Robby McGehee sat in the garage, avoiding the rain. McGehee had qualified in the final spot for the Indianapolis 500 for PDM Racing, and now McGehee looked out as rain covered the ground of the Speedway, which seemed to secure his spot in the field. For the first time in more than a month, it looked like luck was on his side.
Then the rain stopped.
McGehee, with his fiancee, Norma Oteham, by his side, waited in the garage while 50 yards away there was a cluster of journalists and fans around A.J. Foyt's garage. NASCAR star Tony Stewart was at the track and was working on a deal to drive for Foyt in the race. Stewart, who has not been in the race since 2001, claimed it would take him about five laps to get up to speed and qualify, bumping McGehee out of the field.
While the media swarmed around Stewart, PDM Racing's garage was nearly empty. The garage doors remained open, and crew members came and went, but McGehee sat quietly with Oteham. He sat in the back of the garage with sunglasses on, hardly moving. All McGehee could do was wait.
PURSUING A DREAM
For McGehee, racing in the Indianapolis 500 is more than just his job; it is pursuing a life long dream of racing in the Indy 500.
"I wrote a paper in third grade saying I want to be an IndyCar driver," McGehee, who will turn 31 in July, said. "I want to run the full season; I want to be a professional race car driver. Once a year makes it hard to do just that, but it's a tough sport to be involved in; I know I'm not getting any younger, but I'm not that old, so there's still time."
McGehee may not be over the hill yet, but he is in a sport where retirees are becoming younger and younger. Gil de Ferran, the 2003 Indianapolis 500 Champion, retired at the age of 36 at the end of the IndyCar season.
McGehee's road to the Speedway began in 1994 when he and his mother went to Skip Barber Racing School. In 1997 and 1998, McGehee finished second in the Formula 2000 series Road to Indy Oval Crown series, including wins at Homestead and Atlanta in 1998. The series, which also included 2001 and 2002 IndyCar Champion Sam Hornish Jr., is designed to prepare drivers for competitive open wheel racing.
In 1999, McGehee joined the Indy Racing League and made his first start in the Indianapolis 500.
"He's enjoyed and loved speed; he started watching the Indy 500 when he was five," Smith McGehee, Robby's father, said. "His mom was from Indiana, so she always watched it. So I guess he got it there; got the bug."
McGehee finished fifth in the race and won the Rookie of the Year honors for 1999. He returned in 2000 with a different team, and after starting 12th, finished 21st overall because of engine woes. In 2001, he came back with Cahill Racing, his third team in as many years. He finished 11th despite radio problems throughout the race. In 2002, he returned with Cahill Racing but crashed on opening day. He didn't return to the car for 11 days and couldn't get up to speed. In 2003, he put together a last-minute deal with Panther Racing, drove a third car for the team and started 31st. He brushed up against A.J. Foyt IV early in the race and eventually left the race because of steering problems.
"Last year we had an [Infiniti Pro Series] car, so we had an IPS crew, so we had a built in crew that didn't have anything to do on race day that we could move over to a third car," Doug Boles, co-owner of Panther Racing said. "It was a lot easier. This year, we didn't have that infrastructure to make it work."
McGehee hasn't been on the track since.
SPONSOR WOES
A week before opening day, McGehee thought he would have his best shot to win the Indianapolis 500. He had a sponsor, and it looked like he would be able to run the entire month. Then, days before the opening day of practice, McGehee was informed that his sponsor's Board of Directors wanted out of the deal.
McGehee was once again searching for a sponsor. On May 10, the second day of practice at the Speedway, McGehee and his agent, Howard Jaffe, went to a Saint Louis Cardinals game where they met Carmen Natoli, who owns Natoli engineering.
'"We had invited my partner in St. Louis to come to the game, and he rang me and said, 'Would you mind taking this partner of mine in one of my ventures, it will be worth your while,'" Jaffe said. "I explained to him what happened, and he said, 'You meet me tomorrow in my office at 8:30, and we'll get this taken care of.' In my business, you have to be skeptical, which I was, but the next day I met him in his office at 8:30 in the morning, and by 6 that evening we already had $60,000."
The money was enough to give McGehee some bargaining power with teams who were in need of sponsorship dollars to race, including PDM Racing. On Thursday, it looked like McGehee would be driving for PDM Racing.
"[Jaffe] had four meetings [on Thursday morning] with teams, and after those four meetings, this one looked the most promising, and we went with it," McGehee said. "This sport all comes down to dollars, and it's unfortunate, but it does. And it's hard to find sponsorship still. There are some great drivers without sponsorship, and there are some poor drivers with sponsorship."
McGehee agreed to drive for PDM Racing, the team that launched Hornish Jr.'s career, in a car purchased from Robby Gordon racing.
"We came through with an 11th and a half hour deal with Robby McGehee," PDM's owner Paul Diatlovich said on Thursday. "We've watched and chased Robby McGehee for quite a number of races. He's definitely a talented driver. He's well versed in what to expect out here, and that's really going to help a lot."
PREPARING TO MAKE THE SHOW
While McGehee and PDM Racing came together on Thursday, it took two days for the car to make it on the track. Finally, with 45 minutes of practice remaining on Saturday, the last full day of practice, McGehee made his way out to pit lane. It would be another half hour before he would finally make his first laps on the track.
"It was great just to be out there," McGehee said. "It was really just an extended shake down. Shook the car down the first time, made sure all the engines were connected and the car pointed in the right direction, and then I kind of went out and shook myself down, tried to get all the cobwebs out. I got a good feel for everything, and tomorrow we're going to go out and search for speed."
The next day was the longest, as McGehee attempted to qualify for the 88th Indianapolis 500 on Bump Day, the final day of qualifications.
"I'm not as nervous about Bump day as I would of been, say, in 2000, 2001," he said. "There were a lot more cars then. But the fields are competitive. Before I used to look at is as qualifying is the hardest part and now it kind of seems that the race is the most competitive part."
The next day McGehee sat in the cockpit of the No. 18 Natoli Engineering Chevy for PDM Racing. His car still carried the red, yellow and orange paint scheme it had when Robby Gordon drove it just three days ago. The body was covered with red tape and new logos. He wore the firesuit he wore last year, but the Panther Racing logo was covered with black tape. His car sat on pit lane, while McGehee prepared to do something he had done four times before: qualify for the Indianapolis 500.
Meanwhile, Oteham was walking down the pit lane with Susan Diatlovich, the owner's wife. They passed the Foyt pits, where A.J.'s cars sat on pit lane.
"Who is that?" they asked. "Larry [Foyt] and A.J. [Foyt IV]," someone answered. "Already qualified."
Dark clouds were on the way, and PDM decided to make a run early rather than risk spending any more time on the track. Brian Barnhardt, executive vice president of pperations for the Indy Racing League, gave McGehee some final instructions. The smell off methanol and burnt rubber filled the air while McGehee sat on pit lane. The caution flag flew, and Tomas Scheckter pulled his car into the pit lane so McGehee could qualify.
AND HE'S ON IT
McGehee's engine fired, and he went out on the track. His first lap was 212.664 MPH, putting him above Marty Roth for the moment. His second lap flashed on the board, 211.583 MPH. That put him right around then-slowest qualifier Marty Roth's speed. Around 45 seconds later, McGehee flashed past the row of bricks again with a speed of 211.854. He was still right with Roth's 211.974 four-lap average. McGehee's fourth lap brought disappointment, at only 210.433, bringing his four-lap average down to 211.631, placing him 32nd out of 32 drivers.
"I went out there and on Lap 2, Turn 3, I went in flat and just went into a large push," McGehee said. "I always say I'm not lifting in qualifying, but if it prevents me from hitting the wall, I'm going to lift."
Immediately after, Greg Ray qualified at 216.641, placing McGehee on the bubble.
"I'm not too worried, but just to make it official I want it to be six [p.m.] quick," McGehee said. "And lots of rain."
Twenty minutes later it began to sprinkle at the Speedway, and the yellow flag was thrown, temporarily stopping qualifications and practice. As McGehee left the media center, it was announced that Tony Stewart had passed his physical and was eligible to qualify for the race.
WAITING IN THE GARAGE
The rumors swelled, and a huge crowd waited outside of Foyt's garage.
"They put Stewart's name on the car!" "He has a driver suit!" the crowd exclaimed. The sun began to peak out, when it seemed the only thing to save McGehee was rain.
Tony Stewart made his way out to the track with about an hour left in the day but didn't immediately jump into a car. Meanwhile, McGehee sat in his car getting ready to make a practice run to prepare for the race. An announcement came over the speakers around the track. Tony Stewart had a problem with his contracts and would not be in the race after all. McGehee was safe, again.
Now that McGehee is in the show, he will set his sites on the Indianapolis 500.
"When he drives, he gets really nervous," Oteham said. "If you watch him on race day, he'll start coughing uncontrollably, and I noticed when I first met him he did that for about the first two months we were together, and finally he told me he does that when he gets nervous. I caught him in the act there."
But time was running out on the Speedway. With most of Sunday rained out, McGehee only has Carb Day to get his car ready to race.
"We've got to be realistic with one day of practice going to qualify, and get in the race," McGehee said. "If we came home with a top ten, that's all we could ask of ourselves. PDM's got a great group of guys, and I'm confident in my abilities, but without practice, it's really hard. It's just a matter of doing the best we can; if we get a top ten, I think we'll be in good shape."
As McGehee and the entire PDM Racing celebrated in their garage at around 6 p.m., as the track was about to close, the rain they needed one hour before finally came.
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