The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 55

sports the Indianapolis Star Sec. 4 Markets SUNDAY, MAY 30, 1976 IFnnjjtt SttaaUUs. ALit 9 II iilllMI MT- EL i- 3 ond row are Gordon Johncock, Foyt, Gary Bettenhausen and Mike Mosley. Seated in the bottom row are pole-sitter Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser, Wally Dallernbach and Larry (Boom-Boom) Cannon. (Star Photos by Frank H.

Fisse) Cordon Johncock looks over the autographed driver's helmet in the empty chair which is supposed to be occupied by A. J. Foyt (left photo). Foyt was late for yesterday's driver's meeting and so United States Auto Club officials started the skull session without him. Foyt finally showed up (right photo) five minutes after the meeting had started and was pre- sented with 500 $1 bills which he won after he received Thermo-King's annual Jim Malloy Sportsmanship award.

Foyt then was kidded by the other drivers, who said the money would help pay Friday's fine which was levied against Foyt. Occupying the top row of the driver's platform are (left to right) Tom Sneva, Duane (Pancho) Carter and Billy Vukovich. In the sec Gasoline Alley Full Of Broken Dreams (C) 1976, THE WASHINGTON POST The most fascinating part of the most prestigeous auto show in the world is inside a fenced-off area the shape of two football fields laid side by side. It still is called Gasoline Alley even though no gasoline has been pumped there in years. The fuel for the machines that run today in the 50fl has changed drastically over the years.

But the fuel for the men and women at Indy is the familiar high-octane mixture of talent and greed. For 11 months each year, Gasoline Alley is largely quiet. For 31 days each May, it is the crowded dressing room just off center stage; the site of enormous schemes and broken dreams. It is where the man known as Ral- 4z34- tfk -frits IJ: ft .1 Maltbie Leading By Two Over Bies helps Unser hold his award. The presentation was made yesterday at the annual drivers' meeting at the Speedway.

(Star Photo by Frank H. Fisse) VICTORY EMBLEM Bobby Unser holds aloft an engraving of the front page of The Indianapolis Star detailing his triumph in the 500-Mile Race last year. Bill Ball (left), who presents each winner such a plaque. phie the Racer walked out once again with a fistful of money, nearly $11,000 this time, trying to buy his way to glory. He has visions of being the next Unser or Foyt if only someone will put him behind the wheel of an $80,000 car.

HAT-IN-HAND BEGGING never works for the Indy 500, the most commercial sports event in the where the winning driver gets $1,500 for his post-race swig of milk. So relatives and friends of 49-year-old Ralph Liquori gathered the money that would allow him to be more persuasive this year. Once again he failed. George the T-Shirt Man Inc. and the former Miss Nude America both are attracted to garage 45, which houses the car that Larry (Boom second place, had a 54-hole score of four under 212 on the par-72 Muirfield Village Golf Club Course, two shots better than first-round leader Don Bies.

Another stroke back at one under was Ron Funseth, while Alan Tapie and Jerry McGee were at even par. Bies and Tapie fired third-round 71s while Funseth and McGee came in with even par 72s. MALTBIE WASTED little time in taking command yesterday, sinking a birdie putt on the second hole while second-round leaaei Hubert Green took a double-bogey six. Maltbie- bogeyed the fourth, but had birdies on the six and seven to make the turn at two under 34. Maltbie, a 24-year-old Californian who burst onto the tour last year with consecutive wins, built a five-shot margin going to the i4th hole.

But a bogey on 14 was the first of three before he could get straightened away. On the 15th, his five-shot lead slipped to two when playing-partner Funseth rolled in a 20-foot eagle putt. The margin was cut to one on 16 when Maltbie picked up his third straight bogey. ON THE 17TH, MALTBIE hit his second shot about 10 feet from the pin and rolled in the birdie putt. Funseth, who appeared ready to take over the lead, missed the green and took three shots to get down.

That put Maltbie back on top by three. But, Bies, playing in the group following Funseth and Maltbie, rolled in a long birdie putt on the 17th to go two under and slip into sole possession of second place. Sports Index REDS Three-run rally in ninth downs Dodgers, 6-5 Page 3 Collins 2 Golf 10 Harness ....11 Scifres 7 Boom) Cannon will drive In Sunday's race. She is there because her husband invested in the car. George is there because Cannon's car will carry a small ad for his business.

The uniform for nearly every auto race in the country incudes a T-shirt, and George Thornton's shop in St. Louis apparently is bursting at the seams. He thought up and designed i ov a i T-shirts such as "Get Plugged with Champion." He did not expect to spend this much time hustling at Indy or to have that ad ride with Cannon. "You just sort of get addicted here, you know?" George said. "I'll probably follow the whole racing circuit, the whole scene now that I've gotten established.

Listen, these guys here (inside Gasoline Alley) have been hustled by the best of 'em. They only pay off if you deliver." George currently is trying to sell a shock-absorber firm with an idea for a shirt that will include the outline of a lovely woman with a race car on the side and the words: "Curve Control Monroe." DRIVER Cannon ran for the Illinois legislature and is fond of saying: "I was beaten but the people lost." One of the oddest sights here is Melanie, Joy and Linda, three models in fanny pants distributing post cards for 48-year-old Lloyd Ruby, who is about as sexy as a muffler. The cards also include a coupon worth 51 cents toward the next prescription at Ruby's sponsor, FaircoDrug. Jeep Bollinger wanders through the area in search of additions to his den in Springfield, Pa. He collects parts of famous cars the way others collect broken bats from Hall of Fame players front ends from cars driven by Billy Vukovich and Rich Muther; valves from Mike Mosley; Johnny Rutherford's face mask.

"I'm a nut, there's no different word," he said. "Who else would leave his wife for a week and come out here? I got in the pits for the first time this year and I a like a kid with a Christmas toy." Although they have never met, Bollinger and Jeanette Holder passed each other frequently this week. She also is a collector, of driver signatures for a quilt she hoped to complete in time to present to the winner tonight. "I come here each year because my birthday is Memorial Day, she said. "I used to race myself, in the early 50s.

I was the first woman who ever turned a car over at Beach Bend in Bowling Green, Ky. I'd quit racing, but went back en the track to teach someone else." That was long before Janet Guthrie. So long, in fact, that she once piled her hair up under her helmet, jumped inside a car and entered a race in Owensboro, under the name of her cousin, Elmore. She would have been dragged back to the kitchen, or somewhere more appropriate for a woman, had anyone noticed. But she survived as Elmore and won the race.

She was able to slink (torn the car undetected and Elmore collected the $50 first prize. Wente Wins IRP Feature; Astone Is Tripped Up Dublin, Ohio (UPI) Second-year pro Roger Maltbie withstood a string of three straight bogeys down the stretch yesterday to shoot a two-un- der-par 70 and take the third-round lead in the $200,000 Memorial Golf Tournament. Maltbie, who started the day in Race Hall Of Fame Gets Ontario Home The Auto Racing Hall of Fame created by the nation's leading motor racing writers and broadcasters will be established permanently at Ontario Motor Speedway in California later this year. That announcement was made at the annual Indianapolis breakfast meeting of the American Auto Racing Writers Broadcasters Association yesterday at the Speedway Motel. Presentation of a check for $500 from STP corporation started off the fund-raising campaign for the new hall.

In other action taken by the AARWBA, Bay Marquette of The Indianapolis Star was elected president of the group, succeeding Mike Knepper, editor of Motor Trend Magazine. Other officers are Dusty Brandel of Motorsports Weekly, treasurer; Deke Houlgate, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, general vice-president, and VPs Karl Ludvigson of Pelham Manor, N.Y.; Jerry Miller of Marion, Norm Froscher, Gainesville (Fla.) Slun, and Allen Wolfe, Long Beach (Calif.) Independent Press-Telegram, secretary. Race driver Salt Walther received the Jigger Sirois award after calling off a qualifying attempt that would nave made him tbe seventh starter and then took 182.797 mph for a 22d starting spot. A.J. Foyt was presented the jjim Malloy awar presented by Bill Snider of Thermo-King.

By ROBIN MILLER Bob Wente inherited the victory in last night's annual "night before the 500" midget race at Indianapolis Raceway Park after Tommy Astone was "tripped" Wente, the grand old man who was second in victories in this United States Auto Club division, took over top spot with one lap to go after Sleepy Tripp eliminated Astone and himself just after they took the white flag. TRIPP. WHO had been battling Astone for 15 straight circuits, ran into Tommy going into the first turn. They locked wheels, with Tommy sliding up to the fence and nailing it backwards. Sleepy rode the wall, did a couple of mid-air barrel rolls and came crashing down to the pavement rightside up.

It was a sad way to end such a fine dice. "He smack ran over me," shouted Astone, who made up for his loose chassis with some sharp driving. "I expect he's (Astone) mad since he was leading," said Sleepy, whose back was hurting pretty badly afterwards. "But if I would have been in his shoes, I'd have just said it was racing." There's no disputing Tripp's talent, he is a super racer. But last night he made a mistake and cost Astone a victory.

It's happened before and it will certainly happen again as long as there is open wheel racing. SLEEPY WAS fined $100 for rough driving following the race. Leads LPGA 3Ieet Betty Burfeindt Baltimore (AP) Betty Burfeindt, the third-leading money winner of 1976 who has not scored a tournament victory in three years, shot a par 73 under miserable playing conditions and took the third round lead yesterday in the Ladies Professional Golf Association championship. Playing in wind and rain, the 30-year-old Miss Burfeindt said she was lucky with her par round because of the high winds and rain, which caused her tew lose the club out of her hands on one swing. Wente took the checkered ahead of Steve Cannon, Steve Lotshaw, Ken Schrader, and Tom Brocious who turned in a nice drive coming from way back.

Bruce Fields flipped over the third turn wall in the first heat but escaped uninjured. Rich 1 who had set second quick-time, was running third in a three-way battle with Astone and Tripp when he was forced into the third-turn wall on the 15th lap and eliminated. TV Sports TODAY NBA PLAYOFFS Boston it PnMlHl, Channtl t. TENNIS Itilln Optn cmriat- 1 CDm-Ml GOLF Mtnwial Golf Tournimtnt, 1 p.m., CIim-ml VOLLEYBALL NCAA volleyball Hull, 1 Channel 20. FISHIN' HOLE 3:30 F.m., Channel 4.

TENNIS Worlt invitational Classic, miitd 'on. bus (Arthur Ashe-Chris Evert vs. Ilia Nastasi ami Rosio Casals), 3:30 P.m., Channel 13. WARD FISHING 4:30 Channel 4. DANCE FISHING 7 p.m., Channel 4.

AUTO RACING Film Of SM Milt RlCl, 7 p.m., Channel 4. ENHEY FISHING 7:30 p.m.. Channel 4. AUTO RACING 500 Mill Ract lnhligOK, f.M., Chanml o..