Former teammates cheer Wheldon win

Bryan Herta in 2006 – his last year as a driver.

The four Musketeers. That's what Bryan Herta calls them.

They were big winners individually and collectively for Andretti Green Racing in its heyday, as well as tight-knit friends.

Now they're racetrack rivals. But nobody was happier to see Herta and Dan Wheldon chug milk Sunday after the 95th Indianapolis 500 than the other two Musketeers, Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan.

"We had an opportunity, the four of us got together for dinner about a week ago," said Herta, who quit racing in the IndyCar Series at the end of 2006 and has since become a team owner. "Literally we laughed till our sides hurt just reminiscing about those times.

"There was a bond that formed between the four of us during those years that will never change."

Franchitti was a part of Team Green in the heat of the rivalry between the two American open-wheel series, Champ Car (now defunct) and the Indy Racing League (now IndyCar). Michael Andretti bought into the team, resulting in a name change, and it moved to IndyCar in 2003.

The other three joined that year, Kanaan by switching teams and series, Wheldon as a rookie coming up and Herta stepping in for an injured Franchitti.

Together from 2003-'05, the four racked up 21 victories and two championships for Andretti Green. Adding Franchitti's 2007 title to the one Kanaan claimed in '04 and Wheldon's from'05, AGR took three in four seasons.