The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 10

PAGE 10 THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR MONDAY, MAY 26, 1975 SNAKE PIT IS DEAD LONG LIVE SNAKE PIT! Th In fielders Throttle Mayh 4. eir Mt 8 i Jf BOBBIE CORP, 19, Joliet, limped along Hulman Boulevard and surveyed the throng: "This is not the place to be with a cast." The dust of the Snake Pit whirled around Ronald Young, a 22-year-old Indiana University student on crutches. "This is the greatest," Young opined while glancing at the cast on his right leg. "I JUST LIKE big crowds and parties, and there's nothing like this one." Young, who's been to the Kentucky Derby and the Evel Knievel jump, said the "500" is the ultimate sports event. In the Northwest turn, the movable feast is more block party than orgy, with the exception of all those beer cans and bottles thrown over the restraining fence onto the grass near the track.

Frisbees float through the muggy air beneath a sky the color of used dishwater the rains will come. Marijuana smoke mingles with the odor of mustard. It is a beach party without sand, and the only water is thrown from paper cups. THE EVENT witnessed by the in-fielders could have been an outdoor rock concert, for that matter, the music being the Doppler-drone of those mighty machines. There are nine words etched in the collective memory bank of the assembled multitude: "Back home again in Indiana" and "Gentlemen, start your engines." The balloons freckle the sky, the crescendo of the starting bombs is just one more assault on the ears.

Near the starting line prior to the beginning of the race, folks like Ernie Borgnine, Jim Nabors and Senator Barry Goldwater (R-A'riz.) exchanged pleasantries. SENATOR Birch Bayh (D-Ind.) looked on as Senator Vance Hartke (D-Ind.) took Hoosier Congressman Dave Evans' picture; Evans then traded places with Hartke. A crowd of photographers surrounded Goldwater as he wished driver Mario Andretti luck. Suddenly the shutterbugs were off in pursuit of more glamorous subject matter a trio of buxom ladies named June Cochran, Linda Vaughn and Eloise Colter. Meanwhile, dozens of cameras were aimed at empty race cars.

A FIRST THIS YEAR at the Speedway was the appearance of a Navy recruiter van. Inside the air-conditioned vehicle, Engineer Douglas G. Prettyman, chief Navy recruiter in Indiana, was preparing promotional material, including cardboard sun visors and bumper stickers. "This has really been an experience," Prettyman understated as a small crowd of young men stood outside and gawked at the blue-and-white van. Oblivious to the muted hysteria, a sparrow pecked at bread crumbs on a windowsill outside the media center.

A bare-chested young' man holding a can of beer made an obscene remark to a teen-aged girl entering a toilet. The bird flew away. mmmw v. MM .4 a i By JEFF DEVENS They serve who also sit and throw beer cans. Or, one turn is as good as another.

Which is to say the infamous Snake Pit is dead; long live the Snake Pit. So quiet was the once-troubled First Turn at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway yesterday that state policemen and Marion County sheriff's deputies had plenty of time to relax and sip soft drinks in the various hospitality trailers. THEIR COMMENTS ranged from "incredibly peaceful" to "wonderfully quiet." The infield crowd attending the 59th running of the 500-Mile Race was "really well-behaved," said a trooper as he picked his way through the maze of debris inside the Great Oval. Not that the demeanor of the in-fielders was exemplary far from it. There was plenty of boozing, brawling and bedlam in the four turns, but nothing like the mass mayhem of previous years.

Consider the car, the Great American Dream Machine. It is, ultimately, the ways and means of the "Indy 500." TURN NO. 1 was something less than berserk because parking was allowed there. So, cars and vans became outdoor furniture. The masses of metal and rubber created buffers among those who inhabit the abused slopes inside the Speedway's turns.

The cast of thousands included many with casts. y- f. IT'S -Sa, ft 4 i RAIN DAMPENS Few In Throng YOUTHFUL RACE Infield Crowded FANS WATCH ACTION FROM FIRST As Usual By Young And Old; Some Even gi em AllWW fit 4t iv 4 ux (Star Photo By Jerry Clark) TURN 'SNAKE PIT Watched The Race Photo By Jerry Clark) (5tar Photo) (Star Photo By Jeff Devens) WATER ON ONE ANOTHER Until The Rains Carney CROWD BEHIND CONTROL TOWER NEAR RACE'S END Prepared For Downpour By Brining Raincoats Or Umbrellas jTJf 8 sW i W-y 7 (Star Photo By Frank H. Fisse MARION COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES PATROL SPEEDWAY GROUNDS ON HORSEBACK Thirty-Two Mounted Deputies Among More Tha 650 Deputies And Policemen On Track Duty 100 TREATED FOR Sneva Worried About His Car HEAT EXHAUSTION of the pre-race ceremonies with adding to the heat problems for band members. Eight members of the North Penn Marching Knights High School Band from Lansdale, were among those treated because of heat.

One of them remained unconscious for more than an hour and another required oxygen treatment. Fourteen members of the same band required medical treatment following Saturday's "500" Festival Parade and two of them were also among those treated yesterday. DR. HANNA reported the number of persons requiring other forms of treat- ment, such as for intoxication or sprains, cuts and fractures was below normal. More than 15 persons with fractured arms and legs were treated, then were transferred to Methodist Hospital.

He noted there were three possible heart attacks, although one may prove 1 to be merely chest pains. The two other victims have had previous attacks, he added. ALSO TREATED at the track hospital were Chris Economaki, a commentator for ABC-TV, and Lou a crewman for Bill Puterbaugh. Economaki, arriving at the hospital with a bandage wrapped around his forehead, commented he had just completed interviewing Wally Dallenbach when he was accidentally struck by a mechanic's tool. He was uncertain who wielded the tool.

Parks was rushed to the hospital after the race also suffering from fatigue. Dr. Hanna remarked at the end of the day that he was pleased at the sharp drop in the number of cut feet. He believes his plea for people to wear shoes while at the race track was heard. THOUSANDS SEEK SHELTER FROM TORRENT BUT FEW CAN GET TO COVERED AREAS Rain-Shortened Race Causes Massive Exodus From Speedway Racetrack SZ' TTfWfFT III- By BILL BOOHER Tom Sneva had a lot on his mind as he was rushed to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway hospital and most of his concern was about the condition of his car.

Sneva suffered burns on his hands, legs, face and chest after his race car crashed and caught fire on the 128th lap. Race car owner Roger Penske said Sneva worried about his car and pondered how the accident on the second turn happened. The only driver to suffer serious injuries in yesterday's classic, Sneva was later' rushed to Methodist Hospital where he was placed in intensive care as a precautionary measure. HIS CONDITION was described as "stable" by Dr. Thomas A.

Hanna, doctor in charge of the Speedway hospital. Two other race car drivers made brief stops at the hospital along with more than 200 spectators, most of whom suffered from the heat or cuts and fractures. A. J. Foyt limped into the hospital after -the race and complained of a cramp in his right hip.

Dr. Hanna described the injury as a bruise with posible pressure on a nerve. He was being" treated by his own. private neurosurgeon, Dr. Hanna added.

'crew member of Foyt's thought the injury may have occurred because of the heat. But other speculation was that Foyt's vehicle struck a piece of wreckage on the track, causing a jarring injury to Foyt's backside. MARIO ANDRETTI was treated for an abrasion on the small toe of his left foot after his car went out of control early in the race. than 100 persons about 25 of them high school band members who performed before the race were treated for heat exhaustion, Dr. Hanna observed that the number requiring treatment for heat soared during this race.

He judged it the hottest race day since the 1953 race. HE BLAMED THE heavy uniforms of some band members and the length 1 PACE CAR LEADS STARTERS DOWN STRAIGHTAWAY Drivers Hold Positions Awaiting Green Flag TEEN-AGERS BEAT HEAT AT THE TRACK BY TOSSING COLD High Temperatures And Humidity Kept Race Fans arm.