The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 3

ST MONDAY, MAY 29, 1989 THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR S-3 500 EXTRA Penske team perfection turns to chaos STAR PHOTOCORKY RICHMOND Mears' Penske teammate Danny Sullivan also dropped out early, victim of an ailing clutch. "I think we could have run just as strong (as Fittipaldi) with a couple more adjustments." Unser. radioed by his crew; about Sullivan's clutch problem, nursed his clutch with care but was soon sidelined by the problem. "As long as we stayed on the same lap, we were happy. It's a waiting game," Unser said.

"Race hard and hope that you can be in the right place at the right time at the end." But believe it or not. none of the plush Penske machines were around at the finish. Of expect them to be back, including Unser, who turned 50 today but said Sunday he has no plans of retiring. As for Sullivan, a bad month didn't get any better Sunday. In a practice crash May II, Sullivan suffered a mild concussion, a fractured right forearm and a bruised right foot.

He was! questionable to qualify and questionable to race, but did both. He started 26th and had moved up to I2th when things started to go wrong about 35 laps into the race. First was a pit stop where a wheel gun malfunctioned, and Sullivan's crew had to find a spare. Then, as he pulled "A couple of guys on the crew; confirmed they heard something let go," said Sullivan's chief mechanic. Chuck Sprague.

Said Sullivan, don't really know what happened. Coming down the straightaway, the: clutch went, and it's like somebody took the clutch in and just spins the motor. There's no drive going to the rear wheels. "So I slowed down, thinking we could save it, cool it down. We came into the pits, they checked it over, said it was gone.

I tried to go back out and could barely accelerate even a lap. It looked like it might be a problem with the clutch." Apparently it was. although Sprague said he would wait until the crew takes the car apart to make sure. Regardless, It capped a frustrating month for Sullivan. His right arm, in a heavy splint, created no unusual problems.

"Not any more than I had the whole time," Sullivan said. "It throbs, but it has been throbbing ever since the accident." By DAN DUNKIN And DAVID BENNER STAR STAFF WRITERS The team that conceivably could do no wrong had nothing go right in the 73rd Indianapolis 500. On a Sunday that dawned with promise for Penske Racing as bright as the blazing blue skies. Rick Mears, Danny Sullivan and Al Unser stumbled from their perennial perch in the Indy-car penthouse to, literally, the pits. After 113 laps, all three of Roger Penske's cars were out of the race.

For Penske, it was indeed a rare race day. For only the third time in 21 years at Indianapolis, one of his cars did not finish the "500." It was also the first time since 1975 that at least one Penske car didn't finish. Sullivan, the 1985 winner, had charged from 26th starting position to 12th when, after running 41 laps, his clutch went out. He finished 28th. Twenty-seven laps later, four-time winner Unser, who started next to teammate and pole-sitter Mears, was felled by the same problem.

He finished 24th. Two down, Mears to go. The defending "500" champ and three-time victor had started slowly but was staying consistently among the top five and beginning to get his chassis sorted out. Then on Lap 113, his engine let go. Mears wound up in 23rd place.

All Penske could do now was watch one of his PC-18s run off with the rest of the race. Before the season. Penske sold one of his premium chassis to good friend and car owner Pat Patrick. His driver, Emerson Fit-tipaldi, licked his chops and the competition in winning his first "500" Sunday. Penske claimed he did not regret his decision.

"Well, not really," Penske said from Mears' pit shortly after Mears went out. "I guess we couldn't handle (Fittipaldi's PC-18) today with our own cars. I don't have any second thoughts at all. "I guess we're cheering for Emerson now." But if Sunday put a damper on Penske's decade of dominance, don't think he'll be toss- "I try to keep everything on as even a keel as possible. You don't let the highs get real high: then the lows aren't real low, either." Mears couldn't catch Emmo because of a valve problem that plagued him from the start, reducing his boost from the maximum of 45 inches to as little as 43 inches.

"That's what hurt us on the start and in traffic," Mears said. "When I could run without traffic, I could run 216, 217." Mears experienced a push in his car in track conditions he said were favorable except for the wind. Before his engine blew, Mears was about to make a stop for wing adjustments he thought would have had his car handling close to optimum level. "We were just kind of setting a pace, (o see what everything (in the car) was going to do, but we just didn't run long enough." Mears said. "We thought everything was good other than the low boost, which was going to make it tough at the end of the day if we had to race with them.

ing and turning over Sunday's sour twists of fate. Five of his seven "500" wins came in the '80s, including four in the past five years. The past will help heal the pain. "Rick was running good. We were doing the best we could based on what we had today," Penske said.

"It was unfortunate, but that's racing." "This place has always been good to us," Mears added. "It was just one of those days. "At least it's not like this every year." Many thought this again would be Mears' year. But after setting the pace all month and breaking his own track records in qualifying, Mears never led a lap. Fittipaldi flew from the green flag on, with Mears and Unser in contention but clearly outclassed.

"You always have these days in racing," Mears said. "You probably have more of these than you do others (good days). It's one of those things: it wasn't our turn. We've had a good month up to this point, qualifying and everything else. Hill 8f I SMCSSSsli5; ..4 i tfaii lisiinif? mrfrr ritit i i nil STAR PH0T0VERN ATKINS Pole-sitter Rick Mears was plagued by engine problems and forced to leave the race.

He completed 113 laps. Andrettis' bad '500' luck knocks out Michael this time hlMMwm was nothing we could have done to prevent what happened." Instead, Andretti was philosophical about the reason for the engine's failure. "I think the pace caught everyone by surprise," said Andretti. "I didn't expect to run 220 (miles per hour) in the race. Maybe it was just too much for the car." It didn't look like anything would be too much for Newman-Haas 1 989 Lola Chevy V-8 Sunday.

He moved into contention when he passed his father on Lap 48 and moved into second place. A little later, he took his first lead, and actually had the lead four times for 35 of his 163 laps (which was good for $15,750 in lap prize money). And it actually looked as though luck might be on Michael's side starting at Lap 131. At that point, Fittipaldi led by nearly an entire lap. He made a pit stop during a yellow caused by Didier Theys' tow-in, then both competitors came into the pits again when Jim Crawford stalled on the course.

That allowed Andretti to catch up, and he finally got past Fittipaldi on Lap 153. The lead grew to five seconds, but, suddenly, a puff of smoke came out of the rear of Michael's car as he moved down the main straightaway. His day was over. He walked back to his garage, head down, lifting it only to wave at the crowd cheering him behind the pits. But the smile and wave were understandably forced.

"Obviously, I know how he feels," said father Andretti. "He was in good shape for the win. I feel we had two of the best cars in the field. I think it's a great tribute to our team." Michael agreed. By DAVE GARLICK STAR STAFF WRITER It's a scene that has been played out in an Andretti garage many times before.

The disappointment acute. With head down and voice low, questions are answered grudgingly, AVith shrugs, grunts and gestures. Words were hard to come by. Perhaps Michael Andretti tried a little harder 15 smile after his hopes were dashed in Sunday's 73rd Indianapolis 500 than his father, Mario, might have, -t But not much. Michael had a chance, an excellent chance, to win Sunday's race when he passed eventual winner Emerson Fittipaldi on Lap 153.

Unfortunately for Michael, just 10 laps later, his engine gave up. Through no fault of his own, a potential victory turned into a heartbreaking 17th-place finish. "1 guess I should have been worried," said the 26-year-old Michael, trying again to smile. "The ride was so smooth, it was scary. I had no idea something was about to happen.

I'm just sorry it did." So once again, bad luck hit an Andretti at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Two years ago, Mario started on the pole and led after 180 laps, but his ignition let loose and Al Unser Sr. stepped into a victory. That was the most recent Andretti disappointment. Not that Michael hasn't had some of his own.

Three years ago, for example, Michael led most of the early going but wound up finishing sixth. "A curse? A jinx?" asked Michael. "I don't know, maybe, it's starting to look that way. I do know there is nothing I can do to change it. There Engine troubles forced Michael Andretti STAR PHOTOJAY ALLEN to withdraw.

He completed 163 laps and action, not to be talking about a heartbreaking briefly in the race. "I think my car was better than Emerson's." said Michael. "In the beginning he was better than us. I think we had an edge on fuel and that could have been a big advantage at the end. "The car was great.

It was the best prepared car I've ever had here. The guys did a great job." Andretti then paused for a second, and listened from the garage area to the crowd's roar as Al Unser Jr. passed Fittipaldi as the race neared the end. His eyes showed a longing to be in the final-lap failure. Then he shrugged his shoulders.

"We had the best car." he said. "The pit stops were flawless. Everything was going well. I was; confident." Then again. Andretti lowered his head, and; shuffled off to the garage.

He paused for a second; as the crowd roared again, looked at the leadef. board, then went into his garage. He was still there when the race ended. This Brazilian will return to Indy to challenge Emmo i 4 Everything worked 100 percent. We'll be back next year." Raul Boesel year, he hopes a few bugs will be worked out of the Buick engine that powered his car.

"The car is reliable, and it works well in traffic." he said. "There are just a few things to do to get the engine in shape." Boesel started his Domino's LolaBuick from the outside of Row 3. He steadily worked his way to the front of the field, and led the race at Lap 36 before falling back. He was 10th at Lap 50 and seventh at the halfway point. Strong pit work, a steady pace and attrition moved him into fourth place by Lap 150 and third by Lap 170.

Boesel was able to make his march to the front despite a mishap in the pits (one of several in (he newly resurfaced pit area). "Our pil stops were great." said Boesel. "We had a little ish line under the yellow flag. Although Unser was not on the track at the finish, he had completed 198 laps when he was introduced to the wall by Fittipaldi's wheel. Boesel.

though running, was still third at the finish, four laps behind Unser. Boesel's third-place finish was his best performance in four starts at Indy as well as his best-ever finish in any Indy-car race. The third-place performance also marked his second appearance in the Top 10 at Indianapolis. Boesel was pleased, bul not quite satisfied. "The goal when you come here is to win." he said.

"The car was perfect. Everything worked 100 percent. We'll br back next year." When Boesel does return next earned the dubious distinction of being the most distant third-place finisher in the history of the race. Up until 1964, every racer who could finish the race was allowed to complete the full 200 laps. Since 1964, the racers have been flagged after the winner crosses the finish line.

In that period, no third-place finisher has ever been more than two laps off the winner's pace. On Sunday, with Fittipaldi consistently throwing in lap speeds of 215 to 220 miles per hour, the winner's pace was torrid. The speeds caught Boesel by surprise. "Our pace was what 1 had expected," Boesel said. "The pare of the race was a little higher than 1 thought it would be." By JERRY GARAU STAR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT With less than two laps to go in Sunday's Indianapolis 500, Raul Boesel cruised down the speedway backstretch, six laps behind the leaders, but a fraction of an inch from the lead.

Boesel was lodged comfortably, albeit distantly, in third place when race leaders Emerson Fittipaldi and Al Unser. Jr. did their bump and grind in Turn 3 of Lap 199. And. with just a tad more bump or a bit more grind, there might have been a different Brazilian in the winner's circle.

Hut only Unser was bruised by the bump. Fittipaldi emerged from the tangle without a scratch, and Boesel was left to follow his compatriot to (he fin excitement on one, though. I came into the pit too hot and I tried to slow clown, but the wheel locked and I spun out. The team didn't panic. They got things straightened out, and we didn't lose a place." By finishing six laps behind Fittipaldi.

Boesel probably STAR PHOTOMAX TRUBY Raul Boesel pleased with third-place showing..