Cheever says eyes on Helio

1998 Indy 500 champ says empower drivers

USA TODAY Sports caught up with 1998 Indy 500 winner Eddie Cheever, an ESPN/ABC analyst. Among the highlights:

Q: What are some of the story lines and trends you’ll be watching over the next couple of weeks at Indy?

A: The first one has got to be (Helio) Castroneves. I saw Rick Mears win his fourth. ... I remember what a big deal that was. So now you have Castroneves, who’s been bumping on the door, trying to get in and hasn’t been able, and it seems that he’s having a very good season this year. The other one that we’re all following is this battle between Honda and Chevy. ... I think GM has gone for a more conservative, safer bet. ... Honda, on the other side, has taken a more ambitious technical direction that’s proving to be tedious.

Q: What do you call ambitious about what they ’ve done?

A: They’ve tried with their road kit, tried different solutions. They have a flexible front wing; it looks similar ... to what was done in Formula One cars three, four years ago. But I don’t think they have the budget. It looks like a science project that got veered off, wasn’t finished properly or went on the wrong direction.

Q: What is your favorite memory from winning (the Indy 500)?

A: I was single that year. A lot of my stories involve things that I cannot sit down and talk to you about. But ... very eventful.

Q: You’re named the czar of IndyCar for a day. What do you change?

A: I believe the drivers should have more say in their destiny. ... That does not mean letting the lunatics run the insane asylum. … I think the drivers should have an ability to influence their future. If they do that, and they do it in a responsible manner, the sport will continue to grow in a safe and pragmatic manner. What happens sometimes is you will get a frustrated manager put in power; that happened in IndyCar a lot of times, and they just make stupid decisions. To this day, I look back at what happened to (Dan) Wheldon, and I get angry. It was just dumb. Irresponsible. Should have never happened. And I’ll get criticized for saying that, but as a driver I feel compelled that I think we should learn from our past. And that was something that should have never, ever happened.

MORE WITH CHEEVER AT SPORTS.USATODAY.COM Plus, graphic highlights weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.