The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 6

MONDAY, MAY 28, 1SS4 THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR FACE fcS TZ77T7 il 't; If -v Cordon Johncock's car hits and slides along the outside pit wall, narrowly missing a crew member (right) 51 su Jjf, 4i -Jlyj 'Miracle Johncock avoids disaster 1" 1 Call it luck or call it skill, but Gordon Johncock did a masterful job Sunday of keeping his STP Oil Treatment racing machine from causing a major accident at the entrance to the pits. The mishap, wich occurred on the 104th lap and left Johncock with a fractured left ankle, started when the two-time winner attempted to pass Tom Sneva between the third and fourth turns. "Gordy got a little too close to sling shot past Sneva," chief mechanic George Huening said of the accident. Johncock lost his drafting power and the car slid to the outside of the track, slamming into the wall. From there, the racing machine drifted across the track into the pits.

It rammed the inside pit wall almost head on, then careened across the cement and grass before coming to halt against the outside pit wall. Before the machine came to a rest it nearly rammed into Erwin Jann, a board man for driver Chris Kneifel. The car also barely missed Joe Burton, a board man for Josele Garza. "Gordon told me 'it was a miracle' no one was hurt," said Huening. "The accident was just one of those things." Johncock was running well at the time of the mishap, moving up on the leaders after being slowed by ignition problems on the parade lap.

"We were hoping for an early yellow to give us some time to fix the problem, but we never got our wish," said Huening. Str pht by Ktrry Kttlim Injured Gordon Johncock is placed on stretcher for trip to hospital Michael finishes on ragged edge Al Holbert one happy rookie if By BONNIE BRITTON If rookie Michael Andretti could run the 68th 500 Mile Race over, he'd want to do it in multiples of 50. The fastest newcomer of the month, who started in the second row with his father, former winner Mario Andretti, said he felt just fine for the first 50 laps in the Electro-luxKraco 84C March Cosworth. After that initial pit stop, however, it went downhill. "We didn't change tires after that first pit.

I don't know, we might have had bad shocks." Young Andretti, one of two up-and coming sons of former winners in this year's race, finished fifth, ahead of Mario Andretti who came in 17th, behind Al Unser in third, and far in front of Al Unser who was 21st. Unser Jr. made himself scarce in Gasoline Alley just after the race. Standing next to his No. 99 before the race, Andretti said he was a bit weak kneed.

What fatherly advice did the 1969 winner have for his 21 year old son? "HE TOLD me 'Good luck, take it easy, it's a long race, be careful, make it to the Making it to the end was easy, sort of. "I can't remember which lap it was, but after a while, the car was sliding all over." Minor adjustments by the crew never corrected the problem. Using as much of the track as bert involved Al Unser, during one of the yellow lights. "They told us to look right when coming out of the pits and that's where our place would be. Little Al came out and didn't look right until the middle of Turn 1.

I let him in, but I would have fought him if it had been at the end," he said. Holbert's race strategy was restrained. "The start was super," said Holbert, who started in the inside of Row 6, "I was just disappointed that some of those guys in front of me got away so quick." He also found he could hold his own with the contenders. "I was most cautious on the restarts. Those were the times that Mears passed me.

But I was gaining ground on Al (Unser) Senior, about a half second a lap." THE ONLY other incident to mar Holbert's otherwise happy day was a pit stop near the three quarter mark of the race. First, the car slid through the pit on some water which had collected in his spot. Then, the car stalled after the refueling was completed. At that time, Holbert was still on the leader's lap, but the pit incident cost him time. There was no doubt about his satisfaction with the day, however.

"I'll run the whole Indy series," he said, admitting his confidence had been boosted by the fourth-place finish. By CRAIG McKEE he could, and driving it more like a sprint race than an endurance contest, "I did the best I could. I drove all the way to the end." He added that he and the car were on edge the whole time. Michael Andretti's joy at finish' ing in the top five, "where I expected to be," was diminished by his father's inability to shake the jinxes that have plagued him every year but one since his 1969 win. "I'm happy.

The month went great. It feels good. But I feel sorrjr for Dad. I don't know what pened to him. I don't know what kind of problems he was having but I could see he was having trouble." Racing on the 2'i-mile oval was much different from qualifying or.

practice, the Nazareth, young' ster concluded. "The car felt real light. There was a lot of buffeting going on and the car was doing weird things." After jumping into third position and running with eventual and former winner Rick Mears and 1983 winner Tom Sneva, Andretti thought he could win the race. Who gave him the most trouble? Who was hardest to pass? Taking a big slug of Gatorade, Andretti grinned and said, "Everybody." But his real duels came trying to pass Al Holbert in the CRC Chemical Special. "I was hanging it out, trying to catch Holbert, but the car was pushing and I had to fight to keep it off the wall I was scaring myself trying to get by Al." 1 A laughing Holbert told Andretti after the race that "I felt like I ran the whole race in the last 10 laps." FORTUNATE IN his first "500" not to be involved in any of the minor or major cowl-benders, Andretti said he looked back at writer-racer Patrick Bedard's accident, hoped he wasn't hurt, and "my first reaction was to get away from any debris." Whatever regrets Michael voiced over his first 500-miler at the India-' napolis Motor Speedway were all for his father.

"I didn't beat him. He dropped out and wasn't running at the end. I want to beat him fair and square with both of us racing. We were pretty close on the track a couple of times. In fact, once he held me up.

One thing about racing against him, I feel safe and know that he knows what to do and when to do it." Al Holbert's geniality was understandable after his unofficial fourth-'place finish in his first Indianapolis 300. He cheerfully signed autographs and greeted fans in the garage area the race. Nearby, owner Alex Morales shared his driver's glee. "He did a fantastic job." Morales iaid. "He drove a very consistent Irace." It had been a relatively easy fide for Holbert until his last pit at Lap 184.

The crew turned in fine 25-second stop, but the new kjres they mounted would create Problems thereafter. "The first lap I figured the tires were just cold," recalled Holbert of pushing car. "The second lap I Jehanged my line a little bit and the jDiird lap I knew I had problems." UNTIL THEN, Holbert was enjoying competitive racing with Michael Andretti the unofficial fifth Iplace finisher and others near the jfront of the pack. "Until the tire problem, I really Jtiought we'd be able to dice for econd," he said. But the bad tires spoiled his aspirations.

His speed dropped from $99 to 193 miles per hour, and, by flolbert's account, he nearly lost Control of the car in Turn 2 on his Jhird lap after the pit stop. i The Warrington, native is a Veteran racer with 13 years of expedience in Can Am, Trans Am, and IjMSA GT endurance racing. He was Jlechnically an Indy rookie, but he jarrived at the Speedway with solid Credentials. "I've grown up in motor racing; 4t's a part of my life," he said. The lace atmosphere at Indianapolis 'was impressive, he said, but he also enjoyed the race atmosphere at European sites.

His plans for next year are un-certain, but he has an inkling the 500-Mile Race will figure in his future. "THIS RACE is a wonderful fining, but it's not a great draw for Tne," said Holbert. Still, Holbert pre-jdicts a future as either a driver or a learn owner at Indy. What was most appealing about Sunday's race for Holbert was the gutter smoothness of his automobile pntil the last pit stop. "It's a great feeling to know you rely on a car.

Every change vwas as good as the time before," he tsaid. One fncicfent that concerned Hoi- Star plot by Gttlwrt Michael Andretti waves to the crowd after race Charge ends after Bedard's wreck Sullivan angry at a fellow driver and I was the last guy in line, so I just drove over the back of the (Guerrero's) wheel. I had no place to go. A marshal was standing there and I had no options." The problem started when, according to Sullivan, "someone, I don't know who (Fabi thought it was Scott Brayton), slowed down and almost stopped to look at the accident I can't believe someone would stop on a race track and look at an accident. "I'm not out there to look at an accident, I'm just trying to concentrate on getting by and not hitting any debris.

We were lucky three or tour of us weren't involved." When Sullivan hit Guerrero's wheel, he nearly flipped the Lola, but fortunately the car came back down on all fours. However, it ruined the suspension and in turn ruined Sullivan's day. He finished 29th unofficially. "EVERYTHING IS fine, except inside I'm very, very angry," Sullivan said. "Bedard's accident had taken place long before that, the safety crews and marshals are on the scene, we're creeping along and somebody decides to watch.

"Jt was one of those things you couldn't believe." The mishap concluded an interesting month for Sullivan. He originally qualified the Doug Shierson Racing Cosworth the first day of qualifying, but withdrew it the third when it felt the original speed of 196 might not hold up. Of course, the Domino's gang did have that new '84 Lola to help get back in the field and Sullivan qualified it at 203.567 mph. Expectations were high going into Sunday. "We thought we would do well," Sullivan said, "and we were.

The car was running great." DAVID BENNER Danny Sullivan doesn't mind race fans, he just prefers they stay out of race cars. Sunday afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sullivan was having himself a pretty good ride around the 2Ii-mile oval. After starting on the inside of the 10th row (28th position), Sullivan had his Lola up as high as 12th. "We were right on schedule with where we wanted to be in terms of race strategy," said Sullivan, who was driving the No. 30 Domino's Pizza 'Hot "We had been able to run with the leaders.

The car was running very well." Then, while entering the backstretch of Lap 59, the yellow light came out for Pat Bedard's crash. "THE YELLOW went on and we all slowed down and we went up on the wall single file," said Sullivan, who was in his second "Then (Teo) Fabi locked up and just avoided hitting someone, (Roberto) Guerrero closed it up.