The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 31

1 i Indianapolis Star TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1992 Obituaries 6 Classified 8-14 Sports NASCAR drivers pass first Speedway test Elliott's 165 lap tops for Indianapolis debut i By ROBIN MILLER "if! I ff 0 STAR ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR The fastest speed was some 65 mph slower than last month's pole run, Tom Carnegie's voice was never heard and most of the 285,000 permanent seats were empty. But the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was still filled with excitement Monday morning. Nine of NASCAR's finest drivers drove around 1 tradition and GOOD OL' BOYS The top lap speed posted by each NASCAR driver during tire tests Monday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway: Driver, Car Make Speed Bill Elliott, Ford 165.001 Kyle Petty, Pontiac 162.657 Ricky Rudd, Chevy 162.376 Dale Earnhardt, Chevy ...162.212 Darrell Waltrip, Chevy ....161.772 Ernie Irvan, Chevy 161.772 Mark Martin, Ford 161.676 Davey Allison, Ford 161215 Rusty Wallace, Pontlac 160.686 Into the history books as the southern stock-car set made Its first official appearance at the sacred home of the Indianapolis 500. From the moment Rusty Wallace drove his Miller Genuine Pontlac out of Gasoline Alley and onto the storied oval, a i JL in! T1 crowd estimated at 20.000 was cheering their approval of a happening many never thought would become a reality. Goodyear's initial tire test with the good ol' boys lasted five hours (11 a.m.

to 4 p.m.) and featured some 3 and 4-car drafting, 341 laps of running and a top speed of 165 mph by Bill Elliott. It was an experience that proved to be educating and exhilarating for Dale Earnhardt, Kyle Petty, Ernie Irvan. Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Darrell See NASCAR Page 5 -j- ASSOCIATED PRESS An unusual sight at the Speedway: Dale Earnhardt (3), Ricky Rudd (5) and Kyle Petty do some wheel-to-wheel racing through Turn 1 in their NASCAR stocks. Open-wheel fan takes new 'stock' of racing hr ovuwc mulct Mwr: Robin Miller I tfm fi 1 thing that would have made me cringe 10 years ago: stackers running at Indy. That thought was more deplorable than women in the pits or some rich momma's boy buying a ride.

But when Rusty Wallace drove out of Gasoline Alley and into the pits, with 5,000 people In Tower Terrace roaring their approval, I had to agree with them. This was pretty cool. And when you think about what's happened to Indy-car racing, how the Jeff Gordons and Ken Schraders turned to stock cars because the road to Indy is a dead end, it makes a lot of sense to have NASCAR at Indianapolis. Race fans can Identify with Waltrip, Allison, Petty, Earnhardt and Elliott a lot more than they can with Vinicio Salmi, Nicola Marozzo, Franco Scapini, Fulvio Ballabio, Guido Dacco, Randy Lewis and Brian Bonner. GROWING UP IN Indianapolis on a steady diet of midgets, sprints and Indy cars, I never could stomach NASCAR's menu, nor stock cars in general.

Real race cars didn't have doors and roofs they had open wheels, grooved tires and required a blend of talent and testosterone to succeed. Parnelll, Herk, A.J. and Mario were my heroes especially when they went down south and won because they could drive anything, unlike those taxi cab hacks. I always respected the slim margin for error in open-wheeled racing and really got an appreciation when I began running USAC midgets. I reckoned anybody could handle a stocker and the penalty for rubbing fenders didn't compare with rubbing wheels at Eldora or Winchester.

Another thing that made Monday enjoyable was the overall attitude of the drivers. They seemed genuinely thrilled to be here. "There are great sporting facilities all over the world, kind of sacred places and if you're a race driver this happens to be one of them," said Darrell Waltrip. "It was an eerie feeling, to some degree, thinking about all the world-class drivers that have been here through the years. "It was a real thrill to walk Into Gasoline Alley and I'm glad I got to be a part of this." Five-time NASCAR champ Dale Earnhardt echoed Waltrip's enthusiasm.

"I loved it," exclaimed Earnhardt, who entertained his pit crew on their radios with a descriptive but unprint-See MILLER Page 5 l-i3 NASCAR did nothing for me and I remember watching them at Ontario Motor Speedway, thinking how boring they were compared to Indy cars. However, during the past few years thanks to ESPN's coverage and maybe a little more of an open mind, my perspective has definitely changed. The good ol' boys put on a good ol' show just about every time out and I find myself looking forward to watching them. Monday morning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I saw some STAR PHOTO JIMMY DAWSON Bill Elliott encounters a rarity in racing a stop sign as he departs Gasoline Alley in his Ford. Connors leaves Wimbledon a loser Smith's value to Stars not in scorebook By STEVE WILSTEIN ASSOCIATED PRESS Wimbledon, England Jim Courier stomped Monday through Wimbledon, the presumed burial ground of his Grand Slam charge, while Jimmy Connors limped off in pain and defeat for perhaps the last time.

Sharing relentless styles but separated by a generation. Courier, 21, and Connors, 39, opened Wimbledon this year with a view of the future and the past. Their paths crossed in the semifinals of the U.S. Open last summer, with Courier dominating throughout, and now they appear to be diverging completely. "It's not worth the pain any brilliance, but couldn't cope with the 20-year-old Herrera's greater stamina.

The match turned on one superb rally on set point in the third set. Connors, standing at the net, barely scooped up a net-cord by Herrera from near the baseline and angled a soft shot crosscourt Just over the net. Herrera charged in and slapped an apparent winner past Connors, but Connors hustled back and lofted a lob deep up the middle. Herrera somehow managed to backpedal fast enough to catch up to the ball and leaped Into the air to put it away with a perfect overhead. See CONNORS Page 2 more," Connors said after his 6-2, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 loss to Luis Her-rera.

"I hurt every day. I Just don't hurt as bad at two out of three sets. Three out of five is rough." After 20 Wimbledons, including two victories in six finals, Connors said the chances of him playing here again are "less than 50-50." He rated the odds of returning to the U.S. Open later this summer as "75-25 but going down." The problem, he said, is a combination of age. pain and "a bad attitude about the game In general," despite the fun he has while out on the court and joking with fans.

Connors flashed sparks of By CURT CAVIN STAR STAFF WRITER Indiana All-Star Heather Smith missed all three of her field goal attempts, two free throw attempts and committed a turnover Saturday night in Louisville. No matter, said head coach Tom May. Smith was among the team leaders In hustle, defense and ball movement, areas appre ciated primarily by coaches. "I was really impressed with' her," said May, savoring the. memories of an 81-73 girls basketball victory over the Kentucky All-Stars.

"Heather got the ball to the right people, played very aggressive defense and shot when she had to shoot." 1 Kentucky All-Star Christina Jansen got a first-hand look. The University of Kentucky recruit was considered the leader of the See SMITH Page 7 ASSOCIATED PRESS A dejected Jimmy Connors leaves Wimbledon's Court 1 following his first-round loss to Luis Herrera. Pacer draft history a sad case of 'what might have been' Bill Benner Scores AMERICAN LEAGUE then on the downslope of his career. The Pacers did draft two In the second round: Kenny Natt and Louis Orr. Orr played here two years, averaging 11 points and four rebounds, before signing with New York as a free agent.

Natt played Just 19 games in one season with the Pacers. 1981 The Pacers chose Ohio State's Herb Williams with the 14th pick overall. Not bad, considering that Williams became a fairly productive, journeyman starter at forward. Even better when you consider the Pacers were later able to trade him to Dallas for Detlef Schrempf. But not too good when you consider that the Pacers chose Williams instead of Larry Nance.

1982 The Pacers had three of the top 43 picks and used them for Clark Kellogg (eighth overall) in the first round and Guy Morgan and Jose Slaughter in the second. Kellogg See BENNER Page 7 choice (13th overall) went for 6-6 Dudley Bradley, who had the appropriate nickname' of "Dud." After two mediocre seasons, the Pacers traded him to Phoenix for a couple of future second-rounders, neither of whom proved to be worthwhile. Drafted in the second round that year was 6-8 Tony Zeno. Zeno's net worth was zero. After eight games, he was waived.

1980 The Pacers managed to screw this one up twice. In 1976, they traded their 1980 first-rounder to Philadelphia for Mel Bennett, who proved to be a miserable head case and lasted only two seasons here. So, when 1980 rolled around, Philly used Indiana's No. 1 to select Andrew Toney, who became an All-Star guard. However, by the time '80 got here, the Pacers had another first-round pick acquired from Boston.

Only they traded it to Denver along with Alex English in exchange for George McGlnnis, who was by MICHAEL Jordan at one guard. Tim Hardaway at the other. Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman at the forwards. Rony Seikaly In the middle. Ah, yes, I know hindsight is 20-20.

But if the Indiana Pacers hadn't been at various times cursed by no money, tough luck, bad timing and in several cases horrible decisions, that is a lineup they could have put on the floor this past season. So, with the NBA draft approaching Wednesday, it seemed to be a good time to review the Pacers' draft history, and to see how those guys, among others, got away, and how the Pacers came to have what they have. Understand, I did so Just for grins. So smile, Donnie Walsh, smile. 1977 The Pacers had no first-round choice, but took Texas Southern's Alonzo Bradley in the second round, 29th overall.

Bradley couldn't play a lick. Too bad the Pacers didn't go for a skinny 7-footer the Lakers drafted in the third round: James Edwards. Two years later, Edwards would cost them Adrian Dantley and Dave Robisch. 1978 The Pacers needed immediate help. Too bad they didn't get it after they spent the draft's third overall choice on Kentucky's Rick Robey.

Robey didn't even last a full season. The following January, Indiana dealt him to Boston for ex-Pacer Billy Knight. 1979 Another wasted draft. The Pacers' first-round Baltimore 5 New York 4 Minnesota 2 California 0 Chicago 7 Cleveland i Detroit 4 Boston 2 Toronto 16 Texas 7 Oakland NATIONAL LEAGUE Pittsburgh 5 St. Louis 2 Houston 5 Cincinnati 2 Philadelphia 5 Montreal 3 New York 8 Chicago 2 Los Angeles 4 San Diego 4 AMERICAN ASSOCIATION Indians 11 Buffalo 6 FILE PHOTO Michael Jordan: coulda, shoulda, woulda been a Pacer..