Gil!

Jordi · 25 May 2003, 23:52 (Ref:609998)

Gil won! Yess!

By the way, that was a real big 'un for Wheldon there. Any pictures available?

Goose21 · 25 May 2003, 23:57 (Ref:610002)

Wheldon's a Rookie. Shouldn't have tried to race (block) Hornish into turn three!!!

sgw2 · 26 May 2003, 05:44 (Ref:610110)

Congrats Gil! Well done.

Comments on the race:

1) Foyt IV was out of his element. He need more seasoning. Grampa brought him up too quickly.

2) Wheldon was blcoking Hornish and got himself into trouble. A stupid rookie mistake, as bad as any Scheckter ever made. He is a talent, he'll learn.

3) Dixon made a realy bonehead move. Reminded me of Kevin Cofan's famous mistake thattook out Mario. At least he only took himself out. Another rookie mistake.

4) Scheckter really looked good. His loose cowling probably cost him the speed to win. Good job.

5) Andretti luck. Michael looked even stronger than Kanaaan (who set the fastet lap). At least he went out competing for a win.

6) Poor Hornish, engine lets go, just as he had the Chevy all the way up to 6th place! Give this guy 10 more horsepower and he will win again. He really is a great driver. He gets his car better and better as the race goes on.

7) Good job Alex Barron. You win the from the back award.

8) Tora Takagi also a nice job. Showed he didn't have the stuff to get by Scheckter or the Penske boys, even with a faster car. But still an excellent race, a great improvement in maturity. He well deserves ROY.

Overall my impression of never betting against Penske, follwoed by Andretti-Green and Ganassi was proven true. Also rookies show why they are rookies. It is rare they dont.

Great great race! The first fun OW race of the year.

I just pray IRL comes to Sears Point next year. The IRL needs to bring road racing fans like me into the house, not just on Memorial weekend.

climb · 26 May 2003, 06:27 (Ref:610118)

Well done, Gil, but Helio's disappointment is reasonable, he had the race in his hands, if it hadnt been for a lapping mistake (who some way reminded me MS at SPA 3 years ago) now we would speak about a new legend in motorsport.
On the contrary, we have to put the spotlight to a well-known legend who confirms itself once again, c'est-�*-dire Team Penske.
Challengers get tougher and tougher, but the result is always the same.
Hats off!

racefanatic · 26 May 2003, 13:37 (Ref:610442)

Gil deserved the win, and it's even better that he did it in his first race back! I'm SO happy for him! I think Helio was too, and second place isn't bad at all!!!

double00 · 26 May 2003, 16:09 (Ref:610582)

I cant believe it. An indy winner now lives here in the Ft. Lauderdale area. He'll never look @ milk the same way again....

Muzza · 26 May 2003, 17:47 (Ref:610672)

A few comments, questions and thoughts:

1.) Penske had the race on its hands the whole way. Helinho and Gil were at ease all the time. If needed, I am sure that they could have run faster. And the fact that Gil and Hélio used different chassis to achievee such a dominant performance (Gil drove a G-Force, Hélio a Dallara) speaks by itself. Penske is head and shoulder above the rest.

2.) Erm... Did the tv show any "puff' or smoke coming out of Sarah Fisher's car prior to crashing? No one at the grandstand where I was saw anything. The track screens did not show anything either.

3.) Has anybody seen what a great race Tony Renna did, particularly considering the limitations of his team and budget? Good job Renna, you surprised me.

3.) Kudos for Alex Barron too. Several times I regretted in this forum that he did not bloom at CART, and I hope that IRL allows him to show his real value.

4.) Richie Hearn, on the other hand, is someone in who I have never seen as a better-then-average driver, and once again he did not show well.

5.) Besides Hearn, other that should not have been there: Billy Boat (oh, please), Robby McGehee (nice guy, but he is now far beyond his talent) and Fisher.

6.) Scott Sharp's car was plagued with lack aerodynamic balance, that hamper him particularly hard during the strong-wind period of mid-race.

7.) Jimmy Vasser said after the race that this may have been his last Indy 500. Well, I hope not.

8.) Tony Kanaan was driving very, very hard to catch the Hélio and Gil, but the Penskes were on a league of their own. Tony - and Scheckter too - was truly on the limit, and confessed that he drove part of the racee with his left arm only due to his lingering injuries.

9.) Surprisingly few applauses to Michael Andretti during the drivers presentation, and when he abandoned the race.

10.) Good job Tora. Worth to remark that his crew coached him perfectly during the race. His spotter (sorry, I do not know his name) was outstanding.

Cheers,

Muzza

Jordi · 26 May 2003, 21:38 (Ref:610871)

Gil is now a two-time CART champion and Indy winner. Quietly he's becoming a legend of American racing... with way less hype than his teammate.

Let's hope he's the first IRL and CART champion.

racefanatic · 26 May 2003, 22:43 (Ref:610930)

Yeah, that would be GREAT to see! I still think he would have won the championship last year if he wouldn't have crashed. Or maybe I just wanted it to happen. Three championships in a row would have been awesome!

boom boom · 26 May 2003, 23:04 (Ref:610939)

Quote:

Originally posted by double00
I cant believe it. An indy winner now lives here in the Ft. Lauderdale area. He'll never look @ milk the same way again....

Nothing agaisnt Milk... but I still think it was so cool the year Emmo skipped the milk to drink his orange juice.....
I heard reference that Gil was drinking milk like all the great winners before..but I rarely ever hear reference to when Emmo snubed the milk and went for the oj

what year was that, and did emmo win once or twice at the 500? I don't rember

And congrats to Gil he deserved the win

evo · 26 May 2003, 23:31 (Ref:610967)

Emerson won the race in 1989 and 1993. I was there in 93, when he skipped the milk, and went for the orange juice. I've always had this dream that I'm driving Pepsi sponsored car and I win Indy. Then in victory lane, I mix the Pepsi with milk and drink it! (Don't knock it til you've tried it)

boom boom · 26 May 2003, 23:32 (Ref:610969)

I found the answer to my own question.. Emmo drank orange jucie in Victory Lane in 93 when he won his second Indy 500 victory this time for Penske

boom boom · 26 May 2003, 23:34 (Ref:610972)

looks like you beat me to the answer thanks EVO

Milk and Pepsi?..sounds like an aquried taste..I just may have to try it

evo · 26 May 2003, 23:37 (Ref:610974)

Oh, I also forgot to mention that I am not at all surprised by Tony Renna. I had a chance to race against him in the Skip Barber Midwestern Formula Ford series way back in 94 and had him fly by me like I was standing still once. I new he was destined for bigger things.

Shaggy_SoCal · 27 May 2003, 08:25 (Ref:611189)

Quote:

Originally posted by Jordi
Gil is now a two-time CART champion and Indy winner. Quietly he's becoming a legend of American racing... with way less hype than his teammate.

Let's hope he's the first IRL and CART champion.

I have always been impressed with Gil's ability in the cockpit. He is one of those drivers that knows how to control a race. A lesser driver would have lost the lead to Helio on those restarts. He knew where he had an advantage over Helio and exploited it. Excellent job.

I just checked the points standings and Gil is 4th in the points right now. Keep your eyes on him, because as the season winds down, he'll quietly slip into the points lead and no one will have any clue how he got there. And then once he's there, he'll fight like crazy to keep from losing it.

racer69 · 27 May 2003, 12:33 (Ref:611386)

Now, will Gil continue to use the G-Force or change back to the Dallara?

Jack Man · 27 May 2003, 13:53 (Ref:611469)

Congrats Gil well done.

BootsOntheSide · 27 May 2003, 16:09 (Ref:611582)

I suspect they'll use the G-Force on the long ovals, and the Dallara on the one-milers?

Very true about Barron adn Renna, who proved that American talent can still cut it, although teh top 5 was international.

Takagi really exceeded my expectations as well, he's defiantely in there on merit.

Wheldon did make a rookie msitake, but Dixon's was worse and he's got plenty of experience on ovals.

rush1 · 27 May 2003, 18:42 (Ref:611719)

I have attended and watched (later that night on ABC) the last 8 500's. The first race i attended was 1979 at 8 years old.

This was the best race since JV won in 1995, in my opinion. The leaders were on 3 seperate fuel strategies in the first 30 laps. De Ferran, Helio, Kaanan, Scheckter, Wheldon, and Takagi all had a realistic shot of winning the race. Too bad Vassar and Andretti had mechanical problems or they would have been in contention. Hornish was incredible. His Chevy was in 5th place when the engine failed!

At the risk of sounding too positive, some of the usual suspects stunk it up again. Fisher just lost it and old Scott Sharp crashed when he was 3 seconds from the leader.

All in all a very good race however!

All in

The