FORT WORTH, Texas — While the NBA finals are underway, Shaquille O’Neal spent the weekend at Texas Motor Speedway attending his first IndyCar Series race.
Before enthusiastically giving the command to start engines Saturday night and riding shotgun in the pace car with three-time Indy 500 champion Johnny Rutherford, O’Neal attended the drivers’ meeting and did a pre-race pit stop with the Luczo Dragon Racing team when he held a tire over his head with one arm. O’Neal also picked up rookie driver Raphael Matos.
Matos took out the steering wheel and explained to O’Neal how it worked, though the NBA superstar never tried to get in the cockpit.
“I could never fit in that,” the 7-foot-1, 325-pound O’Neal said.
After struggling on his first couple of attempts to change a tire, O’Neal did one perfectly, then got off his knees and said, “I quit.”
O’Neal said there is no question that drivers are athletes — “being an athlete is more mental than anything. It’s not easy driving 228 laps with somebody in your ear, trying to be safe,” he said.
He also likes the diversity of the IndyCar Series, which has drivers from several different countries and had three women entered in Saturday night’s race.
“It’s a beautiful thing, cultures uniting here at this event for one great cause,” O’Neal said. “I’ve seen all the female drivers. Gorgeous, hot. I’ll be looking to get one of those calendars. Not for me, for one of my friend’s office. … Having a different mixture of people, different mixture of cultures, I think only enhances this sport.”
Game 2 of the NBA finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic, two of his former teams, is Sunday night. Though he wants former teammate Kobe Bryant to win his fourth championship, O’Neal said he’s not pulling for either team.
“Not really. Being the father of three young boys who like the sport, they like players on each team,” said O’Neal, now with the Phoenix Suns. “I’m just like everyone else, especially since we didn’t even make the playoffs. I’m just a fan sitting back watching the game. … I’m not really rooting for anybody.”
HE DIDN’T HAVE TO DRIVE IT LONG: Graham Rahal was coming off his best finish ever on an oval, but completed only one lap at the 1½-mile, high-banked Texas track.
“I’ve never had a car that bad. I was trying to hang on for dear life,” Rahal said. “We were off the pace all week, and to end this way is even more frustrating.”
Rahal’s No. 02 car appeared to be loose coming out of the fourth turn onto the frontstretch at the end of the first lap. Less than a half-lap later, Rahal got loose and collected E.J. Viso and Milka Duno before slamming into the inside retaining wall.
“He suddenly was sideways and I had nowhere to go,” said Visio, the only full-time driver who has not been running at the finish in any race this season.
“Something snapped. I couldn’t hang on,” Rahal said. “I feel bad for the others involved. It was horrible.”
Rahal, the 20-year-old son of former Indianapolis 500 champion Bobby Rahal started on the outside row and finished fourth at the Milwaukee Mile last week.
HALF AS MANY COWBOYS: Texas Motor Speedway officials have long lauded that they could fit Texas Stadium — the former home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys — inside their infield eight times.
The Cowboys’ impressive new $1.1 billion stadium — about 30 miles from the track — opened Saturday night with a George Strait concert. How many of those could fit on the TMS infield? About 4½.
SPARKPLUGS: The estimated crowd was 90,0000. … With Helio Castroneves’ victory over Ryan Briscoe by 0.39 seconds, 14 of the 16 IndyCar Series races at Texas finished under green have been decided by less than a second. … Danica Patrick has made Forbes’ Celebrity 100 list, which is a measure of entertainment-related earnings and media visibility between since last June. Patrick is No. 100 on the list. Nos. 1 and 2 on the list are Angelina Jolie and Oprah Winfrey. … Alex Tagliani finally got to race at Texas Motor Speedway, eight years after his first attempt. Tagliani was at the high-banked track in 2001 when CART went through practice and qualifying before the race was canceled because drivers were getting dizzy because of the increased G-forces in turbocharged cars. “I enjoyed running at Texas back then,” Tagliani said.
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