By Dick Mittman
allstate400atthebrickyard.com
Saturday, August 7, 2004
It was one of those Hollywood plots that were so prevalent in racing movies of yesteryear – race driver climbs out of burning car and comes back to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. rolled his red No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet away the morning of Aug. 7 as the first qualifier for Sunday’s Brickyard 400. A pop icon among young fans, he still was recovering from burns on his legs and neck suffered in a sports-car racing accident three weeks ago.
Earnhardt was sent on his way with a huge roar from the crowd. Green flag. Just 48.667 seconds later, he completed his first and only lap. The crowd stormed to its feet cheering wildly even before his speed was flashed on the message board.
It was 184.968 mph. Legendary public address announcer Tom Carnegie intoned, “It’s a new traaaaaaak record.” It beat Kevin Harvick’s 2003 pole-winning speed of 184.343.
Cut! Print it!
Another great moment for the Speedway archives.
But wait a minute.
Shortly after his marvelous run, Earnhardt climbed onto his golf cart to head for the Media Center interview room. He was the pole sitter when he left his garage. He was on the second row by the time he walked in to face the press.
By the time the qualifying session was over and all 50 cars and drivers had taken their best shots, Earnhardt had slipped back to fifth.
Hey, director, start the cameras again. There’s a new twist to this plot that even the film writers couldn’t have dreamed up.
Instead of the great Dale Earnhardt’s son proudly holding the pole, it was the nephew of the equally great Rick Mears who owned that coveted position. Dale Earnhardt won the Brickyard in 1995. Rick Mears won the Indianapolis 500 in 1979, 1984, 1988 and 1991.
Casey Mears turned an “awesome third turn” into a spectacular lap of 186.293 mph (48.311 seconds) in his Target Dodge to capture his second straight NEXTEL Cup Series pole. Prior to the previous week’s pole at Pocono, Mears had had only four top-10 qualifying runs in the first 18 races this season, including six runs below 20th position.
Mears couldn’t hide his smile as he addressed the media. And Earnhardt wasn’t the least bit dismayed about being shoved back to the inside of the third row.
“It’s crazy,” said Mears, 26.
Said Earnhardt, 29, “I was excited to be on the pole for a little bit.”
Each driver turned in a remarkable feat. Mears showed he is a budding star in his second season in the stock car racing’s big league. Earnhardt showed he has the same guts and determination of his late father to overcome adversity.
“I expect to win Sunday,” Mears said. “We’ve got the team, got the car, got the motors to do it. It’s all a matter of getting all the pieces in the right place.”
Said Earnhardt: “I have a brand-new car I want to be in, I want to drive. I don’t care if the sway bars fall off, I want to stay in it.”
The past two races Earnhardt has been relieved by Martin Truex Jr. and John Andretti, respectively. Andretti is available for the Brickyard, but Earnhardt is determined to make it to the finish despite the healing leg burns he incurred in a crash at Sonoma, Calif. He holds third in the standings with six races left to clinch a top 10 position for the NEXTEL Cup 10-race chase to the championship starting Sept. 19.
“Being a human being, I want to get my leg better,” he said. “Whatever the cost, I want to get my leg right.
“We’re still in a good position. We’ve got a shot (at winning his first title). By the time those 10 races come, we’ll be all healed up.”
Earnhardt detailed the size and position of his burns and explained that some are further healed than others. Two nurses worked with his leg Wednesday in North Carolina, helping the healing.
“We haven’t turned the corner yet,” he said. “Walking to the car is harder than driving. Sitting in the car wasn’t a bother (last week). I got out of the car out of frustration.”
Earnhardt described the handling of the car at Pocono as terrible but said he wasn’t pointing fingers at his crew headed by Tony Eury Jr. Earnhardt said he and Teresa Earnhardt, his father’s widow, discussed the situation that has brought on a midseason team slump and agreed not to make any abrupt personnel changes.
“We feel like they’ll get it figured out,” he said.
Mears’ season has progressed in the other direction. He’s been to all of the tracks after 1½ seasons and is getting a true feel for how to drive them. He no longer is the green driver of last season and now joins his Uncle Rick as a record-setter at the Speedway. Mears set the Indy 500 qualifying speed record four times and sat on the pole six times.
“I knew we had a really good car in practice and a shot at the pole,” Casey Mears said. “We never made a change off the trailer. We used the same setup we had at Pocono.”
He described his fast run this way: a little loose in Turn 1, a little worried; came off the gas a tick in Turn 2; had an awesome Turn 3, barely lifted the throttle in Turn 4.
“That corner (Turn 3) is the corner that has the most grip,” he said. “I didn’t hesitate. If I almost hit the wall on all four laps and didn’t, I had a great lap.”
Mears’ car owner, Chip Ganassi, joined him at the press conference. Mears father, Roger Mears, a two-time Indianapolis 500 starter, was trackside to congratulate him.
“I don’t look at it as pressure,” Casey said of his famous relatives’ experience at Indy. “I look on it as excitement. I think it is awesome to come to a place where you are received well before you ever do anything.”
Former Indy-car driver Ganassi said he has known Casey since Mears was a child.
“If I had to pick one guy to qualify, it would be this guy,” Ganassi said of Casey Mears.
Earnhardt and Mears! Their names live on at Indy.
Brickyard 400 tickets: Tickets for the 11th annual Brickyard 400 on Aug. 8 are on sale.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com or by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
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