No Andrettis. No Fittipaldis. An Unser hardly anyone knows. Only one former winner. The least experienced field in six decades.
This won't be the same old Indy."What a sad day for our sport," said 1985 Indy winner Bobby Rahal, who will be racing at the rival U.S. 500 in Michigan. "The Indianapolis 500 is our Super Bowl, our World Series. It's supposed to be the biggest names in the game, the best drivers, the best teams.
"Indy is supposed to be about tradition and continuity. But not this year."
Some things will look the same, but don't be fooled.
As usual, more than 400,000 people are expected at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's race.
As usual, the start of the world's richest and most prestigious race will be perhaps the most dangerous moment in sports.
As usual, Jim Nabors will sing "Back Home Again in Indiana," the acrid smell of methanol fuel will fill the air, and the sights and sounds at the sprawling speedway will make it seem as though its business as usual.
It's not.
The front row trio of Tony Stewart, Davy Jones and Eliseo Salazar is hardly recognizable to anyone but the most dedicated fan.
In fact, the 17 rookies, and many of the veterans, are virtual strangers.
In this year of schism in the open-wheel sport, the most powerful Indy-car teams and the biggest stars are in Michigan. And in the wake of the crash that took the life of two-time Indy pole-winner Scott Brayton, fears heightened for the safety of the inexperienced field.
The war was precipitated by speedway president Tony George, who is seen by some as a power-hungry villain who is destroying the race and the Indy-car sport.
Others see him as a man of integrity who is restoring Indy racing to its traditional oval-track roots.
George, grandson of the late speedway owner Tony Hulman, said he acted on his belief that the sport was devoid of opportunity for young drivers and moving in the direction of uncontrollable costs.
He invented the Indy Racing League to challenge the established PPG Indy Car World Series. Then he drove a massive wedge between the two series by reserving up to 25 of the 33 starting spots at Indy for IRL regulars.
Within days of that announcement, the PPG series scheduled the U.S. 500 at Michigan International Speedway - on the same day as Indy. That's where the names that normally dot the Indianapolis lineup will be racing on Sunday.
Stewart, who turned 25 on Monday, has raced in only two previous Indy-car events - the first two IRL races. He doesn't see any negatives about this year's race.
"A lot of people, including me, are getting a chance that might otherwise have taken years to get, and maybe never," said Stewart, who qualified in the middle of the front row, but moved to the pole position following Brayton's death. "We're all race drivers who have proven we are capable of running the speeds and qualifying here. We're going to show we can race here, too."
Only a few years ago, Indy thrived on famous names such as A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Mario Andretti, with 91 starts and nine victories among them before they retired.
Sunday's lineup totals 75 previous Indy 500 starts and one victory, Arie Luyendyk's win in 1990. The sum of the current experience is the least since the 1931 race and the first-year starters are the most since 1930.
Sunday's field - the fastest in history with a qualifying average of 227.807 mph - will be led to the green flag by the baby-faced Stewart, who has only two previous Indy-car starts.
One of the rookies is Johnny Unser, whose famous family has accounted for nine Indy victories - four by Uncle Al, three by Uncle Bobby and two by cousin Al Jr.
"It's like a dream, because I'm continuing where my father left off," said Johnny, whose father, Jerry, was killed in practice at Indy in 1959 when Johnny was 7 months old. "I've really been trying hard to get here since 1992, when I felt I was ready to run here but just didn't have the sponsors and didn't have the ride to make it happen. Well, it happened this year, and it happened on a big year with a lot of controversy."
"This year, I'm the only Unser," he said. "I would have never guessed it."
Luyendyk was the fastest driver most of the month, but lost the pole to Brayton on a day when his primary car had engine problems. Less than 24 hours later, Luyendyk was able to qualify, setting one- and four-lap track records of 237.498 and 236.984 mph.
Because he qualified on the second of the four days of time trials, the Dutch driver will start 20th - right in the thick of the action when all 33 cars, in rows of three separated by about 100 feet, squeeze through the first few turns at speeds well above 200 mph.
"I'll definitely consider the inexperience of these guys. I'm not going to rush things," Luyendyk said. "Any time you start in the sixth, seventh, eighth row, you're in the middle of the pack with a lot of turbulence. The car does a lot of crazy things and you have to be on your toes."
Besides Luyendyk, Roberto Guerrero and Johnny Parsons, all of whom have 11 previous starts, and Danny Ongais, who has been in 10 Indy 500s, the other 29 starters average 1.1 years of experience on the historic 21/2-mile oval.
Even Ongais, who at 54 is the oldest driver in the lineup, has not started at the speedway since 1986.
"It had been some time but the track felt about the same as when I was last here," said Ongais, who will start 33rd in the car that Brayton qualified. "My perception didn't change. The speed was comfortable, and when I got close to the speeds I needed to be running, everything blended well."
Under the circumstances, how meaningful will this victory be?
"It still would be great. It would be awesome," two-time runner-up Guerrero said. "When Jacques Villeneuve won last year, I don't think they put next to it, `But Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi weren't there.' If you win the Indy 500, you win the Indy 500. I don't care how or when."
Unser and Fittipaldi, both two-time Indy winners, failed to qualify for last year's race. Both are racing at Michigan this week, and Villeneuve has moved on to Formula One.
Even with so many newcomers at Indy this month, the on-track incidents were few.
The repaved track and improved radial tires from Goodyear and Firestone got much of the credit for both the increased speed and safety because of the increased amount of grip. Brayton's fatal crash, which came during practice on May 17, was blamed on a cut tire that sent him hurtling into the second-turn wall.
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Indianapolis 500
80th annual 500-mile race
Sunday, May 26, 1996
Track facts
Track size: 2.5 miles
Front and back straight length: 5/8 mile
Degree of banking: Straights: flat
Corners: 9 degrees, 12 minutes
A brief history - The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909, when the car industry was thriving in Indiana, as an automotive testing and competition facility. Its first races caused the track's crushed stone and tar surface to break up badly. The surface was immediately repaved with 3.2 million bricks. It has been known as the "Brickyard" ever since. Three race dates in 1910 gave way to just one spectacular race in 1911, when the Indianapolis 500 was born.
Winner's share of prize money
1911: $14,000
1995: $1,312,019
1995 total purse: $8,063,550
Winning drivers
Winner Average speed (mph)
1995 Jacques Villeneuve 153.616
1994 Al Unser Jr. 160.872
1993 Emerson Fittipaldi 157.207
1992 Al Unser Jr. 134.477
1991 Rick Mears 176.457
1990 Arie Luyendyk 185.981*
1989 Emerson Fittipaldi 167.581
1988 Rick Mears 144.809
1987 Al Unser 162.175
1986 Bobby Rahal 170.722
1985 Danny Sullivan 152.982
1984 Rick Mears 163.612
1983 Tom Sneva 162.117
1982 Gordon Johncock 162.029
1981 Bobby Unser 139.084
1980 Johnny Rutherfor 142.862
* track record
Rookie winners
1911 Ray Harroun
1913 Jules Goux
1914 Rene Thomas
1926 Frank Lockhart
1927 George Souders
1966 Graham Hill
Leading career money winners
1 Rick Mears**** $4,299,392
2 Al Unser Jr.** 4,262,690
3 Emerson Fittipaldi** 4,042,767
4 Al Unser**** 3,378,018
5 Aire Luyendyk* 3,242,676
6 Bjobby Rahal* 2,789,595
7 Mario Andretti* 2,766,931
8 A.J. Foyt**** 2,637,963
9 Michael Andretti 2,287,921
10 Danny Sullivan* 2,064,209
*=one race win
Source: 1996 Indianapolis 500 Media Fact Book
AP/Ed De Gasero