Tony Kanaan
Following the death of his father when he was 12 years old,
Tony
Kanaan was supporting his mother and sister by racing go-karts
professionally in Brazil. He eventually ended up with Andretti
Green
Racing and became one of the top drivers in open-wheel racing.
"I
think I would describe myself as 'determined,' "Kanaan said.
"That
carries over from my youth. I don't give up on anything."
Robby Gordon
Chosen to replace injured Dario Franchitti, NASCAR
Winston Cup
driver Robby Gordon is an eight-time veteran of the Indianapolis
500.
He is perhaps best-known for his duel with Kenny Brack in the
1999
Indy 500. "My wideopen is just a little more wide-open than
everybody
else," Gordon said. "So when I come back conservative, that's
like
everybody else's wide-open."
Kenny Brack
The Swede burst onto the American racing scene by
winning the IRL
championship in 1998 and the Indy 500 in 1999. From there, he
moved
to CART before returning to the IRL with Team Rahal for the
2003
season. "I won from eighth in 1999, so starting up front is good,"
he
said. "If you can't get the pole, it doesn't really matter, as long
as you're close to the front."
Dan Wheldon
A 24-year-old British road racer, Dan Wheldon was the
surprise of
the opening week of practice and qualifying at Indy, taking to the
historic speedway like a seasoned veteran. He topped the
speed charts
in three practice sessions leading up to qualifying. "My dad
called
after every practice session to see what my average speed was,"
said
Wheldon, who topped out over 232 mph in practice. "Then he'd
tell my
mom, just to wind her up."
Roger Yasukawa
A 25-year-old veteran of karting and smaller open-wheel
racing
series, Roger Yasukawa won a Formula Atlantic race at The
Milwaukee
Mile in just his second race. After that, he joined Super Aguri
Fernandez Racing for the 2003 IRL season. "It comes down to
the
driver being able to feel the car and the conditions," Yasukawa
said.
"A driver has to have enough experience to know how to react."
Michael Andretti
One of the legends of motorsports with a career spanning
three
decades, Michael Andretti will retire from driving after the Indy
500. The wind during pole qualifying almost proved too much for
Andretti, who nearly made contact with the Turn Two wall during
his
qualifying run. "I could feel it this morning in the motor home," he
said. "I was like, 'Man, I don't even want to get out of bed. It's
going to be a long day, a long four laps.'"
Greg Ray
After inventing a remote-control device for miniblinds and
becoming a successful entrepreneur in his 20s, Greg Ray
began
focusing on his love - motorsports. He eventually found himself
at
Indy, where he started on the front row four consecutive times.
"This
place is very special to me," Ray said. "There's something about
Indy
that's magical."
Shinji Nakano
He'd never driven at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, missed
the
first three days of practice, and he couldn't have picked worse
conditions for qualifying. With a howling wind making driving
difficult, Shinji Nakano put the Beck Motorsports No. 54
Honda-powered Dallara on the outside of the fifth row. "I've never
run this track before, so I don't know the normal track conditions,"
he said.