PUTTING THE L.A. IN INDIANAPOLIS.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK Motor Sports

Back in the 1950s, it could be said the Indianapolis 500 started and ended in Southern California.

Drivers with Los Angeles-area ties won seven Indy 500s from from 1950 to 1960. L.A.-born drivers Johnnie Parsons, Bob Sweikert and Jim Rathmann each won once. Fresno's Bill Vukovich, who raced the dirt tracks in and around Los Angeles before moving on to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, won back-to-back Indy 500s in 1953-54. Glendale's Pat Flaherty won the Indy 500 from the pole in 1956, and Troy Ruttman, who also called Glendale home for a time, won the Indy 500 in 1952.

The 2005 version of the Indianapolis 500 has a definite Southern California feel. Four drivers who have qualified for this year's race have called L.A. home at one time, and two still live in the Los Angeles area.

Honda and Toyota, two of the three engine providers for teams in the Indy Racing League, base their research and development staffs in Southern California. Honda Performance Development is in Santa Clarita, and Toyota Racing Development is in Torrance.

A look at the Southern California drivers and how they have fared during two weeks of preparation for the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500:

--Roger Yasukawa: The driver from West Hollywood put up the best qualifying effort among four drivers with L.A. ties. That's not saying much. He put his Honda-powered Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entry 17th on the starting grid.

Yasukawa will be making his third Indianapolis 500 start with his third different team. He made his debut two years ago with Super Aguri Fernandez Racing and returned with Rahal Letterman Racing last year. Both times he finished 10th.

Experience will help Yasukawa. But considering four of the past five Indy 500 winners started on the front row, he might need a little more than experience.

``Well, I wish I knew everything,'' Yasukawa said. ``But Indy's a different place. It's a lot different than everywhere we go to. The race is one of the biggest races in the world. You can never underestimate Indy.''

--Bryan Herta: The Valencia driver will be making his fourth Indianapolis 500 appearance. He qualified his Honda-powered entry for Andretti Green Racing in 18th position. Tony Kanaan, his AGR teammate, won the pole, and his other two AGR teammates are securely in the field.

``If we can have a clean month and just keep our noses down and keep working hard, there's no reason we shouldn't have a good shot to win this thing,'' said Herta, a Hart High of Newhall graduate. ``But the problem is there's quite a few guys who can say that.''

Herta was part of AGR's 2-3-4 finish last year at Indianapolis, finishing behind Kanaan and Dan Wheldon. Herta led for a brief time late in the race, when tornadoes began touching down near the track. Buddy Rice, driving for the Honda-powered Rahal Letterman Racing team, won the race, which was cut short by 20 laps because of the inclement weather.

--Richie Hearn: Born in Glendale, raised in Pasadena, Hearn will be making his fifth Indy 500 start driving for Sam Schmidt, a former Indy Racing League driver who earned degrees from Pepperdine University.

Hearn put his Chevrolet-powered entry, the lone car for Sam Schmidt Racing, 20th on the grid. Hearn, one of the original drivers on the IRL, has one career victory (Las Vegas) and his best showing in six starts at Indianapolis was a third-place finish as a rookie in 1996.

--Jeff Bucknum: The Glendale-born Dreyer & Reinbold Racing driver put his Honda-powered entry 21st in qualifying.

One of three rookies in the field, Bucknum has quite the Indianapolis 500 pedigree. His father, Ronnie Bucknum, raced in three Indy 500s, 1968-70, and had an eventful career in Formula One and sports-car racing.

``That's just been part of my family,'' said Bucknum, who also lived in Pismo Beach. ``You grow up with that sort of thing, with A.J. Foyt calling your house when you are a little kid - you're jumping up and down because he's calling you house. That's kind of fun stuff. I'm really looking forward to this opportunity.''

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Photo:

Kurt Busch will be watched closely at the All-Star Challenge after his actions at the Dodge Charger 500 last weekend.

Gene Blythe/Associated PressBox:

RACE WEEK

BY TIM HADDOCK