

This year we have a new qualifying format that promises to build more drama and give drivers and teams more opportunities to qualify for the 500. This Saturday the fastest 11 cars will qualify for the race. Each car/driver combination will have three attempts to make it into the "elite 11."

Sunday the cars not qualified will attempt for spots 12-22 and next Saturday the unqualified cars will make a run for the final positions, 23-33. Each of these qualifying days hopes to see "bumping," as drivers will have the opportunity to better their times as the day goes on, weather permitting.

There's a lot of positive changes at the track this year and I'll be here to cover all the happenings. Thanks for reading and be sure to watch the coverage!