The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 61

The Indianapolis Star SUNDAY, MAY 13, 1SS4 Section FIRST ROW HOWDY HOLMES 41 Mayer Motor Racist wrKaiirm TOM SNEVA 1 Ttxat Star RICK MEARS Pennzoil MKKWW1I 5 209113 209898 210423 210.689 i 43165 208i02 43.193 208 367 207.727 43520 206.801 ToUls 151204 207.847 :41039 41878 41771 J-Vl .42.717 to Ai 151.405 151 405 :43297 207.867 43227 208.203 :41352 207 603 43220 208.237 Totals 153.096 207.977 Total! 210 029 Star WH kf tttarl OmM SECOND ROW GORDON JOHNCOCK 20 STP Oil Treatment MARIO ANDRETTI 3 NewmanHaas Budweiser MICHAEL ANDRETT1 99 Kraco Enterprises Mrcfc-Coort1i 41923 209 687 it 1 1, ma til -AVf :43.i36 208642 Tom Sneva glides down the front stretch on his way to two track records Defending champ qualified for the pole with a 210.029 and had a lap of 210.689 Tire adjustment pet Sneva on top :43264 208.025 43243 208126 :43.388 207.431 43344 207.641 Totali :43309 207.809 I 43.313 207.790 :41411 207.321 if I 43423 207263 2 53.456 207.545 Vs :44.346 202.950 ToUls XV 253.522 207467 1 2:53.239 207.805 THIRD ROW GEOFF BRABHAM 18 Kraco Car Stereo ROBERTO GUERRERO I Master Mechanic Tools HERM JOHNSON 28 Menard Cashway Lumber MrcltCoMOrfli I :44.162 203.795 I Cyvy :43.989 204.597 I -1 :43.883 205.091 43699 205.954 :43.583 206.503 :43 951 204.773 :43.765 205.644 ToUli 2:54.998 205.717 44 315 203.092 :43.884 205.086 :43.816 205.404 :43.654 206.167 Totals 255.669 204.931 ToUls 155938 204.618 FOURTH ROW DANNY ONGAIS 25 Interscope Racing March-Cotwortti AJ.FOYT 4 Greer-Gilmore MarcMoiwortk AL UNSER SR. 2 Miller High Life Mirch-Cotwortil on 203.270 204.638 203.335 :44.276 :43.980 i :44.262 By DAVE OVERPECK For the third time in his career Tom Sneva sits on the pole for the 500 Mile Race with new track records for one and four laps. He is one of the great qualifiers the Speedway has seen he also had fast time in the field in 1981 when he was a second-period qualifier. But the defending 500 champion says it is more his expertise in car set up than his skills as a driver that makes him go do fast "ACTUALLY, I THINK I'm worth less (on a qualifying run) now than I used to be," he said Saturday after Uking Texaco Star March 84C to the official one-lap record of 210.689 miles an hour and the four-lap standard of 210.029. "I think what I add now is my knowledge on what it Ukes to get around the race track." Sneva 'used some of that expertise Saturday in coming out of the weeds to become the first defending 500 champion to claim the pole since '64 winner A.J.

Foyt turned the trick in 1965. "We figured out how the tires would react," he said in explaining how he produced more speed in the heat of the afternoon than Rick Mears and Mario Andretti could get in cooler conditions a couple hours earlier. Sneva had watched others slow down on successive laps on their runs. So he set his stagger so the tires would work better the longer they ran. "They did exactly that," he said.

"We had it a i little too loose on the first two laps, but the car was pretty neutral on the last two." And the 35-year-old got faster with each of those four trips around the 2Vi-mile rounded rectangle 209.113, 209.898, 210.423 and 210.689. "THE FIRST COUPLE laps I had to lift just a More stories. Pages 2. full page of pictures. Page 4 qualifying scorecard, timing chart.

Page 6 little it was dancing around pretty good. But after that it was fine." Actually, Sneva said becoming the first man to top 210 in qualifying was easier than being the first to do it at more than 200 seven years ago. "The cars are so easy to drive now that you don't have to use up as much of the track as you used to." In some ways that makes this year's set of records a little less exciting than the 1977 issue. But in other ways, it was better. "In some ways, it's more rewarding," he said.

"The cars are much closer together than they have been in the past That makes us feel pretty good that we could go out there and beat them at least in qualifying." That Sneva beat "them" the Andrettis, Mears and Johncock in qualifying might have come as a surprise to those who aren't familiar with his history of coming up with just a little something extra when the clocks are running for real. The best he had shown in a week of practice was a lap at 208.623 on Friday afternoon. He finally tipped his hand in Saturday morning's warmups when he reeled off a 210.772 lap. THAT SORT OF THING leads to accusations of sandbagging and Sneva wasn't going out of his way to deny them. Only occasionally did he run hard through a full lap in practice.

"There's only so many tickers left in the old heart and I didn't want to waste them too early," he joked. "We figured we were the only persons concerned See SNEVA Page 2 44174 203.740 :44.098 204.091 44 103 204.068 44 115 204.012 Totals 2:56.490 203.978 :44.074 204.202 204.128 :43 973 204.671 44 005 204.522 :44022 204.443 Totals 2 56.090 204 441 ToUls 2:56.592 203.860 a. 1 FIFTH ROW TEO FABI 33 Skoal Bandit March-Coworth AL UNSER JR. 7 Coors Silver Bullet Mirch-Coiwortli TOM CLOY 77 Simoniz Finish Mrth-Cotwrth i :43.888 205.067 :43 934 204.853 44290 203.206 :44.705 201.320 Totals 202.922 44 210 203.574. 44 132 203.934 :44 294 203.188 ToUls 156.988' 203 44 151 203.846 :44 186 203.684 :44.159 203.809 :44 184 203.694 Totals 2:56.680 203.758 ill; 2:56.817 203.600 SIXTH ROW TONY BETTENHAUSEN 16 Provlml Veal MircH-Cotwortti AL HOLBERT 21 C.R.C.

Chemical Mtrch-CMWtti BOBBY RAHAL ElevenRed Roof Mtrckonartti 44 447 202.488 A A A Ml AAA AM A il :44.498 202256 :44.464 202 411 :44 253 203.376 :44.459 202.434 :44.327 203.037 Totals 2:57.503 202.813 44 592 201.830 :44.275 203.275 :44.153 203.837 :44.306 203.133 Totals 2:57.326 203.016 :44 578 201.893 ToUls 2:58.015 202.230 SEVENTH ROW DICK SIMON 22 Break Free Mtrch-CouMrth PATRICK BEDARD 35 Escort Radar Mtrcti-Bulck V4 PANCHO CARTER 10 American Dream Mtrdi-Cotworth 44 615 44 540 :44.504 :44.705 201.726 202.066 202.229 201.320 44 1 19 203.994 203.156 :44.802 200.884 :45 071 199.685 Totals 2:58.293 201.915 :44.711 201.293 :44.479 202343 :44.455 201452 :44.732 201.198 ToUls' 158.377 201.820 ToUls 2:58.364 201.834 EIGHTH ROW EMERSON FITTIPALDI 47 GTS Racing JOSELE GARZA 55 SchaeferMachinisU CHIP GANASSI 40 Old Milwaukee MrctHCowiorttl Front row just fine for Mears By DAVID BENNER At last, it was Rick Mears' turn to smile and laugh a little. After qualifying Saturday for the Indianapolis 500, Mears said of his 207.847 qualifying run, "If that holds for the pole, I'll be faced tonight and I may not be able to drive tomorrow." Well, the speed didn't hold up for the pole, but it was good enough for the outside of the first row. And the way things have, gone for Mears, car owner Roger Penske and the Pennzoil crew, that turned out to be a bit of an upset So, you can forgive Mears and probably the rest of the crew, if they all didn't go a little face down Saturday night Prior to Saturday; afternoon's qualifying run, there wasnt a whole lot for Penske Co. to shout about In the first two races of the season at Long Beach and Phoenix they were, uh, there. Penske's PC 12s in the sUble were not very competitive with the Marchs on the circuit Thus, when Mears and teammate Al Unser Sr.

arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week, the PC 12s went into the truck and out rolled a couple of new 84 Marchs. The result can be seen in the first row with Mears and in the third row with Unser. "FM REAL happy we did so well today," Penske said. "The only disappointment was that we couldn't run our own cars, but that's more my disappointment I'm in it for the team, the sponsor and the driver and we're here to win." "It was a combination of a lot of things," Mears said, "but the main thing was we weren't winning races." So with hardly any big track testing, Mears preceded to cut a 210 in practice last week. Then when he qualified, he sat on the pole until Tom Sneva blew everybody off the track.

But the Penske team had, at the least Marched back to am :44.505 :44.906 44 961 203.671 202.224 200.419 201.419 0 :44.887 200.503 44 845 200.691 :44.632 201.649 :44.671 201.473 ToUls 159.035 201.078 :44.734 201.189 44 873 200.566 .44.936 200.285 :44.905 200.423 ToUls 159.448 200.615 rV Totals 2:58.561 201.612 Stir mWH ky Vtm Atktat Rick Mears smiles after qualifying in first row 1979 champion averaged 207.847 and will start third NINTH ROW JACQUES VILLENEUVE 76 Canadian Tire SPIKE GELHAUSEN 57 Little Kings Express CHRIS KNEIFEL 73 Primus PrMmitoorth MrckMorlk 9 Holmes voyage 200.009 200.347 2O0D40 198.935 :44.998 :44 922 :44.990 241 I I :44.763 201.059 ff I :44.857 200.638 -W I VM 199.592 I :45.063 199.720 :44 863 200611 :45.097 199.570 .:44.965 200.156 ToUls 159.988 200.013 lands in Row 1 ToUls Totals i 199.831 159.571 200.478 By CRAIG McKEE Howdy Holmes' journey to the middle of Indy's first row began long before four o'clock Saturday afternoon. His qualifying run of nearly 208 brings it full circle for me." Holmes and his March Cosworth joined teammate Tom Sneva, who earlier in the day won the pole, to complete a satisfying and successful day for Mayer Motor Racing Ltd. And, the team concept hasbev Index To TENTH ROW DANNY SULUVAN 1 'J jl Domino's Pizza dm miles per hour was the final step" toward that lofty starting point Tom'and, IlshMtfill'W' "in ot ms bIthK there; Up and down day for Andrettis Page 2 Soto flirts with no-hitter P8e i "Based on the fact we only had Big Fish 12 Dove Benner 8 Bob Collins 2 Golf Scene 13 lines Shots 12 Mark 9 Scoreboard 1 6 Shootin Stars 10 ViVpu, ijuw-inflyjrjt'irfrBembct atthy wmpeWiott between them," pbfjf first guy 1r driV "a rsaid Holmes. He and Sneva have a week on the big track; the front; 45715 196.872 :46.033 195.512 :45.856 196.267 :46.C2 195.533 Totals .3:03.632 196.044 prototype March here," said Holmes row is Pentte aid, who, has had a car ml the front tow ii See MEARS, page aiscussea racing strategies ana techniques, but Holmes insisted See HOLMES Page 3 recalling his days of driving for Sherman Armstrong. "This kind of.