IU alumnus Kendall Harnett poured his heart and soul into training for the Little 500 as a student in the late 1980s. More than a decade later, Harnett is pouring his heart and soul into putting the history of the race on film.\nHarnett, a member of the 1989 Cinzano champion team, is producing and co-directing a documentary called "Free Wheels: The Tradition of the Little 500." The three-hour film chronicling the history of the race is expected to have its debut during the weekend of Little 500, April 20-21.\n"This is a project from the heart," Harnett said in a phone interview from his home in Evanston, Ill., where he is editing "Free Wheels." "I love the film, and I love the race."\nHarnett started working on "Free Wheels" during the summer of 1997. He has collected more than 500 hours of footage, including self-shot interviews, old 16mm and 6mm film stock and archived video footage. Included in "Free Wheels" are interviews with about 70 riders and personalities involved with the race and more than 600 still photos.\n"The toughest part was compressing hundreds of hours of footage into compelling film-watching," Harnett said. "You have to shoot a lot to find a few revealing minutes."\n"Free Wheels" is divided into chronological chapters documenting various time periods of the race. The film begins with a re-enactment of the race's formation and ends with a chapter discussing the Little 500 in the 1990s.\nBetween chapters, the film documents two teams from the 1998 Little 500 through the 1999 race. Harnett and co-director David Haight followed Dodds House, a men's team that never won a race until 1998, and Chi Omega, a women's squad. The film ends with footage from the 50th race, contested last April. \nHarnett said he decided following two teams would show the hardships and training the average Little 500 rider experiences. Harnett went on spring break with both teams and interviewed Dodds and Chi Omega racers. \n"Following the two teams adds a contemporary element to things that happened 30 or 40 years ago," said Haight, a University of Michigan alumnus. "There are a lot of parallels between what happened in the race then and what happens now."
Racer and filmmaker\nProducing a documentary on a small budget is challenging, and Harnett has made numerous personal sacrifices throughout the project.\nHe sometimes wakes up at 3 a.m. to edit. He frequently spends 12 hours per day working on "Free Wheels." Besides some financial help from the IU Student Foundation, most of the project is self-funded.\nHarnett said he had a $300,000 budget for the movie. Some expenses included purchasing editing and video equipment, traveling costs and music rights. The budget doesn't include the hours Harnett invested making "Free Wheels."\n"Kendall is largely doing this out of his love for the race," said Jonathan Purvis, IUSF associate director, Little 500 race director and member of the 1998 Dodds team. "The film is not going to make him a lot of money."\nHarnett thought of the documentary when author Jon Schwarb interviewed him for his book, "The Little 500: The Story of the World's Greatest College Weekend."\nHarnett, a graduate of Bloomington High School South, competed in the 1987 and 1988 races for Collins Center, which finished 18th and sixth, respectively. The next year he competed for the winning Cinzano team in front of 31,000 fans at Bill Armstrong Stadium.\nIn the early 1990s, Harnett coached the Landsharks team in the women's race. The team won in 1992. Harnett's sister, Tina, raced for the Landsharks in 1992. The Harnetts are the only brother and sister to win the race.\nDespite Haight's pleas for an on-camera interview, a still photograph is the lone image of Harnett in the film.\n"Kendall was not thrilled with the idea of going on-camera," said Haight, who attended the Columbia School of Film Studies in Chicago with Harnett.\nHaight joined Harnett three months into the project, and the two have worked closely ever since. Harnett did most of the technical editing, while Haight interviewed racers and gathered still photographs, headlines and items from riders and IUSF scrapbooks. \nHaight said Harnett's Little 500 experience and love for the race is a big reason the documentary is almost finished.\n"His enthusiasm never ceases to amaze me," Haight said. "He loves this project and he is a dedicated filmmaker."
More than finishes\nIt is impossible to make a film about the Little 500 without glorifying victory and showing close finishes. But Harnett said finding compelling personal and human interest stories was important. \n"The film is not about finishes," Harnett said. "It's about beginnings." \nOne of Harnett's favorite scenes is the chapter discussing Delta Chi's success in the 1970s and early 1980s. Delta Chi won seven races from 1973-81, which marks the greatest dynasty in race history.\n"At the time, Delta Chi was one of the smallest, meekest houses on campus with just 15 members," he said. "So they went out and recruited bike riders and restored glory to the house."\nHarnett and Haight spoke passionately of the chapter featuring Dave Blase, a rider who dominated the race in the early 1960s. Blase is the rider featured in the Academy Award winning movie "Breaking Away."\n"It was difficult not to get bogged down in every year," Haight said. \"We want to tell stories, not just spit out stats. The story of Dave Blase is a good example of this."\n"Free Wheels" examines some of the race's problems, such as the riots in 1991 at Varsity Villas and why it took so long for a women's race to develop. \n"The Little 500 has had some problems, and we examine them," Harnett said.\n"Free Wheels" was scheduled to have its debut April 2000 during the 50th race, but production got pushed back to include footage from last year's event. \nHarnett said the film will be completed April 1, and he expects a screening to take place in Bloomington during race weekend. Harnett and the IUSF are still searching for a location to hold the screening. Harnett said he wanted the film to have its premiere at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, but the theater is already booked during the race weekend.\nAfter screening the film, Harnett said he would like to air "Free Wheels" on a cable network, such as ESPN2 or Bravo. Harnett said there have been discussions to release "Free Wheels" and "Breaking Away" on the same DVD.\n"I believe in how the race helps people," Harnett said, "and I want to get the film in as many people's hands as possible"
