Only in America; What to see and do in Indianapolis during Grand Prix week.(Racing)(Indianapolis, Indiana)

Eddie Cheever knows the eccentricity of Formula One drivers and he knows the simplicity of the city of Indianapolis. Oil and water? While it may look like that, he says, in fact the two opposites mix well, at least for four days each year during the U.S. Grand Prix.

``Everyone here in Indianapolis takes the opinion that we're not up to snuff with these guys, and that's just not true,'' says Cheever, who owns a home in the Hoosier capital near his Indy Racing League team's shop on the city's northwest side. ``The manager of the Speedway Motel asked me about a month before the first F1 race [in 2000] how to make these guys happy. And I said to him: `Don't do anything different. They're coming to Indy. This is America.'

``We have better steaks in this country than anywhere else in the world. We have Hooters. Those are things that don't exist anywhere else in the world. We have to be ourselves.''

Cheever, who drove in 132 F1 races, the most by any American in history, said Indy not only has the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway but the racing history that comes with it. He remembers his first visit to the city circa 1986. Like an ordinary fan, he found the tour bus at the track and rode it. He was alone with a bus driver who didn't recognize him on a cold and nasty day, but it didn't matter. He could feel the presence of F1 legends Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill and Mario Andretti, each of whom raced at the Speedway.

``America has no history compared to Europe, which is a place where you can go to where people have lived for 2000 years,'' Cheever says. ``It's hard to find a building in the States older than 30 years, but when you come to Indianapolis, there's motor racing history that goes back to the turn of the century. There's a common thread. I felt it and these guys feel it. We connect to it.''

Given that connection, where's your best chance to see some F1 celebrities?

Start with local haunts like the Flag Room at what used to be called the Speedway Motel (now the Brickyard Crossing Inn & Resort), Union Jack's Pub along Crawfordsville Road and the half-dozen bars dotting West 16th Street. Cheever said everyone who is anyone in F1, except maybe Michael Schumacher, has or will pass through one of these places during USGP week.