Ron McQueeney
Hideki Mutoh discovered a few minutes before addressing the crowd at the American Dairy Association of Indiana that he completed an Andretti Green Racing sweep of the Fastest Rookie of the Year Award.
“No pressure,” the driver of the No. 27 Formula Dream Honda-powered Dallara said.
Mutoh, who will start ninth in the 92nd Indianapolis 500, joins Marco Andretti (2006), Danica Patrick (2005), Tony Kanaan (2002) and team co-owner Michael Andretti (1984) as fastest rookies at Indianapolis.
“When I competed at Indianapolis in the Freedom 100 last year, I remember being surprised by the number of people in the grandstands,” said Mutoh, 25, the 2007 championship runner-up in the developmental Firestone Indy Lights series. “This year, I’m an IndyCar Series driver and racing in the Indy 500 is like a dream come true. Receiving this fastest rookie award is a great surprise.”
Mutoh, who received $5,000 from the American Dairy Association of Indiana among other gifts, is among the 11 rookies in the 33-car field for the May 25 race. Last year, Mutoh was the Rookie of the Year in Firestone Indy Lights and in 2006 was named Rookie of the Year in the Japanese Super GT Championship.
“I know it’s not going to be easy to get to the top level, but I have really good teammates that help me a lot and I learn from them,” Mutoh said. “I think the starting position is the best I could do, so I’m very happy. I’m happy to have had this much practice for the race. I’m ready.”
