microphone pict ©2000 SpeedCenter
Interview by Earl Ma with Photos by the author
Trailer photo by Trevor Mitchener

Opportunity comes knocking again

 

The clock slowly runs out in Gasoline Alley
 

After spending the off-season vainly searching for a full-time CART ride, Memo Gidley got the break of a lifetime in March when the Player’s/Forsythe team chose him as the replacement for the injured Patrick Carpentier. Gidley spent three races with the team, leading his first lap and scoring his first top ten finish in a Champ Car, before making an unsuccessful attempt at qualifying for the Indy 500 in a year-old chassis with a shoestring budget.

SpeedCenter correspondent Earl Ma spoke with Gidley the day after the 500, discussing his experience with Forsythe and his role as CART’s latest "Super Sub." The determination and patience Gidley emphasizes here paid off again earlier this week, as John Della Penna gave him a seat for the Michigan 500 in place of Norberto Fontana, for whom he filled in at CART’s Mid-Ohio open test last month.

Question: Could you recap for us how the opportunity with Player’s/Forsythe initially came about?

    Memo Gidley: That was basically a last-minute deal. I was out at Indy, and I just went through my rookie test. It was actually Tuesday, and I was at the gym just working out, and I had my cell phone. Neil Micklewright, who’s the manager at Player’s, gave me a call and said Patrick hurt his wrist, and they might need me to drive and wondered what I was doing. I told him I was available, and I told him I’d be over at the shop in ten minutes. I was over there in ten minutes, we agreed up on it in another ten minutes, and within half an hour, I was gonna be driving for Players, which is a top team.

    It all came about really quick. It was almost so quick, I didn’t have time to really think about how great of a thing it was.

    Then getting back into the car for the first time at Long Beach was really good. At first it was a little overwhelming. The first session, I was so sideways so many times just trying to control the thing, because you forget how fast those cars really are, especially on a street course. But then I got into the groove and got the swing of things, and it all started to come and feel really good again. It was just like starting right where I left off before. It was just a really good experience all around.

Question: If the fuel pickup problem at Long Beach didn’t happen, do you think you realistically could have finished on the podium or even won?

    Memo Gidley: Getting on the podium was definitely a possibility, I would say. But there’s a couple of races that’s the same thing. Sometimes you’re the man who’s gonna win that day, and sometimes you’re not. But in all of the races including Long Beach, the important thing was for me to be competitive, running at the front, and have a shot at it no matter what happened. So it all worked out great, and people saw that. It would’ve been nice to be on the podium, but it’ll happen down the road.

Question: How did you like racing a Champ Car on an oval for the first time and racing for the first time on any oval since your Toyota Atlantic days - not to mention your career best CART finish?

    Memo Gidley: Rio was good. It’s kind of a track where it’s sort of an oval and sort of a road course, so I had less to learn for sure around there. The race was great - the car was fast. We had some good pit stop strategy which got me up into 2nd place. Kenny Brack was in between myself (and Alex Tagliani). He was ahead of us, but he had to stop for another pit, and we could’ve made it to the end. Unfortunately at that time, a yellow flag came out, which basically picked him up as the leader, which they do in that kind of situation. If you’re a lap down and they wave you around, you actually lose that lap. So that’s what happened there, because if it went green to the end, who knows - it could’ve been a podium - it’s hard to say. We had a problem with one of the turbo lines that we were losing power at that point, but we had enough of a cushion sitting around in 2nd or 3rd to where we could go to the end and not lose too many spots.

    I knew the car was strong, and it was the same kind of deal in qualifying. We changed the setup right before, and it was a different setup. The car was really good, but without the track time, I just didn’t know how far to push it. But in the race, shoot, I warmed up right away and got a couple guys at the start - worked on Christian Fittipaldi trying to get around him on the outside for a couple laps. The car was real strong, and it was nice to have something like that you could drive really aggressively.

Question: You weren’t initially scheduled to race in Motegi but wound up racing there anyway. How was that experience?

    Memo Gidley: That was the first time I’d really run on a fast track in a Champ Car. I’d never really tested at this kind of track before - never tested there. So it was a big learning experience, and it just got better all the time. I started 16th - there was much more left - it was just hard to know how much to push it.

    I got up to 13th by passing people - came into the pits, picked up 3 positions to get us 10th, passed somebody for 9th, came back into the pits, got up to 6th. Everything was working good, and in the course of that I set the 5th fastest race lap of anybody out there, so the car was competitive, and I was competitive. On that track, I basically was out an hour and a half - two hours, so not really a lot of time. Those guys have been doing the ovals for years, and even before the season starts, they do numerous days on various tracks. I’ve got a fraction of the time that any of those other guys have out there.

Question: You also smacked into a bird during your qualifying run there. That wasn’t the national bird of Japan, was it?

    Memo Gidley: I don’t think it was their national bird, because I still had friends there afterwards. I did have the environmentalists chasing me around that weekend.

    When you’re the size of a small football and you get hit by something that’s going 220 mph, you’d pretty much be disintegrated, too. I’m not sure what he was doing - a track inspection or something - but that was the wrong time for him to be out there checking for seed on the track, because that’s when I was coming around.

Question: Out of the three races you did with the team, is there one that particularly stands out to you as a personal highlight?

    Memo Gidley: I think that they were all good. Long Beach was great, because I hadn’t been in the car for so long, and I didn’t test, and I didn’t practice it. Every session just kept getting faster and faster. We qualified 10th, which is my best qualifying so far, on a track I’d never seen and in a car I’d never tested or driven for 6 months. Then in the race I was able to move up and be competitive with guys who have been running the series a long time, so that was a real highlight.

    Both Rio and Japan - to be able to move up and get inside the top 10, top 5 was really good. It was a learning experience with every lap just getting faster and faster, and I think people saw that. A lot of these guys, they spend days just testing on an oval before they even go to one, and for me, all the oval skills that I had were learned in the course of a weekend. So they were all great races. I mean, I had a lot of good passing, working with the team and learning about pit strategies and car setups. They were all great for me.

Question: How has the adjustment been to racing a full-sized racing car on ovals for the time been over the past two months?

    Memo Gidley: Well, it was good. The more seat time, the better it gets, for sure. Rio was a much slower track, so it was nice I got to do my first oval on something like that, because I’d never tested on an oval before. So it kind of gives you a little more room for error than say, a superspeedway. Then Japan was good because it threw in a couple of high-speed turns, which kind of got me ready for Indy. But then, Indy’s a lot different from Japan. Indy - you run more or less flat out all the way around if you can get the car working right. So it’s really about getting the car set up so that it doesn’t scrub off speed and getting it to be very consistent. They’re all 3 different tracks, so I think all of them kind of prepared me for the future, but all of them were very different from one another.

Question: Prior to the Motegi race, you expressed you weren’t entirely comfortable yet with racing in traffic on a superspeedway with superspeedway wings. Having gotten Motegi under your belt and having done the laps you did at Indy, how has the adjustment been?

    Memo Gidley: It’s not like a road course where you can get right up to somebody, or even on a short oval. You really have to kind of learn where to place the car and really use all the traffic if you’re trying to get around somebody. The race in Japan - I definitely felt good in the race, and the car was working good. I was able to get around a lot of guys by getting used to that and getting used to dealing with traffic on a fast track. So it would’ve helped me for sure if I had been able to race in the 500, but it’s definitely something I needed, and I feel more comfortable going to an oval from here on.

Question: From what you experienced, what do you feel are the major differences between the car that you had at Indy and your Champ Car, and what are the major similarities from a technical standpoint?

    Memo Gidley: Obviously, both programs were a lot different. The Player’s team was like very huge. I mean, there are so many people there, and they each have very specific jobs, and it’s just a very well-run organization. But the deal with the Indy 500 effort that we had - although we had just a few people, they were all really good, so it really didn’t feel all that different, other than we didn’t have the fancy bus and the hospitality and the first class airline tickets and things like that.

    As far as the cars go, they’re a lot different. The car felt a lot older than what I’m used to in a Champ Car. It’s a year-old car, but I think a year-old car - a ’99 Indycar - it still, as far as technology goes, feels a little behind that of a Champ Car. So that felt a little different. But once you’re driving it at over 200 mph, they feel very similar. It’s just that the Indy 500 car doesn’t accelerate as much; it doesn’t have much power. But other than that, they feel very similar.

Question: What is your personal take on the CART/IRL split, and prior to going to Indy, did you have people going up to you and saying congratulations for breaking ranks and crossing over, or did some people criticize you for that?

    Memo Gidley: Nobody really criticized me for it. Some people kind of get hung up on one series or another, and I’ve never really looked at it that way, even from the beginning when it split off and when a lot of dirt track and short track guys were racing . I know where a lot of guys come from in the IRL, and I’ve seen them drive, and I know they know how to drive. It doesn’t matter that they don’t come from Atlantics or Indy Lights or FF2000. They come from midgets and they hustle us around pretty good. For me, it’s just another race, and I’m glad now I was able to race it this year, because it seems to be more and more competitive as it goes on, and really, that’s what I’m really looking for - just the competition more than anything else. Whether it’s IRL or Champ Cars or go-kart racing, as long as it’s competitive, I’m happy to be in it.

Question: Jerry Forsythe lent you a half dozen crew members from the dormant Forsythe Championship Racing team to assist you at Indy. Given that the various parties on the team had not worked together before, did having all these volunteers aboard hurt or help the overall effort?

    Memo Gidley: It was definitely a help. I mean, it’s difficult because when you first start off, everybody’s new, and they don’t know each other. Normally in that type of situation where you start off with a new team, you have time to test - not only test the car but get used to everybody’s personalities. In our deal, really everybody had to learn about one another in less than a week. But it was good. I mean, everybody was really professional. They’ve been around and worked with other people in that kind of situation. So it definitely was a help. We had the crew, we had the experience and I think the knowledge to run pretty well. So, all the people who came down were a big help. I think if we had a 2000 car, then we would’ve surprised a lot of people.

Question: What’s your reaction to the groundswell of public support you’ve received over the past few months, not just for the 500 effort, but also with people pledging money and services to go as far as theoretically creating their own CART team for you for 2001?

    Memo Gidley: It’s been totally overwhelming. Since I started, I’ve had to initiate everything that’s happened. But I’ve had people that have come on and bought me motors or tires or airline flights or whatever, and half a dozen or so people a year that kind of stepped up for that particular year and helped out. And as I get moving up more and more, it seems like more people want to be a part of it. I think it’s just because people are more aware of how I got here and what’s going on. But this has been really amazing. Every day in the mail, we’d receive checks from small amounts to large amounts, and even more than the money, there are people talking about it on the Internet and we’d get fan mail and letters all the time. It feels really good.

Question: Right up until the Nazareth race, there had been speculation that Patrick wouldn’t get medical clearance and you’d get the nod again. Are you disappointed you didn’t get to run there?

    Memo Gidley: Nazareth is just another track I haven’t race a Champ Car on. That probably would’ve been even more difficult because it wasn’t a 3-day event, it was a 1-day event. So I kind of would’ve been thrown in pretty green to the whole deal. But I knew I would’ve learned it real quick. Working with the Player’s team was so great that just getting another opportunity to learn from them and be around them would’ve been awesome. But it just didn’t happen.

Question: While you were still looking for a full-time ride earlier this season, you got a chance to test the new Huffaker-Qvale Mangusta Trans-Am car in Phoenix, and it looked like you had a very good shot at getting that seat. But you passed on that opportunity, and since then Brian Simo has won 3 of the first 4 races in it. Do you look at that situation and say to yourself, ‘that could’ve been me?’

    Memo Gidley: Well, I tested the car, and I’ve known Joe (Huffaker) for a number of years, so I knew it was a really good team, and I really liked being around them. But in my heart, I want to race Champ Cars - I want to be in CART. I knew that after thinking about it, even winning a championship in Trans-Am, I’d still be in the same situation where I was a driver with 10 races in CART and no money. So for me, that would basically take a year off of what I was trying to do.

    I know a lot of people said ‘it’s job security; it creates a future.’ But I’m not really in it to create a future for myself - to make sure I have enough money to have a house or to buy a lawnmower to mow the lawn. I knew that I would get an opportunity - I just knew it would happen. And I knew that in order to do well, I had to be prepared as much as possible, and I couldn’t get halfway through the season in Trans-Am with that team. I talked to them about it, and they would need to have me all year. I wasn’t gonna bail on them halfway through. So I had to either decide - do I take the Trans-Am, or do I take a chance? I took a chance, and it worked out.

Question: You haven’t ruled out the possibility of a one-off IRL ride later this season should the opportunity present itself. But given that it’s no secret your primary objective is a full-time CART ride, does that hurt your chances there, or for getting something competitive at Indy next year?

    Memo Gidley: I don’t think so. It’s the same sort of situation. Obviously you have to take everything as it comes, but really my heart is in getting into CART - getting back in there, getting experience, and doing what I know I can do. So anything that I take, I have to try and make sure that I have the option if something opens up, to get into it and get out there and drive if it happens. It’s tough - I mean, if someone came along and offered me a full-time IRL ride with a very good team, it would be hard to know what sort of decision I would need to make if I had to commit to it and not chase after any CART opportunities. I think I’m just gonna have to take that one as it comes.

Question: What do you think your prospects are for that full-time CART ride next season?

    Memo Gidley: I think my prospects are really good. I think the impression that I’ve made in the races that I’ve done has been good, especially considering that I haven’t really tested the car at all. A lot of team owners and team managers are talking about it, and the press has kind of picked up on my whole story, and they understand where I come from now. And I think a lot of people feel a personal connection to what I’m doing, which kind of helps on the sponsorship side also. I think my chances of getting a full-time ride next year are really good. I think it would be great to get some more experience this year, and I think that’s gonna happen also. I think in a lot of people’s minds, if somebody gets injured or if a driver can’t make some races for whatever reason, I think I’ll be one of the first ones to get called because they know I can get in it and do well without having to test or anything like that. I think my chances are good.

Question: What do you plan on doing in the interim?

    Memo Gidley: My plans for this weekend and until I get a (regular) ride is basically to go to all the races and be there so that people can see me and know that I’m spending money to be out at the track and that I’m dedicated, so they can look in my eyes and see that I want to get into their car. That’s what I’m gonna do every weekend. You know, I’m not out there to schmooze anybody - I’m out there so every one of those team owners and team managers gets a chance to look in my eyes and see that I really want to be out there racing. That’s what I plan to do this weekend, and that’s what I plan on doing until I get a ride.

Question: Why have you moved back to Indianapolis?

    Memo Gidley: 1 of 2 things: one, it allows me to be close to the teams; most of them are based out of there. Two, it allows me to drive out to most all of the races; they’re all kind of structured around the midwest for the next couple of months. That makes it really convenient for me, and also cheaper. So basically that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna go to all the races; I’m gonna be working out, driving my go-kart, being ready, and I’ll be able to jump in and get something going and keep building on what I’ve got when an opportunity opens up.

Question: When Roberto Moreno was in the ‘Super Sub’ role last year, he said that if he didn’t have a ride for a particular race weekend, he’d show up, but he wouldn’t bring his helmet or uniform with him - that if something did open up, he’d have someone bring them later, because he didn’t want to make it seem he was hoping people would get hurt. You’ve taken the entirely opposite approach by showing up at the races deliberately with all your gear. How come?

    Memo Gidley: I think you have to be prepared for opportunities to open up. In racing, there are situations that happen - accidents; people can’t make races - and that’s just part of the game.

Question: Do all the car owners and team managers know you’re doing this and are available, literally at a moment’s notice, to jump into a car immediately should the need arise?

    Memo Gidley: I think they do, and all the ones that don’t, definitely let them know that I am! You need to be a little tactful - you’re not walking around there seeing if somebody makes a mistake so that you can get into their car. But the nature of the beast is usually drivers change. Whether they don’t get along with their crew chiefs or the team owners, or they switch to another team, there’s opportunities that open up. If you just happen to be the guy that’s there and people know that you can do it, they’ll stick you in, and that might be the next opportunity to impress somebody, and for me to get a full time ride next year.

Question: When you showed up at Milwaukee the week after Indy, what was the reaction in the CART paddock to your Indy effort, given that you didn’t make the 500 field, and could that hurt your CART prospects in the future?

    Memo Gidley: Everybody knows our effort was good out there and we had good people. Our deal was to live up to our agreement, which was to try and get the ’99 (chassis) into the field, which is what we did. Nobody gave up at all. They understood that it was a ’99 car and it was much more difficult to make that happen. All the people that are looking at what I’m doing - they understand and they know what’s going on. They thought it was a good job just to try anyway.

Question: Tell me the Big Wheel story.

    Memo Gidley: I started racing Big Wheels when I was 6. Every Saturday morning, we used to have a demolition derby down on our driveway. 3 or 4 of my friends would come over with their Big Wheels - we had a concrete driveway that had 4 sides, and off of each side were these prickly bushes. So if you could shove the guy off into the prickly bushes, it was a lot of fun, and the last one standing was the winner. So we used to start these Big Wheel contests at like 7 in the morning, and it just so happened that my older sister also lived downstairs, and her bedroom was right about where we used to have these contests. We’d start going and hope she didn’t come home that night so we could at least get some running in. But a lot of times, she’d poke her head out with curlers still in it and scare us half to death. She’d yell at us to stop running the Big Wheels, so we’d just move a little further down the street.

Question: Does this carry over into how you drive all your other vehicles?

    Memo Gidley: I think it carries over into everything. It’s the competitive thing. You want to have fun; you want to push it to the limit all the time. Whether it’s in a rental car or a Big Wheel or a motorcycle or a car, it’s all about pushing yourself to go faster.

    I try to be nice to the rental cars!

  Happy Hour on Bubble Day: great timing, kids! with the Forsythe Championship Racing crew and the rest of Gidley's Volunteers at Indy's famous Union Jack's pub At Indy in May: have helmet, will travel Memo didn't actually tow his trailer cross-country with his shifter kart. But he sure COULD have. (Trevor Mitchener photo)