The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 88

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR- SUNDAY, MAY' 1, l8fi New facility missing: old atmosphere ID Alley a memory Garage Area makes Gasolin the other to a trash can. In front of a garage. In the Garage Area, two-foot high portable steel-pipe barracades with painted-chain gates keep onlookers at a comfortable distance. Goodyear Racing Tires, formerly Jammed under the stands on the north side of the garage-pit thoroughfare, was about the only place where the guy who shelled out two bucks at the gate to watch practice could get an up-close look at anything resembling racing technology. Goodyear Is now comfortably lodged In the middle of the accessory plaza, flanked by Bear Alignment.

Mallory Ignitions. Simpson Helmets. Indiana Oxygen and the USAC office hidden from all but those holding garage passes. The Garage Area is a wonderful place for racing mechanics and technicians to ply their craft, but it will take a while for it to earn the title Gasoline Alley. mechanic using a blow torch.

No longer is moving a car away from the garage an excercise in exasperating crowd control. Smooth, graded concrete drives and enormous drains will whisk away rain. Men's and women's restrooms. eight each, sparkle conveniently throughout the complex. A bank of six pay-phones is smack in the middle of everything.

The spec sheet says there are 3.7 acres of concrete drives standlng-around room contained in the new area, eliminating the hopelessly crowded aisles of yore. Peering into the Garage Area from the Gasoline Alley sign still bolted to the back of the terrace seats, what was once a crush of humanity now resembles a four-lane highway. AH the garage action is hidden by the buildings themselves. Crowd control in Gasoline Alley meant stringing vinyl Valvoline pennants, one end tied to a door latch and swung open to reveal a space Just big enough for a race car. tool chest and huddling crew on black-and-white-checkered tfle have been replaced by roll-up steel doors, number-punch combination-lock doorknobs, cavernous working areas and zero-personality concrete floors.

In the past, fans not privy to special passes could loiter around the perimeter and watch the goings-on In half the garages. Those two east-west rows of green-shingled buildings with three bustling aisleways are now one long east-west accessory plaza and five unattached north-south fingers sprawling to the south all grey, concrete-covered cinderblock, all flat roofed. Call it sterile, call It functional, call It antiseptic, call it spacious, call it modern. But Jeez, it's hard to call It Gasoline Alley. Gasoline Alley was elbow-to-elbow people-traffic.

It was nearly being run over by crew members on bicycles. It was Jumping out of the way when garden-tractors towing SI 00.000 race cars tried to negotiate Impossibly tight turns. It was some bank having a promotion day and all its silk-tied executives spilling their free scotch-and-waters on mechanics trying to do a Job. It was restrooms for men only, three overworked pay-phones and warped asphalt drives that caressed ankle-deep puddles during May rains. But time marched forward and stomped on nostalgia.

What we have now is a Garage Area. It's a very nice Garage Area, as anyone can plainly see. And anyone who has to work there is thrilled with the surroundings. Where once 80 or so usable garages tried to house more than 100 annual car entries. IMS now has 96 fully operational garages In which to protect probably 50 legitimate entries.

No longer does the threat of catastrophic fire hang over the head of a By BOB WALTERS STAR STAFF eVftjTER Tradition dies hard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And this year, it's going to take some folks a while to feel at home. To the average fan in the stands, the track looks the same. Tom Carnegie's voice on the P.A. sounds the same and the beer tastes the same.

But behind the grandstands, back in the nerve center of auto racing's biggest event, it just doesn't seem like Indianapolis. IMS spent more than 84 million tearing down the old Gasoline Alley and erecting a garage area completely new in concept, convenience and. sadly, ambience. The quaint, cramped, wooden white-with-green-trim buildings are gone. What was once crammed Into a tight two acres is now spread out over the area of about five football fields.

The padlocked barn doors that once 500 veterans Geoff Brabham. Kevin Cogan and Dick Simon. Top ten speeds DrivtrCr iml I. Mno Andrttl t.m Nrwmatvtut Lol TU-00 Cwwonfi Ht. I 1.

MichMl Andrettl JH.IB Krc-STP March MCCosworfll Ho. MT J. Bobby Rahal tOt Bud-TrutSpom March MCCmarorth No 3 4. Johnny Rurhartord N7.Mt Vermont American March MC Covwrth Ho. Jl 5.

Bobby Rahal BodTrueSportt March leCCowmmi No. JT i. Harm Johnson 20S 7U Menard Lumbar March atCCoi worth No J. JoiCaria KHtlO Machinistt Union March MC'CetworHi No S5 I Robtrfo Moreno 101.741 Gaiies Lola TU 00 Cojworth No. t.

Johnny Parsons 10! 17 Machinists Union March tSCCosworm No. 4S M. Otc Simon m.O OuraceH Lola Tat. Cos worth No. 22 it Continued from Page 1 making any bold predictions about speeds.

"1 hate to say It's easy getting to 210. but the next five miles per hour will come a lot harder." stated the driver who's dominated the last half of the last two years. "I think the records will fall, but if somebody does four laps over 216 I'd be real surprised." Three-time Indy winner Johnny Rutherford was right at 208 in the Vermont American March 86C. Herm Johnson, injured during practice last May, was back in the saddle of the Menard Lumber March 86C and crested 205 mph as did Josele Garza In the SchaeferMachlnlsts March 86C. And Brazil's Roberto Moreno cruised through the final 10-lap phase of his rookie test in the Galles Lola T86-00.

Other top laps were run by Garza, whose top lap was 205.620: Johnson, at 205.714; and Johnny Parsons, at 201.162. Also practicing were 1986 Indy 500 Entry List March 86C Corvrorth March 86CCoswortb Lola Lola March 8tCTxxvorlh March oCCoftworth March S6CCoworlh March 86CCosHorth March 86CCo worth March 86CCosorth March 86CCoavorth March 86CCosworth nror. fu-Wll. I 3 Lola T86-00Honda Lola T86-00Criworih Driver Starti) 1 Danny SuIIivao (3) IT Danny SuIIivaa (3 2 Andrtlli (20) 2T Mario Andrclti 20 3 Bobby Rahal 3T Bobby Rahal 4 Rik Mrars 8) 4T Rirk Mrars 8) 5 Roberto Currrero 2) 3T Robrlo Guerrero 2) 6 Johnny Rutherford (21 7 "Kevin Cogan 3 8 Ceoff Brabham (5) 8T Ceoff Brabham 3 9 Roberto Moreno i) 10 Johnny Parsons (10 11 Al I nM-r 20 11T Al nsef 20) 12 Randy Lanier I2T Randy Lanier 14 AJ. Foyt 28 14T AJ.

Foyt 28) 15 Pa or ho Carter 12) 15T Paneh Carter (12) 16 Tony Bettenhauiien 5) 17 Derek Dalj 3) 18 Michael Andretti 2 18T Michael Andretti 2 19 Rick Mia4i.ieicz (x 20 Emerson Fittipaldi 2 21 Johnny Rutherford 21 Entrant Miller Ameriean Miller American Netimaollaas Racing Racing Bud neifierTrueportx BudwetWrTrueHportu I'ennzoiiPenske PennzoilPenske True Value Emerson True Value Emerson Vermont American Tools 7-Eleveo Valvoline Calles Racing Calles Racing J.P. Racing Hertz Hertz Racing Arciero Racing CilmoreCopenhagen CilmoreCopenhagen Coors Light Coorn Light Beitenhausen Racing Race For Life KraeoSTP KraeoSTP RCV Corporation Marlboro Vermont American Tools Lola 85 Co worth Penske POlSChevy 'F vnm III March 86CCosworth March 86CCworth March 86CCowortht March CCoworth LiVia 4 otcuu UOSWrorul Lola T8607Coswortb, March 86CCos worth Lola STAR PHOTO Bobby Rahal talks with crew members after a practice run Saturday at the Speedway. March 86CCasworth March 8bCCosirorh I i mjm uwwvi Iff March ooCCosworlhv; warcn ciowtoswortb Lola T86-00Cororth 4 Ixila T86-00Coswortli March bttLLosworth March 86CBuirk March 86CBuirk March 86CCoawH-lh March 86CCoaworth March 86CC08 worth Lola ToOOCoaworth Lola T864)0Coorth Lola T864MCo worth March 8CCa worth March 86CCoaworth Lola T8600Coworth March 86CCoiwrtb March 86CChevy March 85CC.ofcwrtn 22 Raul Boesel Duracell Copper Top 23 Dick Simon 1 4) Duracell Gpper Top 2t Gary Beltenhaun (14) Leader Cards 23 Danny Onai (9) i CM Goodvrench 23T Danny OngaU (9) GM Goodwrench 26 Rich ogler 1) MorafesBjrd 28 Herm Johnoon (2) Menard Lumber 28T Herm Johnson 2) Menard Lumber 29 lan A-shley (x Hes Racing 30 Al tnser Jr. (3) Domino's Pizza 30T 41 LWr Jr. (3) Domino's Pizza 31 John Paul Jr.

(I) ASC Buick March 33 TomSneva(12) Skoal Bandit 33T Tom Snea 12) Skoal Bandit 36 Jim Crawford (1) Pace Electronics 40 No Driver Patrick Racing 41 No Driver Jim Creer 42 Phil Krueger (O) Mora Electric 4-1 No Driver Cilmore Copenhagen 43 No Driver Machinists Union 53 No Driver Budweiser Truesport 53 Jom-le Garza 5) MachinitsU Inioo 56 Rupert Keegan x) Geneaee Bees 59 Chip GaaaKst (4) Union 60 No Driver Patrick Racing 61 Arie Lujendyk (1) Race For Life 6IT Arie Luyendk (1) Race For Life 63 No Driver Duracell 63 Steve Chassey (1) Genesee Beer 66 Ed Rmm (1) SkoalPaceCurb 71 Seoll Brayton I) Hemelgarn Racing 81 Ja-(jue8 Villeneuve (0 Hemelgarn Racing 8 No Driver Calumet Farm 91 No Driver Hemelgarn Raring 98 Jan Latmner Skoal lng Cut 98T Jan Lammer x) Skoal Ixng Cut '99 Michael Andretti (2) KraroSTP March 8fiCClievy Marrh 85CCoswrth if Vi j-'. 1 i Vi-" I i i I.IWWTI "il I it mmm- TBirnni faMtff March 86CCoswnrth March WCGxs worth March U6CBuick March 8f)CCoKworth Marth 86CCowoflh Lola l-ola T8rO0Coworth Lola T864H)Co3worth March March ooCCosrworth March 86CBuick March 8fCCosworth March 86CCoiworth March 86CCoa worth EagleCosworth EagleCoswortli STAR PHOTOKENNY LEWIS Al Unser, (center) appears to be none too excited by his surroundings in the new garage area at the Speedway. March 86CCosworth -tg0 JW.