SVRA Brings Guerrero A Million Emotions as His Career Comes Full Circle

Roberto Guerrero acknowledges having “a million emotions” in his return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Seventeen years removed from his last Indianapolis 500 start, the 57-year-old Colombian came back this weekend as part of the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association’s Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational.

“When you see this place, and all the years I did it, you have the highest of highs and the lowest of lows,” he said. “It’s just an incredible set of emotions with this place. It really is indescribable. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Fans will recall when he was the Indy 500 pole sitter in 1992 and spun out on cold tires during the parade lap, damaging the car’s suspension and ending his race before it began.

What he remembers most is 1987. 

“That’s the one, we had it in our pocket,” he said. “We were leading that race by one and a half laps with 20 laps to go and it ended up going away. That’s the one I’ll never forget. It will always be with me.”

Mention how he “could have” won and Guerrero politely asserts, “should have.” Then he adds, “But the ‘should haves’ don’t give you the big check.”

He had entered the pits for a splash of fuel with 20 laps to go, but unaware an earlier incident earlier would dramatically impact what was supposed to be a quick stop. He stalled his Vince Granatelli Racing March 87C car, which enabled Al Unser to win his fourth “500.”

Guerrero points to the place on pit road where it happened. He recalls the ill-fated moment like yesterday.

“The reason that it stalled, I had done a million pit stops, but earlier in the race (on Lap 131), Tony Bettenhausen had come out of the pits and he lost his front wheel in Turn 3 and I punted it with my car,” Guerrero said. “That should have taken me out of the race. I created my own yellow and we changed the nose.

“When it hit, that’s where the master cylinders for the clutch sit in the car, and they both bent. The master cylinders started leaking fluid. We were fine for all of the pit stops until that last one, when we were out of fluid. It caught us by surprise. You don’t really need the clutch. If I had known the clutch was gone, I would have put it in neutral coming out of pit lane, they do the service and all we were doing was getting a little fuel, they push me and I put it into gear. Problem is, we didn’t know the clutch wasn’t working. When I put it into gear, the engine died. They started the engine up, but I didn’t have a clutch so I couldn’t get it in gear. All of that, the lap and a half lead that we had went away. That’s why that one was very, very sad.”

Guerrero finished second, which tied his best previous “500” finish in 15 starts from his rookie year in 1984. He’s mentioned the ’87 race to Unser more than once.

“I’ve told him, ‘You’re very grateful for the gift that I gave you,’” Guerrero said, smiling. “He knows it. We’ve talked about it many times. He just laughs. He knows I gave it to him.”

To come so close to winning this most prestigious race might be difficult for any racer to accept, but Guerrero is at ease. He’s upbeat on a sunny Saturday afternoon and, like anything else, prefers to see the positive side of the experience.

“The fact that I finished, I should have been out when I hit that tire,” he said. “I always like to look at the better side. The fact that I finished second is a lot better than being out much earlier.

“I could have won the race, but this track could have taken my life, too. We came very, very close to it. There’s all kind of emotions.”

Just a few months after that 1987 race, Guerrero suffered a serious crash during IMS tire testing. A severe head injury put him in a deep coma, unable to breathe for himself. The CAT scan showed a very swollen brain. Extensive treatment enabled him to come out of that coma in three weeks. Exhaustive cognitive rehabilitation, as many as nine hours per day, helped him recover in remarkable time. He was driving a normal car in two months, playing golf in three and when cleared to race he finished second at Phoenix in his return.

Guerrero last raced at IMS in 1999. In addition to being a runner-up twice, he finished third in 1985, fourth in 1986 and fifth in 1996.

He and his wife, Kati, raised three children. The Guerreros live in Southern California, where they enjoy working out as well as playing golf and tennis.

When not racing in Saturday’s Indy Legends Charity Vintage Pro-Am — he finished fourth in the “A Production” class driving a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro with teammate Jody O’Donnell — Guerrero spent a lot of time in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum parking lot. He and former Indy 500 racer Davy Jones coached visitors driving new Jaguar XE and F-Type R models as part of the Jaguar Driving Experience.

Jaguar is an SVRA sponsor, but Guerrero is more than just a spokesman. His wife drives a Jaguar XF and “loves it.”

One fan emerged from driving with Guerrero and said, “He’s a really nice guy!”

Guerrero smiles when told of how he was received.

“It’s just being yourself,” he said. “What you see is what you get with me.”

How would his life had changed if he had won the Indy 500? Probably not much, he suggests, except for that paycheck. He doesn't dwell on it. Guerrero acknowledges there’s a fraternity of drivers who “should have” won the race.

“There’s a lot of us,” he said. “I’m definitely not the only one.”

He admits his life has never been “boring” and that he doesn’t have any complaints. Guerrero enjoys being back at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“All of the races here, they mean a lot,” he said. “This place has a special magic to it. I don’t know what it is. It still gives you goosebumps.”