INDY 500 Indianapolis notebook

Center of attention: Helio Castroneves has been the center of attention all month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while teammate Gil de Ferran has gone about his business almost unnoticed. Castroneves has a chance to make history Sunday by winning his third straight Indianapolis 500. De Ferran is just glad to be here. "There's no question that Helio is a better story this month," de Ferran said of his Brazilian countryman. "I have to admit, though, it has been nice not to have a lot of distractions." That's been particularly important this month with de Ferran coming back from serious injuries sustained in a crash March 23 during the Indy Racing League event in Phoenix. De Ferran had a severe concussion and fractures to his neck and lower back when he and Michael Andretti collided, sending both cars into the wall. Andretti was not injured. While the head injury cleared up in a short time, de Ferran is still feeling the effects of the neck and lower back injuries. "It's still not back to normal and I can't do my running or my usual workouts," said de Ferran, clutching his lower back and twisting his neck to illustrate the continuing discomfort. "I had to stay on my back for a while and I had a terrible headache for a while, but there isn't any pain now. "I'm comfortable in the race car," he added. "The first practice [at Indy on May 4] was the first time I was back in the car and it really was not a problem." Asked if three hours of driving Sunday will be difficult, de Ferran said, "I think I'm really in pretty good shape and I've driven a lot of miles this month. It will be fine." Team owner Roger Penske has amassed a record 12 victories at Indy.
Driving decision: Eddie Cheever understands as much as anyone about Michael Andretti's decision to retire from driving to concentrate on running his new race team.
Andretti will leave the cockpit following Sunday's race to focus on his new Andretti Green Racing team. Cheever, the 1998 Indy winner, will sit out the race to keep all his attention on his Red Bull Cheever Racing team. Cheever said that after you become a team owner, "you have so many interests that you can't go back to that first love that you had of just thinking of how to be a race car driver. There's all these other pieces that have to fall into place." Cheever, a former Formula One and CART driver, said he is not necessarily retired even though he has sat out the first three races of the IRL season to oversee the efforts of second-year driver Buddy Rice. Rice will be the only Cheever entry in the 500, while Andretti is fielding cars for himself, Tony Kanaan, Robby Gordon and rookie Dan Wheldon.
Mack's future: George Mack couldn't land a ride for Sunday's Indy 500, but he's vowing to return. Mack finished 17th as an Indy rookie after becoming only the second black to make the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing." He didn't have enough sponsorship money to go for two years in a row. "It's a bitter pill to swallow," Mack said. "But I'll be back. We're moving on to some other stuff. We just didn't have time to get it done this year." Mack hasn't been doing any racing since he lost his IRL ride. He couldn't bear the thought of circling a short track after competing at Indy. "Unless I can race here, I don't want to do it anymore," Mack said. "It's just not the same." He's also discussed a possible deal with the rival CART series. Growing up, Mack raced go-karts against the son of CART president Chris Pook. "[Pook] called me up and we talked," Mack said. "I haven't committed to anything. ... But they're looking for some more well-known drivers. All they've got is rookies and guys you've never heard of."
-- Associated Press