The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 25

i in oni par nw it 'A i SUNDAY, MAY 25, 1997 For more Indianapolis 500 information: http:www.starnews.comspeednetdirectory.html THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR 3 jtaHate Odd Jin mop di ill MM (ffas, p- 1U OJ Canadian wins his third straight CART start, expertly passing rival drivers on a wet, new track. I7W VICTORY STANCE: Paul Tracy celebrates his triumph in the inaugural race at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, III. The Canadian is leading the CART point standings. 1 tmn. Materia 303 (Top finishers) Driver Equipment 1.

Paul Tracy P-M 2. Patrick Carpentier R-M 3. Gil 6e Ferran R-H 4. AlexZanardi R-H 5. Jimmy Vasser R-H 6.

Mauricio Gugelmin R-M 7. Parkar Johnstone R-H 8. Adrian Fernandez L-H 9. Richie Hearn L-f 10. Andre Ribeiro L-H Chassis: R-Reynard, L-Lola, P-Penske Engines: H-Honda.

F-Ford, M-Mercedes Series point leaders: Tracy 85, Zanardt 67, Scott Pruett 61, Michael Andretti 54, Greg Moore 44, Vasser 43. agement that cost him a lap to the leaders as well as side-by-side duels with Al Unser Jr. and Gil de Ferran, among others. This was one of the best races we've had In five or six years," the winner said. Carpentier appeared headed for his first victory on Lap 210 of 236 when he assumed the lead from fellow rookie Dario Franchitti, whose transmission broke.

Carpentier increased his lead in the Alumax Reynard Mercedes to nearly 3 seconds until car owner Tony Bet-tenhausen radioed to conserve fuel, even though Tracy was stalking. Carpentier last pitted on Lap 176, in the midst of a 37-lap yellow flag for Scott Pruett's accident and the second batch of light rain. That left him 60 laps to go on a tank that finished with two-tenths of a gallon "enough to fill See TRACY Page 4 By Curt Cavin STAFF WRITER MADISON. 111. A relentless march through a competitive field Saturday at Gateway International Raceway left Paul Tracy, the hottest driver in Championship Auto Racing Teams, standing atop the Motorola 300.

The series points leader passed virtually everyone in the corners, including Patrick Carpentier two laps from the finish, to win his third consecutive race since being fined for rough driving at Long Beach, Calif. Despite intermittent rain, 26 drivers gave the race-filled Memorial Day weekend a spectacular kickoff. Eight led the 300-mile event, which featured more subplots than caution periods. A sellout crowd of 48,500 watched at Chris Pook's new St. Louis-area track.

Tracy's day included poor pit man "HBr'f Li Associated Press 9 Eager Learn and Let it Burn No one can erase the lure of this race v- 1 Bill Benner 4 Welcome, race Italian rookie Vincenzo Sospiri is living his dream this week at Indy I fans. Whether a first-timer or an old- timer, we are really, sincerely 4. I glad to have you in our town. -j I'm certainly By Dick Mittman STAFF WRITER 7 y-" 0 late March, Vincenzo Sospiri flew to Rio de Janeiro to drive in the Formula One Brazil ian Grand Prix. 'VIM 5.V AH about Indy DISTANCE 500 miles; 200 laps around the 212-mile, asphalt-on-brick Indianapolis Motor Speedway track.

START 11 a.m. EST from a flying start, following warmup, parade and pace laps. The pace car, a 1997 Oldsmobile Aurora, will be driven by Johnny Rutherford, a three-time Indy 500 winner. DEFENDING CHAMPION Buddy Lazier, Vail, who averaged 147.956 mph for his first victory in his fourth start at Indy. FORMER WINNERS IN RACE (2) Arie Luyendyk, 1990; Lazier, 1996.

ROOKIES IN RACE (13) Vin-cenzo Sospiri, Jeff Ward, Affonso Giaf-fone, Kenny Brack, Jack Miller, Steve Kinser, Robbie Groff, Billy Boat, Sam Schmidt, Billy Roe, Tyce Carlson, Greg Ray, Claude Bourbonnais. OLDEST IN RACE LynSt. James, 50. YOUNGEST IN RACE Tony Stewart, 26. THE TROPHY Sterling silver Borg-Warner Trophy, which carries a bust of each winner; 92 pounds; 4 feet, 4 inches tall; insured for $1 million.

Winner takes home a smaller replica. curious as to why you are here, shelling out all those discretionary dollars, trekking to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and ignoring everyone who would tell you your money and time could be better spent elsewhere. Maybe you still believe in the purported fairy tale that the Indianapolis 500 remains the most prestigious auto dash on the planet. Maybe you don't buy into Little Al Unser's itty-bitty perspective that winning Indy now "means nothing" because an Andretti won't be here to lose it. Again.

And maybe you're suffering from the deluded thinking that the mere spectacle of sight, sound and competition that Indy offers always will be an especially cool deal, short of Tony George ordaining new rules that pygmies will race in go-karts. For whatever reason, you've chosen to dump some of your disposable Income into our dollar landfill at 16th and Georgetown. So we're glad you're here. Now, if we locals seem a little nervous, it's because you catch us at a precarious juncture in our city's history. We've been riding quite a community high here for the last couple of decades, doing all kinds of progressive things.

Lately, however, it seems every time we pick up the newspaper or turn on the TV, there's a threat. Somebody's leaving. Something's changing. A tradition is crumbling. There's a big debate about whether to build a new Down- town arena for the Pacers.

The Colts are dropping meet-our-demands-or-else hints. Our legislators are fumbling political footballs all over the place, and the lawmakers' deadlockbrainlock probably cost us a chance to land the NCAA headquarters. Our two most cherished Hoosier sporting traditions the 500 and the single-class boys state high school basketball tournament are in the throes of change. And just when we were thinking what possibly could be next, our parade floats burned. It was reassuring to witness -the creative thinking, hard work and community support that See BENNER Page 2 There was one problem: His Lola team had forgotten to tell him it had gone bankrupt and there was no car or team.

"It was a big shock, because I got (the news) from the newspaper," the Italian driver said. "I didn't get it from them. It wasn't very nice." But Sospiri rebounded nicely. Today, the 30-year-old driver starts the Indianapolis 500 on the outside of the front row as the fastest rookie qualifier at 216.822 mph. His test last November for Team Scandia paid dividends, landing him in the Old NavyScandiaAlta Xcel DallaraAuroraGoodyear for the 81st running of the 500.

"I've always had my confidence. I'm a quick driver," he said. Driving at Indy has been Sospir-i's goal since he watched the 1981 race on television. 'The thing that attracted me (to Indy) was that it was one race that lasted a month," he said. "A lot of pressure on you.

It is very difficult to keep the concentration all the time there, to keep the car always in one piece. "And it is a very, very long race and it is almost impossible to not make any mistakes." Sospiri said his first dream was to come here to qualify. His second is to win the race. "The first one, I made it, I qualify," he said. "I'm waiting for the second one." Sospiri, a resident of Monte Carlo, will start up front with pole-sitter Arie Luyendyk and Tony Stewart.

He is the first Italian rookie on the front row since Teo Fabi was the surprise pole winner in 1983. The start of the race presents questions for Sospiri. What will be other drivers' strategies? How fast will they set the pace? "At the beginning, it's a question if they want to go flat out or not," he said. "I'm prepared for anything." Sospiri's longest race about two hours was at Spa in Bel- 'V1' Jf ir 4 1 1 4 Mk, il if i Staff Photo Greg Grlffo STANDOUT: Vincenzo Sospiri takes his eyes off the Borg-Warner Trophy long enough to wave to the crowd. See SOSPIRI Page 2 INSIDE Bulls roll over Heat Chicago moves within a victory of sweeping Miami Ifter scoring decisive Game 3 win.

Page 11' Overlooked driver Jeff Gordon gets the attention, butvTefTy Labonte leads in the standings. Page 7 Avalanche stay alive Colorado holds off elimination by dismantling Detroit in Game 5 of he Western Conference finals. Page 5 VJimtonCup it.ii jw.ihil ifflh.