Mike Conway returns to the scene of two horrendous crashes this weekend when he takes to the track at the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
In his previous two visits to the Motor Speedway in 2010 and 2012 Conway was involved in to horrendous accidents, surviving both experiences.
Now he is back and ready to give the Grand Prix his full attention even if in the back of his mind he is thinking about his previous accidents, all be it not on the road circuit.
He is looking forward to getting back racing this weekend, he said: “I am actually excited to come back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sure, I think about those incidents in 2010 and 2012. But I’m coming back to my roots of road racing and the new road circuit is very good. It is cool to return to Indy to compete in the inaugural road race at Indy. And, with the ECR/Fuzzy’s Vodka team, we have a good chance to score another win this year.”
Conway’s two Indy 500 crashes help make his decision to walk away from oval tracks and concentrate on the road and street courses for the remainder of his racing career. But he found a home with Ed Carpenter’s squad and immediately paid dividends with the Long Beach win.
He added: “I drove a lot in 2013 with selected IndyCar Series races (and a victory in Detroit) and the World Endurance Championship sports car events (with four wins). So I was hoping to get another chance at the IndyCar tour in 2014. Ed was looking to grow his team and he felt it was best for him to drive only in the oval races. Ed is a sensational oval track driver. So he asked if I would like to share the ride in the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Chevy. We feel it is a great combination to be a season-long contender.
“I don’t think about those crashes much anymore when I come to IMS. I’m concentrating on the road course and chance to win this weekend.”
Carpenter and his team are seeking a unique double win in May at IMS with the No. 20 machine with Conway on the road course and Ed on the oval in the 98th Indy 500 on May 25.