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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY MAY 1, 2007
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Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm celebrates aboard his yacht 'Cheminees Poujolat' in Getxo, Spain, Monday after winning the Velux 5 Ocean race.
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Dan Wheldon holds the trophy for winning the Kansas Lottery 1307 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., on Sunday.
Chema Mova/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Drivers prepare for Indy 500
》INDYCAR SERIES
BY STEVE BRISENDINE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Dan Wheldon heads to Indianapolis hoping to upstage a bunch of guys in helmets.
Football helmets, that is. White ones, with blue horseshoes on the sides.
"It's the home of the Super Bowl champions," Wheldon said after winning Sunday's IndyCar Series race at Kansas Speedway. "Hopefully, we can overshadow them with a great race."
Then Wheldon caught himself — a bit.
"Not to take anything away from the Colts," he said, "because I like the Colts and Peyton Manning, too."
It would be hard to blame the Englishman for his confidence.
With two wins and a runner-up
— Wheldon is on a roll headed into preparations for the Indianapolis 500.
finish in four races — and with the way he dominated the Kansas Lottery Indy 300 before winning under caution after a late crash
Wheldon already has won there once, in 2005. But he's not content to leave it at that, or to spend much time savoring his first victory at Kansas Speedway after two close second-place finishes.
"Like I've emphasized, now we can start thinking about Indy," said Wheldon, who led 177 of 200 laps on Sunday and has led 485 of 700 laps this season for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. "I get excited about that. That's the one I'm desperate to try and win."
But is Wheldon, whose 2005 win came during his championship season, the favorite this time around?
"A lot of people have asked me
that. I think it's difficult to say who is the favorite going into Indianapolis," he said. "Do I think I'm going to be a contender? Absolutely."
False modesty?
"Indianapolis is a different type of track than these 1/2 miles," said Franchitti, who finished a distant second on Sunday. "The regulations, for sure, are different
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Indy last year on his way to the season title. Buddy Rice has struggled this year but has the experience of winning in 2004.
"Dan's not really known for his false modesty," driver Dario Franchitti said with a laugh.
And Helio Castroneves, who ran third at Kansas on Sunday, is the most recent two-time winner with victories in 2001 and 2002.
— run as little downforce as we want. I'm hoping we're going to be a little stronger when it comes to that race with Andretti Green cars. I think Dan's definitely one of the favorites."
"I honestly think you could pick 10 to 15 people," Wheldon said. "That's the thing about Indianapolis. I mean, it wouldn't be Indianapolis if it was just one of those races where three or four people could win."
And early-season momentum doesn't always count for much heading into open-wheel racing's marque event, as the defending Indy champion knows all too well.
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"In 2002, I won two of the first three races and finished third in the other one," Hornish said in a telephone interview Monday. "I've been in the same position as Dan."
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Wheldon won't be the only driver returning to the scene of a victory, though.
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Hornish finished 25th in that race, though.
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Sam Hornish Jr., the defending IndyCar Series champion, won at
"A month is just such a long time," he said. "You basically have the first week to be excited, if you come in as the points leader or winning a lot of races. But after qualifying, then it's the guy on the pole who has the momentum.
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"Obviously, if it's the same guy, then it gives you a lot of momentum."
But with a month to prepare, a lot can go wrong — with a driver's head as well as his or her car.
"It's so long that if one little thing happens to you — even if you're the points leader, even if you qualify on the pole — it can get in your mind," he said.
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MLB
Friends, teammates mourn loss of pitcher
ASSOCIATED PRESS
of the Auburn team that went to the College World Series in 1997.
VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. — Former high school and college teammates are mourning the death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock, who helped Vestavia Hills High School to three state championships in the 1990s and was a member
H a n k
Askins,
a
Vestavia Hills
teammate and
close friend,
said he had
talked
to Hancock on
Saturday afternoon.
Hancock,
29, died when his sport-utility vehicle ran into
truck
"It is a shame when anyone dies, especially someone as young as Josh, in a tragic accident."
TOM SLATER
Auburn Coach
that was parked along a highway in St. Louis early Sunday,
"Josh was very upbeat Saturday," Askins said. "He had just had a new contract negotiated and he was really happy."
Samford University baseball coach Casey Dunn was a teammate of Hancock both at Vestavia Hills and Auburn.
"Josh was a great friend, a great teammate at Vestavia Hills and at Auburn," Dunntold The Birmingham News in a story Monday. "This is a shock. He flew (wife) Marti and me to St. Louis last season and we spent some time with him. We talked often. I was so proud of him."
At Vestavia Hills, Hancock went 28-1 as the school won three straight Class 6A state championships. He holds the Alabama High School Athletic Association record with 27 straight wins (1994-96). As a senior, he was 9-0 with an 0.92 ERA.
Hancock was an important part of the 1997 Auburn baseball team that advanced to the College World Series. Hancock went 2-0 with a 4.75 ERA in 13 appearances for the Tigers, striking out 32 in 30 1/3 innings.
"Josh was a part of arguably the best pitching staff and arguably the best team ever to play at Auburn," said current Tigers coach Tom Slater, who was an assistant on the team, which included Tim Hudson, now with the Atlanta Braves. "It is a shame when anyone dies, especially someone as young as Josh, in a tragic accident."
Dunn remembered taking his father, the late Vestavia Hills coach Sammy Dunn, to Atlanta in 2002 to see Hancock's major league debut. It was a trip his father, who had coached Hancock and was battling cancer, didn't want to miss.
"It brings so much pride to all of us when one of our own can reach that level." Dunn said.
Funeral services in his parents' hometown of Tupelo, Miss., are scheduled for Thursday.
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