2003 Indy 500

INDIANAPOLIS -- While inexperience showed at times for rookie drivers in the 87th running of the Indianapolis 500, nerves did not, as the majority of rookies not only finished the race, but did so in remarkable fashion. \nSix of the nine rookies finished in the top 15 of the Indy 500 Sunday. Tora Takagi, driver of the No. 12 Pioneer car, finished fifth and was the highest-placing rookie. \nTakagi described his success at the Brickyard and the privilege of leading the rookie field.\n"I am very happy with this result in my first Indy 500 race," Takagi said. "My car was always fast this month. I wish I could have finished about two places higher, because I think we were capable of finishing at least third. But overall, I am happy with being the highest-finishing rookie in the race. That is a great honor."\nWith his performance, Takagi was able to capture the Bank One Rookie of the Year Award as well as $25,000. \nTakagi was a mere 1.9606 seconds off the pace of champion Gil de Ferran. The race produced the smallest margin ever between first and fifth place.\nIn addition to Takagi, several other rookies went deep into the race. The first to go out of the race was Dan Wheldon, who made contact with the wall in Turn 3 on lap 186, only 14 laps from the end of the race. His No. 26 car then lifted up and turned upside down, sliding into the barrier in Turn 4. Wheldon's car stopped upside down in Turn 4, but he escaped the incident without serious injury.\nThroughout the race, many of the rookies were in a position to win. On lap 180, four rookies were in the top 10. Takagi and Wheldon were in fifth and sixth place, respectively, and were both vying for the lead with just 20 laps remaining. \nBesides Takagi and Wheldon, Tony Renna had a strong run. By finishing seventh, Renna, driver of the No. 32 Cure Autism Now car, gave Kelley Racing its highest finish the team has ever had at the Indy 500. "We just ran a consistent race and stayed out of trouble," Renna said. "It was a great time. The guys gave me a great car. We just worked at it all race long to develop the car and bring it in." Another notable rookie was A.J. Foyt IV, grandson of four-time Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt. Foyt IV had some incidents on the racetrack and had a demanding day, but managed to finish the race in 18th place. At one point during the race, Foyt IV nearly clipped Helio Castroneves in a move the first-year driver probably should not have made. \nNevertheless, the elder Foyt said he has confidence in his grandson and knew his first race at the Brickyard would be a challenging one. \n"We just told him to stay out of trouble and he had a big handicap with no radios at the beginning," A.J. Foyt said. "We're not going to run without no radio and endanger his life and somebody else's, and that was the big problem that got us down. Then after that, we was just trying to finish and give the leaders that were racing for the lead -- since we were five or six laps down -- just get out of their way and let them go. He ran some laps over (2)20 (mph), but the big thing is he got a race under his belt and he learned a lot."\nFoyt IV wasn't the only rookie to make mistakes. On lap 191, Scott Dixon was weaving back and forth to warm his tires when he brushed the inside pit retaining wall. He finished 17th, one spot ahead of Foyt IV.\nFurthermore, Roger Yasukawa, driver of the No. 55 car, finished 10th. Buddy Rice, who started 19th, finished in 11th place, while Vitor Meira, driver of the No. 22 car, finished 12th. Meira started from the 26th position. Meanwhile, Shinji Nakano finished 14th. The seven rookies running at the finish is a record since the Bank One Rookie of the Year Award was established in 1952. Takagi highlighted the magnitude of the Indy 500 and what it means to be able to race in such a storied event.\n"Now I understand what everybody was trying to tell me about the Indy 500," he said. "It is a very special place and a very special race. Not just the race, but all of the nice things that happen before the race, all of the traditions"