INDIANAPOLIS - Buddy Rice has a deeper appreciation for how timing impacts one’s life after his victory in the rain-shortened Indianapolis 500 on May 30.
Rice finished the race where he started - in front of the field. In between, there was a bit of everything at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rain, drama, suspense. Finally, with light rain falling and more threatening weather approaching, Rice took the checkered flag on Lap 180 - 20 short of a complete race.
Rice had been in periodic discussions with Rahal-Letterman Racing co-owner Bobby Rahal and chief operating officer Scott Roembke since 1998 - when Rice was racing in the Toyota Atlantic series. But even after he won the 2000 title, Rice was unemployed.
He competed in parts of the past two seasons (18 races) with Red Bull Cheever Racing, but again was out of a ride after 2003. He was signed in January by Rahal-Letterman Racing as a substitute driver for the injured Kenny Brack. There were no guarantees.
“They always said when the timing is right, things will come together and we'll make something happen," Rice recalled after the race, in which he led a field-high 91 laps.
“I guess this was the right time.”
Rice completed a team hat trick. He won the MBNA Pole Award (222.024 mph) on May 15, and the crew won the Checkers/Rally’s Pit Stop Competition on May 27. Of course, the victory in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” was the sweetest.
“I don’t know what to say right now,” said Rice, who became the 18th driver to record his first IndyCar Series victory in the Indianapolis 500. “I had to fill in for Kenny Brack and it was not the best way you want to come in -- filling in for somebody like that after what happened to him. He legitimately held a spot with such a top-rated team. So, for me, to come in and get his support and all of the help he’s given ... has been pretty cool.”
Rahal, who won the 1986 Indianapolis 500, was more effusive than the low-key Rice as he addressed the media.
“It's obviously very sweet,” he said. “People have asked me, is it sweeter than doing it as a driver; I think it's just different. There's nothing like crossing the yard of bricks when you're driving a racing car. And yet, at the same token, this has been just a great achievement for our team.”
After rain delayed the start of the race 2 hours, 11 minutes, Rice led the 33-car field to the green flag. He led early the first 12 laps, but fell to 16th after stalling the car during a Lap 97 pit stop after the race was red flagged 1 hour, 47 minutes because of rain.
Timing aided Rice in securing the victory when he exchanged the lead with Adrian Fernandez, who ducked into the pits for 10 seconds on Lap 171. Rice had pitted four laps earlier.
Rice had a 1.4237-second lead on Tony Kanaan when moisture was spotted in Turn 1. A downpour soon followed, and the final six laps were run under yellow.
“Scott Roembke made all of the right calls today on fuel strategy and what we needed to do,” Rice said. “That played a major factor on that last stop with what we had to do, because obviously some other cars came in when we did. We stayed out longer and it seemed to be quite pivotal.
“Another thing that I think that happened, we got a couple of breaks in traffic late in the run. I know Tony was close. I got by, I forget who it was, going into Turn 1; it was kind of a late pass, but I needed to make it to give myself that barrier. And Tony got bottled up so bad that I couldn't even see him anymore. I think that was also another cushion that we needed and it just helped. It helped to go back to conserving fuel like we did, and that was the whole thing.
“We knew it was going to be a lot of fuel strategy. Pit stops were going to be crucial and whoever made the least amount of mistakes. There were a couple close calls with some lap guys, and just the way it is. With the way the packages are right now, it's so close from top to bottom, you knew that was coming.”
Rahal-Letterman Racing also had Vitor Meira finish sixth and Roger Yasukawa 10th.
“Three in the top 10. I mean, I can't be happier,” Rahal said. “And Buddy, of course, drove the wheels off the thing.”
Kanaan was second in his second consecutive IndyCar Series event. Andretti Green Racing teammates Dan Wheldon and Bryan Herta finished third and fourth, respectively. Bruno Junquiera completed the top five.
“Great effort. Not great enough,” Kanaan said. “In my point of view, this race needs to be won by the best car and the best driver, and I think it happened today. I don't think we had the car to win the race. I'm not going to sit here and say, ‘Yeah, I wish it was going to go green.’ I don't think the result would have changed even if it wasn't raining, because he was so much stronger than me and Dan.”
