Thursday, May 23, 2002
Rutherford: Indy still greatest race
The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — He hasn't raced in the Indianapolis 500 in 14 years, yet he is nearly always introduced as three-time Indy winner Johnny Rutherford.
“It's kind of like part of my name now,” said Rutherford, who last won at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1976 and last raced on the historic 2 1/2-mile oval in 1988.
Rutherford joined the Indy Racing League as a driver coach when it began competition in 1996. He chafes at those who contend Indy has lost its place as the world's No. 1 auto race.
“You can't buy tradition,” Rutherford said, as he watched the bustle in the speedway's garage area during a recent practice. “You've got to build it and this place has got 86 years of tradition going into the books for Sunday's race.
“It's still the greatest race in the world for the majority of the folks. There are people who will say, "No, it's the Daytona 500' because they're a great stock car fan. But this place was here long before that place was there, and will probably be here long after that place may be gone.”
The speedway was opened as a test track in 1909 and held the first 500-mile event in 1911. Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959.
The 33-car field for Sunday's race is a mix of veterans and young chargers, including Sam Hornish Jr., Sarah Fisher and Tomas Scheckter.
Asked about the young talent, Rutherford said, “It still boils down to desire, the want-tos. How bad do you want to do this, or is this really what you want to do?
“I can honestly say that in probably 100 drivers tests I've been privy to in the IRL since its inception, we've had maybe three or four guys that I really thought ought to look for something else to do, and I think they probably knew it because they didn't stick around.”
As for the sprawling speedway itself, Rutherford is impressed with its new look.
“A lot of things have changed in our lives over the last 25 years or so, but I think the best way to describe it is that Indianapolis has come into the new millennium.
“It's modernized with the new pagoda, the new garages and the addition of the Brickyard 400 and U.S. Grand Prix,” he added. “The garage area was the beginning. There was a lot of charisma and romance in the old wooden garages, but they were really inadequate.”
The rapid changes didn't sit well with many old-timers.
“We're moving on,” Rutherford said. “All of the old cronies we used to know around here are either retired or gone, and there are a lot of new faces. Some people can't accept that, but that's the way it is.”
Not everything is necessarily better now than in the old days, though, according to Rutherford.
“I would say the guys in the old days might have been a little more talented because of the depth and the breadth of what they did,” he said. “You know we did everything. We raced stock cars, sprint cars, championship dirt cars. This is a different game.
“The drivers now don't have to know how to set the car up. The team owner hires an engineer to do that. You have to have communications with your engineer or you don't go fast or do well. That's the difference. Back in the old days, we had to set our own cars up, or work with our mechanics to make the changes, set the cars up and get the end result.”
The most important result, though, is racing at Indy.
“It's a great sense of accomplishment just to make this race,” Rutherford said. “If you put forth the effort and set on the pole, that's a great feeling. I've done that three times here and it gives you that psychological edge.
“But, to win that thing, that's a special feeling because it's not easy, and it's calculating,” he added. “And at the end of the day when you've run your race and you've made your pit stops and everything falls into place and you're making that last dash to the flag and you get it, there's nothing better than that.”
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Rutherford: Indy still greatest race 
