The starting 33 for the running of the 98th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Sunday, May 25th has been set and Indianapolis’ own Ed Carpenter will lead the pack to the green flag for the second year in a row. Carpenter won the provisional pole last Saturday and then held on to it on the Sunday pole shootout in the blink of an eye over Andretti Green’s James Hinchcliffe with a total run speed average of 231:067. A slight bobble coming of turn 2 on Hinchcliffe’s fourth qualifying lap was the difference between winning the pole and starting in second position for the 27-year-old Canadian driver. This is the same James Hinchcliffe who suffered a concussion after being hit by debris during the running of the GP of Indianapolis on May 10. Penske’s Will Power will start from third position and he is the driver to watch on the first lap. The Aussie driver likes to take the lead early and will probably try to ride that high outside groove to grab first position coming out of turn one into the south short chute. Carpenter is considered a steady and careful driver and a great choice to lead the field to the starting line without incident. Three-time winner Helio Castroneves starts fourth but is not an early charger. He generally likes to make his move in the last third of a race. Look for Helio to be a strong contender for a fourth trip to the victory podium, however. Juan Pablo Montoya, the 2000 winner, actually has the second fastest qualified car in the field with a run of 231:007 and will start in tenth position. Montoya wasn’t in the fast nine on Saturday and wasn’t eligible to run for the pole. There are six former winners in this year’s field, including 1995 winner Jacques Villeneuve competing here for the first time since his win 19 years ago. Buddy Lazier, 1996 winner, will start from thirty third position. Rookie Mikhail Aleshin will be the first Russian-born driver to compete at Indianapolis. The 26-year-old Aleshin was born in Moscow on May 22, 1987 and is driving the number 7 Schmidt-Peterson-Hamilton Dallara Chevy and will start in fifteenth position. Defending champ Tony Kaanan starts in sixteenth spot, but look for him to be challenging for his second win at the end of the race. It looks to be a really exciting day for race fans this coming Sunday.
Robert Mathis Suspension
The Colts will be without the services of pass rushing linebacker Robert Mathis for the first four games of the 2014 season. The 33-year-old graduate of Alabama A&M has been with the Colts since being drafted in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL draft. Mathis is the Colt’s all time sack leader with 111 sacks in his career. He set a team single season record and led the NFL with 19.5 sacks in 2013. For this he once again made the Pro Bowl and was awarded the inaugural NFL Deacon Jones Sack Award which is given to the top pass rusher in the league for the year.
Mathis was found to have taken a banned performance enhancing drug during the past year. Mathis and his agent have claimed he was taking the substance as an unapproved fertility drug but the NFL didn’t buy the excuse and the commissioner issued the four week ban. Mathis will be allowed to go through training camp and the preseason schedule, but once the regular season starts he cannot appear at a game or practice with his Colt teammates for the first four weeks of the season. The loss will certainly be hard on the team but they will find a way to persevere.
snicewanger@yahoo.com