The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 45

D-4 THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR FRIDAY, MAY 11, 1990 BSjjQEl Getting to the track on time. Collins Pit Pass Wx rrf "tV By CURTCAVIN fflclals advise spectators to Routes to the speedway leave early and take one of the routes represented here. Hundreds of Indianapolis police and Marlon County sheriff's deputies will sra direct motorists to the track on routes they deem quickest aSLI Mrlon County Parking 38th St. Straal Parting 3umst. I IWletro $00" i 1 iK A 25th st I forty iethst.

Continued from Page 1 If he walked away today, he could stroll straight into a television booth. There also must be more than a few racing-oriented companies that would like him out in front. And if the folks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway have any smarts, they will grab him and stick him in a decision-making position. I have not talked to J.R.. mainly because he would use his considerable powers of persuasion to talk me out of what I'm about to say.

And he's going to be one angry "Texican" when he reads this. But I think it's time, old friend, time to remove the helmet from the cockpit. You know that few have worked harder to keep you in business. And some of my whacky deals almost almost came through. But I don't think there is anything there anymore.

The folks with deep pockets say, "Oh, yeah, John Rutherford. He was a great driver. But how old is he now, about 52?" If you ignore my advice, something you have been doing for over 30 years, you know I will be there walking the line with you; But don't finish your career as one of those people patrolling the garage area with a helmet under his arm. You're too good, too proud, for that. You're a winner, a champion.

Nobody wants to see you banging walls and getting yourself busted up. I'll be honest with you and the people who glance at my part of the sporting page; there are tears in my eyes as I write this. But we're looking at the end of the line. If the word "retirement" Is too bitter, follow the Parnelli Jones route. P.J.

maintains that he hasn't retired, he just isn't racing. Sure, it's difficult for somebody who loves the sport as much as you do, and who still thinks he can run with the best. But let's face it: there's life after auto racing. And it beats hanging around those people who wear white coats and check your vital signs. WALKER STAYING WITH CART COMMITTEE The controversial winds of rules have blown through the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but they haven't swept away Derrick Walker.

Despite reports to the contrary. Walker remains a man with two jobs. Along with his position as general manager of Porsche Motorsport North America, Walker will continue to be CART'S rules committee chairman, a Job he's held since last October. "This is the first I've heard of that." Walker said, fighting Thursday's cold wind. "I think the job needs a lot more hours than I'm giving, and that annoys me.

A lot of people would like to have the rules changed to suit themselves, but there aren't a lot of people willing to spend the time. If there is, I'd like to know." What made the rumor believable is that Walker and Porsche have taken a beating recently in the Indy-car rules-making arena. Walker, who helped bring CART and the speedway together for talks this winter, wasn't happy when CART owners changed the rules 72 hours later. He was also upset when his team's all-carbon-fiber chassis was disallowed in January. "I don't take the job personally, let's put it that way," he said.

"There's a job to do and I really haven't let my personal frustrations enter into it. Although there's still a lot of controversy about the rules there always will be we've accomplished a great deal. The relationship between the speedway and CART is much better than it has been in a few years, and I feel quite gratified to be a part of that." LOST FRIEND, PART II The speedway lost a second friend Wednesday when long-time USAC observer Rolland "Lefty" Hurt died. Bill Pyle, a 22-year assistant to public address announcer Tom Carnegie, also died Wednesday. The 61 -year-old Hurt had been chief observer at IMS since 1980 and was a long-time observer for USAC's many series.

He suffered a stroke on Good Friday and was admitted to Christ Hospital in Oaklawn, 111., for a scheduled operation Wednesday. A blood clot reportedly formed around 8 p.m. after the surgery, triggering a fatal heart attack. ROOKIES GET TROPHY TASTE Four Indy 500 rookie drivers witnessed the unveiling of the new Bank One Rookie of the Year replica trophy Thursday. At a breakfast in Bank One's Turn 2 suite, drivers Jeff Andretti, Dean Hall, Scott Goodyear and Jeff Wood saw what could be theirs a glass replica of the permanent rookie trophy which resides in the Speedway Hall of Fame.

I Bank One has sponsored the award for 12 consecutive years, presenting the first to Howdy Holmes in 1979. Past Bank One award winners include Teo Fabi ('83), Michael Andretti and Roberto Guerrero ('84). Arie Luyendyk ('85), Billy Vukovich III ('88) and Bernard Jordain and Scott Pruett ('89). Eddie Cheever, Guido Dacco, Mike Groff and Buddy Lazier also are gunning for the 1990 award, which carries a $10,000 bonus. DIAMOND FOR WINNING MECHANIC The chief mechanic of the winning Indy 500 car will receive a diamond in his ring this year.

The Loctite Corporation, which presented its first victory ring to Patrick Racing's Tom Anderson last May, will insert a diamond in the center of the red sapphire. The award will be retroactive to include Anderson's ring. AROUND GASOLINE ALLEY Word is that Mann Motorsports has purchased an '89 Lola for its second driver, John Paul Jr. The team's primary driver. Steve Chassey, apparently Isn't happy about the arrangement since the sponsorship deal with Kasle Recycling called for Chassey to be the top priority for making the field.

The team has Just two cars Care to hear Chassey? Call his 900 telephone number. For $2 the first minute and 75 cents each additional minute, fans can hear Chassey read trackside reports. Also servicing 900 is Shelley Unser, who reportedly interviews drivers. Including her husband Al Jr. Just wondering: Will George Snider jump in A.J.

Foyt's '86 March with Chevy V-6 power at the last minute? buses will plcfc up passengers beginning at 6:30 a.m Saturday at three Downtown boarding points. Saturday, the shuttles will operate to and from the track every 15 minutes during the first 90 minutes, and as often as required thereafter. Also Saturday, shuttle service will be provided from Indianapolis International Airport beginning at 6:30 a.m. and continuing every half-hour as required. "500" parking available In three designated lots as well as street and off-street parking.

Taking the bus Downtown Metro boarding points HK' Indianapolis fSl v. I i It( IntarnatlonalV tl Airport JU- ysSss5a4 Board "500" Express on the lower at the Metro stop. Station Express 1 Ohio Convention enter Pan Am Plaza service will be $2 each way. STAR STAFF ILLUSTRATION from Methodist Hospital Thursday morning. "I remember the back end coming out and letting (the car) go a little bit to let it straighten up." said the three-time Indy winner.

"But it caught and came around. FRIDAY NIGHT auto races! 10 Races 50 lap Feature MIDGETS Adults $8 Galw Open 6O0 ChikJ.6-11 $2 First Race 8:00 under 6 FREE 'Spend an evening at the Speedrome and you touch racing It pure, old-fashioned but most of all, the Speedrome Is an authentic 'Hoosler experience.1 INDIANAPOLIS Phont: 3S3-B206 U.S. 52 1 Kltlty I 1 Ohio St. 11 1 Market St. :4 I I 3eorgla St 8 Sources: Metro, Indianapolis Police Department 1990 INDIANAPOLIS 500 ENTRIES Diffuser Continued from Page 1 "I want to know what It's going to take? How many more guys have to crash? Do we have to kill somebody? "I sure hope not." While the 1990 cars own the top eight speeds of the month, Thursday's fastest lap was turned in by an older car basically because that's about all that tried to run.

Considering the conditions. Diffuser Rear view off car 29T Pancho Carter (15) 1988 LolaCosworth 30 Arie Luyendyk (5) 1990 LolaChevrolet 30T Arie Luyendyk (5) 1990 LolaChevrolet 31 No driver 1989 LolaJudd 33 A.J. Foyt (32) 1990 LolaChevrolet 37 No driver PenskeChevrolet 39 Dean Mall (R) 1988 LolaCosworth 39T Dean Hall (R) 1988 LolaCosworth 40 Al Unser (24) 1990 MarchAlfa 40T Al Unser (24) 1990 MarchAlfa 41 John Andretti (2) 1990 MarchPorsche 41T No driver 1989 MarchPorsche 44 Jeff Wood (R) 1989 LolaCosworth 44T Jeff Wood (R) 1989 LolaCosworth 47 No driver PC-18Chevrolet 48 No Driver 1987 LolaCosworth 50 Mike Groff (R) 1989 LolaCosworth 50T Mike Groff (R) 1988 LolaCosworth 51 Gary Bettenhausen 1989 LolaBuick 52 No driver None listed 52T No driver None listed 56 Rocky Moran (2) 1989 LolaCosworth 56T Rocky Moran (2) 1988 LolaCosworth 58 No driver 1989 MarchPorsche 60 No Driver 1988 LolaBuick 66 Guido Dacco (R) 1989 LolaJudd 69 Bernard Jourdain (1) 1989 LolaBuick 69T Bernard Jourdain (1) 1988 LolaBuick 70 Didier Theys (1) PC-18Buick 71 No driver 1989 LolaJudd 77 Salt Walther (7) PC-17Cosworth 77T Salt Walther (7) 1988 LolaCosworth 80 No Driver None listed 81 Billy Vukovich (2) 1988 LolaBuick 81T Billy Vukovich (2) LolaBuick CD. Washlnflttn Maryland St. 'j Ci level Saturday, shuttle Jim Crawford's lap of 208.686 mph in the Glidden Paints '89 LolaBuick was pretty respectable.

"I can't help it that no one else wanted to go out today." said Crawford. "I had to use caution In Turns 2 and 3, but we've tested here in worse conditions." The only other driver over 200 mph was Tero Palmroth. as the top teams stayed Inside. Johnny Rutherford, who suffered a concussion after hammering the third-turn wall on Wednesday In the Conseco '89 LolaCosworth, was released Insert Is added to decrease opening. STAR STAFF ILLUSTRATION qualified on his third attempt and had a car no one thought much of." I went another direction.

When was the last upset In Indy-car racing, period? Laycock surveyed other experts. The answers were Jacque Villeneuve at Elkhart Lake in 1985; before that, John Paul Jr. at the Michigan 500 in 1983. It's not Just Indy car racing, though. Some veteran speed scribes said there hasn't been a real upset in Formula One racing since 1983, when Italian Michele Alboreto won the Detroit Grand Prix, And Team McLaren Is an even greater force on the G.P.

circuit than Team Penske Is with Indy cars. The good ol boys of NASCAR have their dominant names and teams, too, but at least an upset remains possible. Derrike Cope, for example, won this year's Daytona 500. What does It all mean? Not much, I suppose, other than furthering a wish that Indy car racing's movers and shakers, Just once, could put their petty differences aside and do something that would bring competitive depth to their sport. Now that would be an tSset.

Dome Was; f' Now: 1irSheS 0 8ihes "I saw it coming and tried to anticipate when to try to steer It off the wall, but it was too late." Billy Vukovich III, who smacked the wall last Monday and was knocked out momentarily, was cleared to drive agairr by Dr. Henry Bock. COUPON MR. T's BRAKE SHOPS RACK PINION i STEERING GEARS i AND lQ C.V. FRONT -1 DRIVE AXLES Ql INSTALLED ON ALL DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN CARS i DISC BRAKES 1Q95 I INSTALLED Mm INSTALLED I ON MOST US 4 FOKHON CARS WTTH THIS COUPON ASK ABOUT OUR St.aoe WARRANTYj I MR.

T's BRAKE SHOPS I 5h.i,,5l mm Post Time EDT. CHURCHILL DOWNS' 1990 Churdmi Downs Incopiled speedway underdogs No. Driver (Starti) ChassisEngine 1 Emerson Fittipaidi (6) PenskeChevrolet IT Emerson Fittipaidi (6) PenskeChevrolet 2 flick Mears (12) PenskeChevrolet 2T Rick Mears (12) PenskeChevrolet 3 Michael Andretti (6) 1990 LolaChevrolet 3T Michael Andretti (6) 1990 LolaChevrolet 4 Teo Fabi (4) 1990 MarchPorsche 4T Teo Fabi (4) 1990 MarchPorsche 5 Al Unser Jr. (7) 1990 LolaChevrolet 5T Al Unser Jr. (7) 1990 LolaChevrolet 6 Mario Andretti (24) 1990 LolaChevrolet 6T Mario Andretti (24) 1990 LolaChevrolet ,7 Danny Sullivan (7) PenskeChevrolet 7T Danny Sullivan PenskeChevrolet 8 Rich Vogler (5) PC-17Buick 8T Rich Vogler (5) PC-17Buick 9TomSneva(16) PC-18Buick 10 No driver 1989 LolaJudd 11 Kevin Cogan (9) PC-18Buick 12 Randy Lewis (3) PC-17Buick 2T Randy Lewis (3)- PC-17Buick 14 A.J.

Foyt (32) 1990 LolaChevrolet f5 Jim Crawford (4) 1989 LolaBuick 15T Jim Crawford (4) 1989 LolaBuick 16 T. Bettenhausen (8) 1989 LolaBuick 16T T. Bettenhausen (8) 1989 LolaBuick 17 John Rutherford 1989 LolaCosworth 17T John Rutherford (24) 1988 LolaCosworth 18 Bobby Rahal (8) 1990 LolaChevrolet 1ST Bobby Rahal (8) 1990 LglaChevrolet 19 Raul Boesel (4) 1989 LolaJudd 19T Raul Boesel (4) 1989 LolaJudd 20 Roberto Guerrero (5) 1990 MarchAlfa 20T Roberto Guerrero (5) 1990 MarchAlfa 21 Geoff Brabham (7) 1989 LolaJudd 21T Geoff Brabham (7) 1989 LolaJudd 22 Scott Brayton (8) 1990 LolaCosworth 22T Scott Brayton (8) 1990 LolaCosworth 23 Tero Palmroth (2) 1990 LolaCosworth 23T Tero Palmroth (2) 1989 LolaCosworth 25 Eddie Cheever (R) PC-18Chevrolet 25T Eddie Cheever (R) PC-18Chevrolet 27 No driver 1990 LolaCosworth 28 Scott Goodyear (Rl 1989 LolaJudd 28T Scott Goodyear (R) 1989 LolaJudd 29 Pancho Carter (15) 1990 LolaCosworth Top dogs f)NE OF the better if not the best aspects of sport is Its unpredictability. In cliche-land, that means the upsetsurpriseshocker staged by the long shotdark horseunderdog. At a time when you least expect it.

a Buster Douglas up and knocks Mike Tyson on his behind. A '69 Mets wins a World Series. A Vlllanova beats a Georgetown for the NCAA championship; a North Carolina State takes out Houston. An Unbridled or a Gato Del Sol captures a Kentucky Derby a favorite, in fact, hasn't won the Derby in 12 years). A U.S.

hockey team beats the Soviet Union for a gold medal. You get the idea. And those are Just some of the more well-known examples. Throughout sport, at every level, competitors have reason to believe that no matter how Inferior they may seem they at least begin every contest on a relatively equal basis. Football coaches like to call it "playing on a level field." Anij then, who kttows? If ev-erythjfeg goes right, you Just 84 No Driver 1986 MarchChevy V-6 tx uominic uooson issu LOiaooswonn 87 No driver 1990 LolaCosworth 88 No Driver 1990 LolaChevrolet 91 Buddy Lazier (R) 1988 LolaJudd 92 No driver 1988 MarchBuick 93 No driver None listed 95 Eddie Cheever (R) PC-18Chevrolet 96 Steve Chassey (3) 1987 LolaBuick 97 Stan Fox (2) 1987 LolaBuick 97T Stan Fox (2) None listed 98 Jeff Andretti (R) 1989 LolaCosworth cast aside Bill Benner maybe somehow might win.

Obviously and sadly that is not the case in the wacky world of auto racing and specifically, out on West 16th Street, where again they're proving that "speedway controversy" is redundant. I don't even pretend to understand what It's all about beyond the fact that a few powerful men with high-priced toys want to make sure that their winning edge is, at the very least, an abyss. They want to be certain they're going to beat guys whom they were going to beat anyway. I suppose that's covering all bases. But It did get me to thinking about the virtual monopoly the rich and powerful have over their less blessed motorsport counterparts.

And that raised tfttr question when was the last time there was an upset winner at Indy? For an opinion, I went to speedway historian Bob Laycock, who does not come by his title lightly. I put the upset matter before him. Laycock thought for awhile and produced the name of Graham Hill, in 1966. Hill was a world driving champion, to be sure, but already had failed In one quest to qualify at Indy. In 1966, Hill made It into the show in the middle of the pack as the third driver on a team that had Jim Clark and Rodger Ward.

But a first-lap crash wiped out a bunch of contenders and Hill managed to coast and collect the trophy even though he passed few cars that day. Laycock says that there still are those who question whether Hill actually won the race. Hill, nonetheless, was a glamour driver on a good team. So I asked Laycock to name the last so-called "have not" to win Indy a real long shot. Laycock thumbed through the record book and his memory some more.

"Maybe Kelly Petillo in 1935," Laycock "He Friday Summer Band Series Get down to the sounds of Recordio from in the Paddock Pavilion. Brought to you by Miller Genuine Draft and WQMF. Twilight Post Time EDT. Saturday Free Kodak Photo Get a souvenir photo of this year's Derby winner, free to the first 15,000 paid admissions. Come early for Dawn at the Downs and watch the horses' morning workouts, anytime Post Time EDT.

Sunday Mother's Day Make it special! Free Philip Morris "Hip Pack" to the first 5,000 women's paid admissions. I.