Raiders QB Gannon visits 'The Brickyard.'

Rich Gannon, the reigning Most Valuable Player of the National Football League, and Scott Dixon, winner of the first race of the 2003 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series season, got together this week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's famed "yard of bricks."

It was a meeting of quarterbacks from two different sports.

"I was just talking with Scott, and I think there's a lot of similarities between the two of us," said Gannon, a staunch auto-racing fan who led the Oakland Raiders to Super Bowl XXXVII last season. "He's concerned about taking care of the equipment and driving a smart race, at the same time being aggressive where he needs to be. I think that's where we're similar. I think I try to manage the football team, not make a lot of mistakes and put our team in position to win each week. That's probably Scott's philosophy, too."

Dixon, who will be a rookie in the Indianapolis 500 in May, also believes their positions in their respective sports are comparable.

"I guess when you go to an event you've got to focus and things like that," he said. "Being a driver and being a quarterback is similar because you're working with the team, you've got a lot of guys around you, and you're sort of the one in the hot seat. So I guess some of it all relates. Maybe it's opposite ends of the spectrum."

One thing that isn't comparable was their size Gannon is a muscular 6-foot-3, 210 pounds. Dixon, on the other hand, is a lean 5-10, 150.

Dixon, 22, a New Zealand native, is based in Indianapolis driving for the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team. Gannon, 37, is a Philadelphia native who was in Indianapolis to attend the Indianapolis Ad show. He collects antique ad memorabilia.

Gannon expressed his desire to visit the Speedway, and track officials made arrangements to provide a tour and also worked with the Target Chip Ganassi team to introduce Gannon to Dixon. Gannon rode around the track in a Chevrolet Suburban during his tour.

He was asked if he could relate to reaching speeds of 230 around the 2 1/2 -mile oval.

"No," he said. "I've actually driven a car, I think my top speed was 152 mph. To be able to get in a car at 220, 230 mph, things happen so fast at that rate of speed. I mean, you blink your eye for a second, and you cover so much ground I couldn't even imagine.

"And then, the margin of error in those cars is so thin; you've got to be right on. To me, that's amazing. Who would want to do that? Let's put it that way."

Dixon is one who does. In fact, he'll aim for his second straight series victory in the Purex Dial Indy 200 on March 23 at Phoenix International Raceway.
But Dixon wonders about a quarterback standing in the pocket while three or four 300-pound behemoths charge at him.

"I'd probably do it once," he said. "Once I got hit, that would be the end of it."

Football was a strange game to Dixon when he first came to America. He attended a game last year in Denver and is learning the game because his girlfriend is "into it big time.

Gannon called his visit to the Speedway an opportunity of a lifetime.

"This is the Super Bowl of motorsports, and it's just fun to be here and be around all the excitement generated by this event," he said. "It's incredible.

"It's a lot bigger than you can ever expect. I've been to other racetracks around the country, but this is unbelievable to see the bricks (at the start/finish line) in the track here and being in the pit wall area, getting a chance to go around the track.

"I'll tell you what, this is fun. This is a day I'll never forget."

Gannon's quarterback coach with the Raiders is Jim Harbaugh, former Indianapolis Colts quarterback and part-owner of two-time IndyCar Series champion Panther Racing. Gannon said they hadn't talked much about racing during the past season because they were so preoccupied with the task of getting to the Super Bowl.

"It's a crazy business we're in, as well," Gannon said, "but Jim Harbaugh has been great for my career. He's been great for the Raiders. He's going to be a great coach. He's going to be one of the great ones in the league, in my mind."

Gannon even foresees himself doing something himself in IndyCar Series racing after he retires.

"That would be neat," he said, " if you could get caught up with the right people, and the right opportunity would come along. There's something about racing, the people involved in the sport, and the fans. I mean, to think a half-a-million people show up here on race day for the Indy (500), that's amazing.

"There's a lot of excitement generated by it, and there's a lot of interest, not only here but across the country and across the world for that race. It's the Super Bowl of racing, and I would love to be affiliated in some small way someday."

Finally, the question had to be asked: Has Gannon recovered from the Super Bowl and the 48-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

"No, I don't think so," he said. "I don't know if we'll ever recover from that mess. It just wasn't our day. We played poorly and got behind, was never able to recover. You hate that type of thing to happen to you in a game that big and of that magnitude.

"But while we're disappointed, we're not discouraged. We'll get right back to work and try and see if we can get it right in Super Bowl XXXVIII."