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MAY 29, 2001

Cory Witherill rode into sports history on Sunday as the first Native American driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 in more than forty years.

On his first ever attempt, the 28-year-old Navajo racer drove his G-Force Oldsmobile to a 19th place finish at the 85th Indy 500 in Indianapolis, Indiana. But it wasn't without a close call: on the 137th lap, his #16 Radio Shack G Force/Oldsmobile/Firestone car slid across the track due to a tire problem.

Unlike his appearance at a race in Atlanta last month, however, Witherill didn't cause an accident. He avoided hitting the wall, although four cars narrowly missed colliding with him.

"I came off [Turn] four, felt like a tire went down and it just did a lazy slide," said Witherill. "Fortunately, it stayed off the wall."

And so the Indy rookie kept on going. His 187-lap perseverance paid off and Witherill is going home $159,575 richer as a result. At speeds reaching 190 mph, he even says the entire race went by quicker than expected.

"It went by a lot faster than I thought," said Witherill. "I guess that might have been because everybody told me how unbelievably long it would be. I guess I was expecting the worst, but we stayed smooth and had a good day."

The winner, fellow rookie Helio Castroneves of Brazil, took home $1,270,475 for his 200 laps. He was the eight rookie in Indy history to take the title.

Witherill qualified for the Indy 500 last week, his first try after competing in the Indy Lights circuit since 1998. The circuit is considered a training ground for the Indy 500, which he said has always been one of his long-term goals.

In getting there, Witherill follows in the footsteps of another Indian driver, Joie Chitwood. The Cherokee Nation tribal member competed in the Indy 500 seven times during the 1940s and 1950s, placing fifth three times.

With a noteworthy start to his career and a long future ahead of him, Witherill will have plenty of time to match Chitwood's success or beat it.

Witherill is a member of the Indy Regency Racing team. He will appear on the radio program Native America Calling tomorrow.

Get the Unofficial Results:
Unofficial Results - 85th Indianapolis 500

Relevant Links:
Cory Witherill - http://www.corywitherill.com
Native America Calling - http://www.nativecalling.org
Indy 500 - http://www.indy500.com
Indy Racing League - http://www.indyracingleague.com
Cory Witherill Bio, Indy Lights - http://www.indylights.com/global/drivers/
cWLL/ILCdpDRIVER_cWLLBIO_WFC.html
Indy Regency Racing - http://www.indyregencyracing.com

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