Article published May 11, 2007
Hornish: Bowling with Peyton is super
This is the first in a series of four columns by 2006 Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr. of Defiance, who will be attempting to qualify Saturday for the 91st running of the race.
The No. 6 Team Penske car has been pretty good at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway so far. The team and I are trying not to get ahead of ourselves. Last year, whatever felt good we ran with. But if the car didn’t feel right and was uncomfortable, I would come in and we would work on making the car better. We aren’t going to force anything this year. I’m going to see what comes my way and be as proactive as I can. I don’t want to get to any point where I would put myself in the position of damaging the car. We’ve tried to be pretty careful this month.
The big thing for me is to go out there and get plenty of laps and qualify the car in a good spot. This is the only time we race here and it’s the only time we get to test here all year.
There are a lot of things that are different about this track. Our big goal is to get into the race and try to make it to the end. I need to be calm and smart and see if I can’t figure out a way to win it again.
I don’t think I will ever get tired of talking about last year’s win here. I was extremely excited about winning the Indianapolis 500, as anybody would be. It was a dream I grew up with and wanted to make come true. When it happened it was just amazing.
Before last year’s race, I had seven years of misfortune and things started looking like I would never win here. Truthfully, that does make it hard to keep motivated. But staying motivated is what the team and I did. It motivated us to work harder each year.
It was like a big weight had been lifted off of my shoulders when I finally won. I was glad that I didn’t have to answer the same questions anymore: Are you ever going to win? How come you can’t finish?
After winning last year, it makes it a lot easier coming back this year knowing that I don’t have to answer those same questions anymore.
I was getting the same type of questions that Peyton Manning had to answer before the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl. We were basically going through similar situations. And then to see Peyton accomplish his goal in the same calendar year as I accomplished mine was pretty cool.
Peyton is dropping the green flag to start this year’s race. He invites me to his charity bowling tournament every year.
Peyton is a great guy and down to earth like me. But I think even he will tell you that I’m a better bowler than he is. He doesn’t bowl much but (defensive end) Dwight Freeney and a couple of other guys on the Colts are very good.
It’s pretty tough when you bowl with those guys. They get together and bowl a lot. Like me, they like to go hang out, relax and do something competitive as well as have fun.
I don’t feel any added pressure coming back this year as the reigning champion. Team Penske is usually a decent story all the time. We may not always be the race winner, but usually we’re doing pretty well in the point standings. We’ve usually won a couple of races coming in, so there have always been people wanting to talk to me. This year it hasn’t been extra pressure on, or off, the track.
I’ve finished in the top 10 in each of the previous races leading up to this one. But Indy is so much different than anywhere else. That makes it difficult to learn something from one of those tracks.
The big thing for me this month is to remain patient and not make any mistakes. I want to make sure I am doing the right thing and making the right decisions at the right time. I want to keep myself, and the car, out of trouble.
A lot of getting through the first four races is seeing what you can do and making sure that you aren’t taking too many chances. I don’t want to miss Indy.
This is the biggest race for us every year. I’m excited to be back in Indianapolis. I was glad to be back last year after finishing 26th two years ago, after finally winning the 2006 race, I am definitely enthusiastic about being here. I look forward to having the opportunity to defend last year’s title.
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