The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 25

SATURDAY, MAY 3. 1981- T1IE INDIANAPOLIS STAR PACE 25 neva scrambles in Uth hour IMaaaii anniiBBaiiiiMBaaiiiiiiiMiiiiiHiiiiiiMBaamilM -a Chevy V-8 hits 196 f-A Sports Tf 1 A By DAVE OVERPECK He holds the track record. Three times in the last four years he has finished second in the 500-Mile Race. He is one of the best qualifiers in the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Until last year, he never been out of the first three rows.

Twice in a row he sat on the pole and two years ago he sat in the front row with a year-old McLaren. This year he is paired with the Speedway's resident mechanical genius, a man who has groomed a record six winners. He'll also be the first driver with a chance to qualify his car for the race day field today. But as the first day of qualifying loomed, Tom Sneva and George Bignotti were scrambling. After working all week with a hybrid Phoenix-March, they switched to a brand new, untested March after 5 m.

Friday. They were making the move just to get into the speed hunt for this year's race. Jivrx have been running and testing all winter. Sure, you'd like to be doing the same thing, but this car wasn't even in the country then." After years of being at or near the top, riding around in the struggling middle could present the 32 year-old senior brother of a racing family with a serious identity crisis. "Sure.

I'd like to be running up front the way I have been." says Sneva. "You could get antsy if you worried about it. But when you can do anything about it. you just try to ride with the waves. in practice By GEORGE MOORE 7 The Speedway got a look at the future Friday.

7 It wasn't the fastest lap of the day and -it's highly questionable that he is going to sit on the pole today, but Mike Masley turned a lap at 196.249 miles an hour in jxk of Dan Gurney's Ail-American pieces of rolling stock. And what makes it so impressive is that the power is by a 355 Chevy By the time the 1982 500-Mile Race around, the sanctioning United States Auto Club's rules calls for the so-called "stock block" only formula. Gur- ney's Chevy qualifies for that classification, so Mosley's speed with his Pepsi Challenger-Chevy gives a fair indication of what might be expected. Gurney always has been something of an innovator at the Speedway. Back in the days when the turbo Offy and turbo Indy Ford V-8 were king.

Dan was doing Bthe chauffeuring duties himself and fin- ished in the runner-up spot twice 1968-69 with his own Gurney Eagle rocker arm V-8. IN THOSE DAYS, that was considered something akin to breaking the bank at Monte Carlo. As a consequence, All- American Racers is no stranger to ex-- ploring uncharted seas in the cold, hard world of the all-conquering turbo Cos-worth V-8. Speedway Top Ten i. imi uMr mm llKlMMX HIM GouKi cxvt Ptmkt C-S Cotwsnti Ma.

1 Mr AMrttti Mt Si OH iwctf VHI'CoMOrttl Me ItVtMMKKl m.Mt S' Oil TrMtmtfrt Wittctf VIN'Corm Mo S.0T0aM IW.I InttrtcOMCMMmi N. AND THAT HUNT won't get serious until this morning's 75-minute practice session. Friday evening, Sneva just wanted to get in four laps over 170 mph in the new March to get a final inspection sticker that would allow him to draw for a qualifying spot Lucky for him his name was the first one drawn in the time trial lottery Friday night. Isn't 5 o'clock on Friday before qualifying awfully late in the game to be changing horses? "Yeah." said Sneva, "but the plan all along was to try to run the March. It just got here late." That still leaves the other car, which includes March suspension on a year-old Phoenix chassis.

"I've been doing 187 with it and scaring myself to death." said Sneva, emphasizing every syllable. "It's been loose getting into the corners and pushing coming off. That's a tough situation to correct. If you improve one condition, you make the other worse." Sneva is convinced that car simply wouldn't stand any chance in the race. mo m.ias m.w m.it 4- Mjt9lr Ptov cwnnwr EwW'Chtvrtltt So I.

Of an ImMov lWmMi Wildcat VIIICMworW Ht. IfAWV fttfttftOftf Ponntotf CrprrlCoower1ti No. 1 tiH Alum aboko Ptntkt PC-taVCoMfomt Mo HAiUmor Lananorn Ma. we ve ueen pioneering mis uung an along." Gurney said, "but it has been a matter of economics. We went this way because we can't afford to go with a Cos worth." The anti-stock block group at the Speedway states that the rocker arm jobs are not poins to he anv chearwr.

but Dan disagrees with this point of view. "I understand how owners with Cos- iL. I I A tin. "People tell us it (the Chevy) won't work," Gurney said. "But they work other places and there's no reason it won't be the same here.

If we do well, I suppose we'll just confuse the issue. But I feel the fans care and are going to be attracted by this type of racing." The use of a rocker arm engine has some built-in liabilities attached despite Mosley's 196.249 speed. The engine is down around 60- to 75-horsepower from a Cosworth, with Dan stating that they are looking for 640 horsepower but "haven't found it as yet." "About 630 plus is the best we've done," he said, "but I think we can find a little more." ALL-AMERICAN Racers does its own engines, with the engine department being run by Stump Davis, Gerry McGarri-ty and Greg Sippel. There were some reliability problems last year, but it would appear progress has been made in that respect as Gurney said that the last time the car ran the Ontario 500 it was among the fastest five in the race until being eliminated by a chain reaction crash. "The engine had run 350 miles and was still going strong." Dan said.

"In addition to that, it had 150 miles in practice and also had been run on the dyno before we finally tore it down. "That same engine is in this car (Mosley's No. 48)." wuiuis icei, uurney saiu. oui we Fovt lashes out at Star scribe Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Fovt assailed Indianapolis Star sportswriter Robin Miller Friday afternoon in the grassy area near the start-finish line of the Speedway.

Fovt took exception to a paragraph in Miller's Friday morning story in The Star concerning A.J.'s 214-mile an hour speed down the straightaway which said, "Many in the pit population were skeptical about Super Tex' boost." Fovt came up behind Miller Friday and slapped him In the back of the head then jerked the sportswriter by the hair on top of his head and pulled him behind the scoring tower. "Is it a crime to go fast?" Fovt asked Miller. The Star writer attempted to converse with Foyt after practice Thursday about his quick speed down the straightaway, but A.J. was too busy working on his new race car in the garage area for an interview. "If we tweak it and get it just right, he said, "it would run a little better.

But you can only stand up in the cockpit so long. "WE HAVEN'T GIVEN up on it yet, but it's definitely status right now." While the March is a brand new car for Sneva and Bignotti, another edition of the car has been getting considerable track time this month. That one belongs to the Whittington brothers, and both Bill and Don have been putting miles and miles on it. "We've talked a little to them about the March." said Sneva, "but they're not too talkative. But we've been watching them pretty closely." Sneva is taking his struggling, reduced status this year pretty much in stride.

"As long as we make the race," he says, "that's what's important. "This is a new team. It's a new car. And we got hear late. We knew we were at a disadvantage.

"You look at these other guys who couldn come here if we didn't come with a Chevy. "It's a tremendous challenge. But we can do a Chevy for 50 percent less than a Cosworth. We've sold three of them (to Menard Racing) at $20,000 each." ALL-AMERICAN Racers has been playing it closer to the belt in recent years, with Teddy Vip of Hong Kong making some monetary contributions so Dan could make Indianapolis. In addition, his shop has turned out a couple of chassis, one for Chip Mead's Ohio Racing Associates which sports a Cosworth and Meetings of minds Friday was a day for sorting things out before today's qualifications.

Mario Andretti leans over to talk with teammate Gordon Johncock (top) during a break in practice while Johnny Rutherford explains something to his car designer, Jim Hall (bottom). While these fellas were talking, Bobby Unser was on the track setting the pace at a speed of 199.510 mph. (UPI Photos) one for Jet Engineering's Eagle-Chevy which has Steve Chassey as the driver. V. I killed, 3 hurt as limb falls Every cowboy like oomeihing little different (tvfc Dallas i UPI A 30-foot tree limb broke loose from a giant oak with a thundering crack and fell 40 feet into a group of golf fans watching play in the Byron Nelson Classic Friday, killing one man.

Three people were injured seriously and taken to a hospital, while several others received scrapes and bruises. The huge limb dropped from the 80-foot oak on a knot of about 20 spectators gathered next to the third green of the Preston Trail Golf Club course. I fie and the big Second-Round Results, Page 29 II difference nsf 4 A GROUP WAS watching the threesome of Gene Littler, Charles Coody and Pete Brown play. the hole. If the limb had fallen five minutes later, it would probably have hit a much larger group of people since a threesome including the popular Lee Trevino was next to play the hole.

Spectator John Otis Clark, 45, of Grandview, was pronounced dead on arrival at Presbyterian Hospital, i Mora Hunter, 49, of Northridge, was admitted to Presbyterian in fair condition suffering multiple fractures. John Jamieson, 49, of Marion, suffered rib injuries, was treated and released. Robert Stiles, 45, of Shawnee Mission, also was treated and released. Clark's nephew, George Dahm, 35, of Piano, Texas, was standing next to his uncle when the limb fell out of the tree. "Somehow I managed to jump into a sand trap and get out of it," Dahm said.

"There was a large crack and everyone started scrambling. I started pulling limbs off him. "I HELD HIS head and tried to stop the bleeding. Someone put a towel over his head and waited for the ambulances. This was the second time he had come to the tournament.

It was a big thing for him." Officials speculated the limb might have been weakened by a violent wind and rain storm that swept through the area just before dawn. The storm, accompanied by severe lightning and thunder, left parts of the golf course drenched and muddy. It was the first fatal accident during a PGA tournament in 20 years. The last known fatality occurred in 1961 at the Warwick Hills Country Club at Grand Blanc, during the Buick Open when lightning struck a spectator. Asked his reaction to the accident, Coody said it was difficult to continue golfing.

HOt. JT if aSla. I 1 ana) Official stands by limb that fell on 3rd hole Li (mMtJ travel the entire country and i i v'- ln all my travels, even through the Southwest, I've never seen a iTr better selection of name-brand western wear vyVA1- than you'll find right here 1 in I ntu at tka flRFAT WFSTFRN. "You really don't care about golf. It just doesn't matter anymore," he said after shooting a one-over 71.

"Given the opportunity, all three of us would have just walked into the clubhouse. There wasn't much they could do. The tree only had about 30 or 40 feet to fall. That doesn't give you much time." Golfer Tom Watson was on another part of the course when the limb fell. "I didn't know about it until we got to the 3rd hole," he said.

"But that sort of thing knocks the guts out of you. I've seen it happen a couple of times before but nobody got hud Apparently it was just an act of God." Celts must get down to business Partner, they're setting the pace!" TIM RICHMOND fo COOtTESYOF rj IAB AMTTC Al ITft AMTt IUTW fJ THE3 Express JYJs i'i KI Sunday JJj 12-6 SUTDEIITIC UESTERII UEflR 96th Keystone Just north of I-46S on Avt A 848-1020 If a big head and thought they could go through the motions. But you just cant go through the motions and be champions." THE CELTICS HAVE HAD success in the Summit, having won 14 straight overall from Houston before Thursday night But they are facing a tougher and more determined group of Rockets which makes the task that much more difficult "We're going to come out and play our best game," said Boston's Larry Bird. "We've got to make some adjustments. We've got to run and play harder.

We can make teams run with us. We can't let them set the tempo. We also need a strong game from Robert Parish (who fouled out Thursday and played just 14 minutes). He's our key offensively and defensively late in the game." And Cedric Maxwell predicted the Celtics would be hungry. "You're going to see some awful mean guys when we play the next game," Maxwell said.

Houston (UPI) The charmed life over. The Boston Celtics realize they must re gain the form that saw them win 62 games during the regular season or they will be remembered as one of pro basketball's biggest flops. The Celtics have played seven straight so-so games but a combination of good fortune, helpful calls, timely rebounding and tenacious defense produced victories in four of them. But Boston's opportunistic string ran out Thursday when they lost to the underdog Houston Rockets, 92-90, to even the best-of-seven NBA championship series at one game apiece. Games and 4 will be played Saturday (2:30 p.m., Channel I) and Sunday in the Summit "WE GOT A SLAP IN the face," said the Celtics' Carr.

"And sometimes a slap in the face will wake you up. It better because we can't go on playing like this and expect to win." Boston Coach Bill Fitch was distressed with his team's lack of fundamentals and guard Chris Ford decried the team's shoddy care of the basketball, which produced 22 turnovers leading to 31 Houston points. "We threw the ball away too many times and you just cant do that in a playoff game and expect to win," Ford said. "We had better wake up in I hurry. We're going to have to play our best in each game to beat them.

If we don't, they are going to be the champions." The Rockets, with their glacial style of play, forced the Celtics into a slow-paced game which is not what Boston wants. And they are winning an extensive following along the way including a group of 11 Boston players, three coaches and assorted fans and junkies. "I keep telling people that Houston is a good basketball team," Ford said. "The fans, the media, everyone took them for granted. And I think some of that feeling dribbled into our locker room.

Maybe some of the guys got.