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MILLER: Remembering Greg Moore
Written by: Robin Miller   
11/01/2009
Indianapolis, IN
 
Greg Moore had just finished running his first laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the fall of 1995 and the 19-year-old was geeked about becoming the lead driver for Player’s/Forsythe Racing in the 1996 CART season.
Greg Moore's talent and competitive fire helped him to find victory circle with an engine package that was never a match for the dominant Honda turbos, just as he did here at Milwaukee in 1997. (LAT) ยป More Photos

He was also jacked about being a rookie at Indy.

“Man, this place is awesome … big, fast and ballsy, just like I like,” he said that evening sitting in his transporter. “I can’t wait to come back here next May.”

Sadly, Moore never made it back to 16th & Georgetown. The IRL/CART war broke out and he found himself running Jackson, Mich. and Madison, Ill. instead of Indy from 1996-99.

But, 10 years after he lost his life at Fontana and before he got a chance to drive for Roger Penske, Greg’s old posse can only marvel of what he might have accomplished driving for The Captain at Indianapolis during this decade.

Considering Team Penske captured five more Indy 500s from 2000-2009 with Helio Castroneves (3), Gil de Ferran and Sam Hornish Jr. and Moore may have been one of the best oval-trackers of the past 25 years, the possibilities seem limitless.

“When I think about what Greg would have done with Roger Penske’s cars and the support of that team, it’s hard to imagine how many races he would have won in the past 10 years,” mused Dario Franchitti, who along with Max Papis, Tony Kanaan and Jimmy Vasser were Moore’s partners in bachelorhood, camaraderie and fun back in CART’s heydays.

“I think Greg was the best guy I ever raced on an oval,” said Franchitti. “He was smart, brave and could drive the car unbelievably loose.
He would have LOVED running Indy.”

Papis declares that Moore “would have won everything Helio has and more” while Kanaan says “at least three Indy rings and three championships by now. We would have been talking about him like we do Rick (Mears) and Al (Unser Jr.).”

Vasser didn’t put a number on it but simply said: “The outside line was Greg’s friend and Indy was made for him.”

If you never had the pleasure of watching Moore at speed, you missed a real thrill show. Although he only won five CART races in his short yet brilliant run, he never had the strongest car/engine package.

But that didn’t keep him from maneuvering past Alex Zanardi and Vasser on the last lap to win the Michigan 500 or using a lapped car and a breathtaking pass of Zanardi at Brazil. He put his car where few others dared and lived to upstage his pals.

“He was the bravest guy I ever saw,” said Papis. “We were running St. Louis once and I a better car that day but for five laps in a row he kept trying to pass me and was all crossed up.

“Afterwards he came up to me grinning and said: ‘Did you see me up there in the gray trying to pass you?’ I said of course I did you maniac.”

Looking at him, nobody would have guessed race driver. He was gangly, had these dorky glasses and a perpetual grin.

(View SPEEDtv.com's Greg Moore Photo Retrospective)

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