Putting Themselves on the Spot

It’s like those Office Depot commercials, the ones where people such as Debbie Allen and Bill Parcells pop up to dispense advice in their fields of expertise.

When Gil de Ferran drives around the track, he hears the voices of Roger Penske and Rick Mears in his headset. Penske’s racing team has won the Indianapolis 500 11 times, four of them with Mears driving. Of all the guys driving around the California Speedway on Sunday, only de Ferran had two of the nine racing legends whose faces adorn an infield wall talking in his ear.

Think these guys know what they’re doing?

As de Ferran said: “If Roger and Rick told me turn left and hit the wall because that’s the best option, I would do that because that’s the confidence I have in them.”

At speeds over 215 mph, drivers don’t have time to be looking over their shoulders.

Mears is the spotter. From his perch high above the track, he lets de Ferran know when cars are trying to pass him and what side they’re coming from.

“Primarily from a safety standpoint, he’s crucial,” de Ferran said. “His presence is a must, really. These cars, with the tires the size they are and the car the way that it is, you simply can’t see. It’s a huge blind spot. You can move up on somebody, somebody can move up on me and cause a very huge accident.”

Mears keeps a close watch on de Ferran’s car as it zooms around the oval, moving his eyes only to glance around the track for any accidents.

“You have to scan,” Mears said. “You’re working with the driver. Anytime I see somebody sneaking up on him, I’ll say, ‘Watch right, he’s looking right, he’s looking right. He’s looking left. Looking inside, looking outside. Still there still there, still outside. Or still inside.’

“In the meantime, while you’re watching him, you’ve got to scan the track to make sure you don’t see something else taking place. It keeps you fairly busy.”

It also keeps Mears close to the sport. When he ended one of the most successful driving careers in history in 1992, Penske asked him to stick around.

“I couldn’t walk away from the whole thing,” Mears said. “This is a family [Team Penske] I’ve been with since ’78. All of this keeps you involved.”

There’s another benefit: “It’s the best seat in the house.”

Standing on aluminum risers above California Speedway’s main suite and press box complex, he gazed from what he called one of the best vantage points on the Indy Racing League circuit. He had to look over and around some television cameras when de Ferran entered Turn 1, but that was about it.

Mears doesn’t use too many words.

He can go several laps saying nothing more than “Outside, outside, outside ... clear.”

His longest discourse of the day: “One more car, then there’s a little opening.”

“He’s not a man who wastes breath,” said de Ferran, who has been working with Mears since 2000. “He just talks when it’s important.”

Penske’s the talker. He’s watching over two racers--de Ferran and Helio Castroneves--and is in regular contact with both. He gives them updates on how far ahead or behind they are from the nearest racer. He’ll relate the speed of their last lap and how it relates to the lead car. He tells them when to come in for a pit stop and advises on strategy.

Penske and de Ferran spent part of Sunday’s Yamaha Indy 400 debating whether to use fifth or sixth gear.

“You had your best lap in sixth,” Penske said, ending the discussion.

Penske uses a steady stream of encouragement.

“Nice and smooth.”

“We’re doing fine.”

“We’re in good shape.”

Sometimes, the drivers are more realistic. When the top four cars pulled away from de Ferran midway through the race, Penske said: “Keep hanging on. You’re doing good.”

“I’m losing them, Roger,” de Ferran said as he slipped behind. “I’m losing them.”

De Ferran’s No. 6 car just didn’t have enough speed to keep up with the top guys. Not even after Penske’s decision to make a fuel-only pit stop without changing tires put de Ferran in the lead after a caution with 31 laps remaining.

He finished 6.5269 seconds behind the winner, Sam Hornish Jr.

“You can’t get too frustrated,” de Ferran said. “We had a competitive race. We weren’t as fast and came home fourth.”

It might diminish the role of the spotter to note that Hornish’s radio malfunctioned earlier in the race and he had to go the old-fashioned way, with signs and hand signals and no one to warn him of approaching cars.

As a former driver, Mears doesn’t mind giving most of the credit to the guys behind the wheel.

“To me, he’s doing the job,” Mears said. “Everybody gets the credit. That’s one thing I tell our drivers: If I’m spotting for you, don’t rely 100% on me. You’ve got to remind them that they’ve got to use their eyes and ears. They’ve got to do the job.

“I try to help all I can. I know there are some teams and some drivers and some spotters where the spotters almost drive the cars for them. To me, that’s not totally the spotter’s job. That’s the driver’s job. I’m there to help.”

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J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com.