Hollister’s Bobby Grewohl, on his way to becoming a featured
driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, had an up close look at this year’s
Indy 500. Joshua Staloch caught up with him afterwards
…
Joshua Staloch: First off, congratulations on graduating from San Benito High (on Friday). How do you feel now that high school is behind you?
Bobby Grewohl: It feels great. I’ve been done with school since December so, I’ve been out for a while now.
JS: Let’s talk about the Indy 500. What’d you think about the whole event?
BG: It was awesome. It’s definitely the greatest spectacle in racing. All of the pre-race stuff and all of the tradition behind it was really cool.
JS: Was this your first time in the pits at Indy?
BG: Actually, it was my first time there period. I had never been to the race or been on the track with anyone racing on it. It was nuts.
JS: What struck you as the most incredible thing about being involved in the 500?
BG: The speed. The television does it no justice at all. I mean, they’re really flying out there.
JS: You were (Team Ganassi driver) Scott Dixon’s spotter at this year’s 500. What does the job require you to do and what was it like to be that involved?
BG: Basically, I was Scott’s eyes in the sky during the race. They really can’t see anything in those IRL cars unless it’s right in front of them. So, I just let him know (via radio) what was going on with his surroundings. Just sensible stuff about what other drivers around him are doing not like you know, okay, you’re coming up on a car. He obviously already knows that.
JS:It seems that the biggest topic of discussion as far as racing goes right now is Danica Patrick. Did you get to meet her and what do you think about what she’s doing in the IRL right now?
BG: I didn’t get to really meet her, no. But she’s doing a lot for the sport and that’s always good.
JS: Another driver recently came out and said that he thought the IRL should add weight to Patrick’s car to make up for what he thinks is an unfair weight advantage. What do you think about that?
BG: No, no. It’s not that big of a deal. That was Robby Gordon who brought that up about her weight advantage. I mean, yeah. She may only weigh 90 or 100 pounds but it’s not a big deal or a huge advantage for her.
JS: Gordon’s kind of a tubby guy isn’t he?
BG: Nah, not really. He’s a little heavier set but you know, the (Nextel) Cup drivers can get away with being a little heavier than the IRL guys or the Formula One guys.
JS: Back to your Indy 500 experience. What was the biggest moment of the race from where you were watching?
BG: When I was spotting, I honestly didn’t get to pay attention to the race as a whole at all because I was just so focused on helping Scott. There was just so much going on that there wasn’t a time when he was running that I was able to just sit back on top of turn three and watch. I was either in the binoculars looking at Scott or looking down the track to see if there were any problems or cautions coming out. I didn’t really get to watch anything until he was done (on lap 114 of 200 after making contact with Richie Hearn) and I went down to Gasoline Alley and started watching the race. The whole thing was just amazing though. There’s not really one part that I enjoyed the most other than just being there. I literally got chills just being there, standing on that brick starting line.
JS: Okay, you’re sitting there, watching the race. Did it ever cross your mind that in a couple of years, maybe sooner, this is where you’re going to be… on that track racing with these guys? Does that even compute for you at this point?
BG: Yeah. It’s always been my dream to be there racing Indy cars. When I was there, it was like “Okay, here I am at the greatest event in racing.”
JS:Can you feel your career getting closer to that point?
BG: Yes. But there’s never a guarantee that you’re going to make it. I mean, I could get into a crash and it could all end right there. But I can see that, given the fact that they’ve been having me test their IRL cars and their Nextel Cup cars, I’ll hopefully be getting a track test before too long.
JS: What do you see as being the biggest hurdle between where you are now and where you want to be?
BG: Probably just getting as much seat time as possible. Just preparing myself to basically be in the greatest shape I can be in when the time comes.
