The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 1

WEATHER TODAY Sunny, Warm High, 85; Low, 59 Yesterday High, 81; Low, 56 THE INDIANAPOLIS Sec. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty" Cor. 3:1 7 VOL. 74, NO. 344 is SUNDAY, MAY 15, 1977 Singla BOBBY iND AL UNSER COMPLETE FIRST ROW neva Grabs Pole Star With Full Page Of Pictures On Page 3, Section 2 More Stories And Pictures In Sports Section And Page 6, Section 1 Map Of Main Routes To Motor Speedway, Page 7 By ROBIN MILLER Tom Sneva, an ex-schoolteacher who gave up the three Rs to drive race cars, struck a blow for the common man yesterday, winning the pole position for the 61st Indianapolis 500-Mile Race.

Sneva, an ever-p 1 a a young charger bitten by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's walls just the 'day before, came back to break the 200-mile-an-hour barrier, Johnny Rutherford's qualifying record and Team McLaren's back in the first, frantic day of qualifying for the May 29 classic. The 28-year-old driver from Spokane, ran two laps faster than 200 mph and had an average speed of 198.884 in Roger Penske's McLaren-Cosworth. He withstood the best shots of the cream of the United States Auto Club all afternoon and then watched the clock count Rutherford out for the third time. THE VIEW WASN'T SO nice for defending champion Rutherford, who saw his four-year-old track record erased, then gave up an almost certain front-row spot to gamble for the pole and lost. Lone Star J.R., who hit 200.624 mph in practice earlier this week, was waved off his initial try at 1:51 p.m.

by Team McLaren manager Tyler Alexander after turning laps at 195 and 196. The manifold pressure on his turbo-charger was only reading 70 inches instead of the maximum 80 allowed under United States Auto Club rules and with a short line of drivers wait- Walther with his chance for the pole resting with him. So Sneva, who won the Texas 200 last April, earned the right to pace the field and the money that accompanies it in his fourth Indy start. He shares the front row with a very fast family the Unser brothers. Bobby a two-time victor at Tony Hulman's place, shoved his Drake Offy in between the Cosworths of Sneva and brother Al by posting a surprising 197.618 run in his Cobre Lightning.

Baby Al, the back-to-back winner here in 1970 and 1971, put Parnelli Jones' creation in the third slot with a 195.950 clocking. A total of 16 cars qualified or 17, depending on how you count A.J. Foyt. Foyt, the four-time Indy pole sitter who's stalking his elusive fourth vic tory here, had two disappointing runs. He was the first man to qualify at 193.465 mph but USAC officials discovered they had placed a defective pop-off valve (the mechanical device that regulates the turbocharger boost) on his Coyote during technical inspection afterward.

So USAC's all-time winner was given a chance to qualify again and, to the absolute surprise of no one, he said sure. His second try was better-by just 1 mile an hour and his "of- Sec POLE Page 14 Order Of The Day 9 a.m. Gatps Open. a.m. Practice.

oon-6 p.m. Qualifying. But his McLaren "just quit running" coming out of the fourth turn on his warm-up lap. Pushed into the pits by his open-mouthed crew, Rutherford rushed back up to his original ride, which was eighth in line at the time. AND WHEN THE 6 p.m.

gun went off to end the first round of qualifications, J.R. was sitting behind Salt Tie Front Row 'i i nltfeW Jm 4 jtj) It I 'AjiHi v'V" ing to qualify, the McLaren team decided to work with the car and go out later in the afternoon. With his backup McLaren-Cosworth st ill in line and his No. 1 mount's bugs unsolved, Johnny decided to take advantage of falling track temperatures and go with the second machine, pulling out for his second qualification attempt shortly before 5:30. 12.

Sheldon Kmser (No. 97), Dragon Offy, 189.076 FIFTH ROW 13. George Snider (No. 18), Wildcat DGS, 188.976 14. Bobby Olivero (No.

78), Light-ningOffy, 188.452 15. Al Loquasto (No. 86), McLaren Offy, 187.647 SIXTH ROW 16. Jerry Sneva (No. 36 1, McLaren Offy, 186.616 Field average for the 16 qualified cars: 191.749.

This is 8.047 mph faster than the 1976 average for the first 16 cars in the starting field. They're Close Knit Snevas New Breed Of Racing Families Sfcfp-Tracfng Missing Persons Are Her Job All In TOM SNEVA FLASHES THE POLE-SITTER'S GRIN Set One And Four-Lap Qualification Record A. J. FOYT DEFENDS DECISION TO GET SECOND QUALIFYING CHANCE Faulty USAC Pop-off Valve Created Another Opportuniiy mJ009 Motv SB eg liaiv ii I mi Woman Hostage Escapes Youngstown, Ohio (AP) A young mother held hostage by a bank robber in her apartment for nearly 24 hours walked to freedom last night when the robber was distracted, authorities said. The gunman then walked out of the apartment, threw down two pistols, and surrendered.

He was whisked away in a police cruiser for questioning by the FBI. The woman escaped when police brought hamburgers to her and the gunman, according to Charles Mc-Kinnon, agent in charge of the Cleveland FBI office. He said the robber "just yielded to reasonableness." The woman. Clara Blair, 22, appeared to be unharmed. She was the last of four hostages taken Friday night following a robbery at a nearby bank.

LESS THAN four hours earlier, Mrs. Blair tossed her two children out a second-story window to FBI agents when the gunman was distracted. A third child was released by the gunman early yesterday in exchange for $2,000 cash. After the mother freed her children Danielle, 14 months, and Isaac, 4 the FBI gave the gunman an additional $4,000 as sign of good faith, agents said. The FBI identified the man as Archie Reginald Nelson, 29, of Youngstown.

During the standoff, the gunman had called himself variously Ralph Moseley, Ralph Moses or John. He took the hostages after fleeing a bank he had robbed Friday in this northeastern Ohio city. He demanded that two Cadillacs driven by FBI agents wearing only undershorts be provided for his escape. He also demanded "freedom and money," the FBI said. Police said he told them he had "nothing to lose." McKinnon said the gunman was in a hallway negotiating with agents when Mrs.

Blair appeared at an apartment window yesterday afternoon. AGENTS OUTSIDE motioned for her to toss the children, which she did, McKinnon said. Emmett Moore, a neighbor youth, was released about 2:30 a.m. when Youngstown Mayor Jack Hunter paid $2,000 cash the gunman had demanded. The boy had been playing outside the back door of the apartment when he was taken hostage.

At one point, the man saw television cameras and ordered that they be re-See HOSTAGE Page IS nue Service to harass political opponents? One of the more fascinating things to come to light in Watergate's wake as the revelation that the Kennedy regime had subjected Mr. Nixon to annoying tax audits. In many ways, Watergate can be considered a media event. For without its demonstrated hostility to Mr. Nixon particularly, and right-of-center Republicans generally, Watergate would not have been blown up into hysterical proportions.

The fact is that Democratic scandals of comparable, if not greater, significance were permitted to glide by without by a press which, in its lust for machismo, sought to disembowel a hated president. At the same time, every effort was made to redress the American political See MXON Page IS DRIVER BOBBY UNSER Hart Second Fastest Speed IT DIDNT START WITH WATERGATE 9. Mike Mosley (No. 5), Lightning Offy, 190.064 FOURTH ROW 10. Wally Dallenbach (No.

40), Wild-catDGS, 189.563 11. Johnny Parsons (No. 60), Wild-eatDGS, 189.255 The Crime The Victim The SnspevtH An In-Depth Report On The World's Biggest Robbery And Murder. Page 1, Section 3 Homes for $1 Each City Leading U.S. In Urban Homesteads All About 7927 Remember Those Good Old Days? All In Section 5 They'd Rather Fly Hearts In The Sky, They Walk The Earth In Section 6 FIRST ROW 1.

Tom Sneva (No. 8), McLarenCos-worth, 198.884 2. Bobby Unser (No. 6), Lightning Offy, 197.618 3. Al Unser (No.

21), ParnelliVPJ, 195.950 SECOND ROW 4. A. J. Foyt (No. 14), CoyoteFoyt, 194.563 5.

Gordon Johncock (No. 20), Wild-catDGS, 193.517 6. Mario Andretti (No. 9) McLaren Cosworth, 193.3-53 THIRD ROW 7. Dannv Oneais (No.

25), Parnelli VPJ, 193.040 8. Pancho Carter (No. 48 1, Eagle Offy, 192.452 The Weather Crow Says: ooks like the Unsers are back. better walch 'em. Indianapdlis Partly sunny and warm today; high, 85, low, 59.

Fair and mild tonight. Partly cloudy and warm tomorrow with high of 85. Indiana Partly sunny and warm today with highs 80-85. Fair and mild tonight, lows in mid to upper 50s. High tomorrow, mid 80s.

Today's Chuckle Experience is what makes you wonder how it got. a reputation for being the best teacher. Today's Prayer We ask You, Lord, to help us steady our hurried pace amidst the struggles of our day. Yet we thank You for the opportunity of striving to do our best. Amen.

Nixon's Excesses Followed Democrat-set Precedents (Star Photos By Frank H. Fisst) AL UNSER WITH THOUGHTS I'ront-Row Qualifier Was Richard Nixon the evil subvert-er of the American Republic that we have been led to believe or was he merely just another United States president taking actions that were deemed OK for his mainly Democratic predecessors? In a seven-part series, author and columnist Victor Lasky provides detailed accounts of presidential misdeeds of Democratic chief executives from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Lyndon B. Johnson. This Is the first article of the series, excerpted from "IT DIDN'T START WITH WATERGATE." less-publicized precedents in previous administrations.

TAPPING OF phones under President Nixon? A way of life under John F. Kennedy. The use of the Internal Reve By VICTOR LASKY North American Newspaper Alliance Washington Some day when the passions aroused by Watergate begin to subside as perhaps they already have begun to do objective historians may well ask themselves just what all the furor was about. Precisely what is Richard Nixon accused of doing, if he actually did it, that his predecessors didn't do many times over? The break-in and wiretapping at the Watergate? Just how different was that from the bugging of Barry Goldwa-ter's apartment during the 1964 presidential campaign? Granted that two wrongs don't make a right; but in law and politics, two wrongs can make a respectable precedent. And, despite its well-publicized excesses, Watergate had numerous though Secton 7 Star Telephone Numbers Circulation 633-9211 Main Office 633-1240 Want Ads 633-1212 Scores After 4:30 p.m.

633-1200 News Summary On Page 2.