Rookie Flash Ready For His Indy Debut

Jeff Ward’s first start in the Indianapolis 500 will begin from the inside of the third row, one row ahead of his boss.

“He’s done a wonderful job. He’s a professional,” team owner-driver Eddie Cheever said. “It’s going to be hard to take the rookie of the year award away from him.”

Ward accounted for the first of 11 crashes during practice or qualifications for Sunday’s race. He wasn’t hurt and put his car into the lineup on the first day of qualifications with a four-lap average of 214.517 mph. Cheever qualified an identical G Force-Aurora at 214.073.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t run in the beginning of the week and that hurt us. I made a bad decision. I loosened up my car a lot. I also had a problem with my gearbox,” Cheever said.

Ward first passed his Indy rookie test in 1995 but failed to qualify.

He drove the Indy Lights series from 1993 to 1996 and made his Indy Racing League debut at Orlando in January in place of injured Davy Jones.

He started eighth and finished 16th with a gearbox problem, but impressed Cheever.

“I knew that they had ideas to run a second car for Indy,” Ward said. “I knew a couple guys on the team, and I knew I wanted to be with a top team. I didn’t want to be at Indy and not have a chance to win the race.”

Among the 12 other rookies, the only one starting closer to the front than Ward is Vincenzo Sospiri, whose 216.822 average put him on the outside of the first row, next to pole-winner Arie Luyendyk and Tony Stewart.

Famous phrase

Officials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are waiting until the last minute to determine who will say the most famous words in auto racing: “Gentlemen, start your engines.”

Mary Fendrich Hulman, the 92-year-old widow of longtime Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman, has handled the task every year since her husband died after the 1977 race. But she has been in ill-health.

The likely replacement would be her daughter, Mari Hulman George, who is chairman of the board and mother of speedway president Tony George.

Gordon takes Coca-Cola pole

Jeff Gordon won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 in Concord, N.C., on Wednesday, marking the fourth consecutive year he will have the top starting spot for the longest race on the Winston Cup circuit.

Gordon turned a fast lap of 184.300 mph, edging the 184.193 posted by teammate Ricky Craven on the 1-mile, high-banked layout. Both drivers broke Gordon’s 2-year-old event qualifying mark of 183.861.

Geoff Bodine was knocked unconscious in a crash during practice. He was hospitalized for further tests.