The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 1

i 1 G1 I liii.aU i i I Li i lid 1115 ndianapol: mm 1ME1 i "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty" II Cor. 3:17 $1.00 SINGLE COPY THE 81st INDIANAPOLIS 500 9 AW i OH 'u vr- .1 nr w4 onoEa df tkh At the restart of today's Indianapolis 500, a mini- mum of two laps will be run under the yellow Gates open: 7 a.m. Cars positioned on track: 9:45 a.m. National Anthem: 10:42 a.m. Restart: 11 a.m.

Television: 7 p.m. (tape) Channel 6, WRTV Radio: 10:45 a.m.; WIBC-AM (1070); WFBQ-FM (94.7); and WNDE-AM (1260) KORE liSIDE IMAGES OF THE DAY, Page A4 SCORECARD, Page A5 nf7(rhnnrP 1 Tm 'mm ifanT 1 1 1 Staff Photo Steven M. Noreyko AND THEY'RE OFF: The start of the Indy 500 looked good Monday, but things quickly fell apart and the race was delayed again. :1 is-i Rain, not 500 miles of racing, is what fans find at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway By Rob Schneider STAFF WRITER Walking through a muddy lnfleld in the rain, a teen-ager turned to a friend and summed up the day probably as well as anybody could: "Hey, It's normally more exciting than this." -A few feet away, a group of men passed the time during Monday's rain delay by playing catch with a head of lettuce. It was that kind of day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as rain sidelined the race for a second day.

And the decision to hold the race today rather than Saturday was like more water dripping down the collars of some fans. Robert and Michael Hoops agreed that Saturday would be a more convenient day than today. Robert Hoops, who lives in Greensburg, will have to bypass the race for work. Michael, his son, lives in Pittsburgh; he would have considered returning this weekend but can't make it today. Terry Spotts and Mark Kleis of Indianapolis also saw Saturday as a more convenient day, but they were willing to give the Speedway a break on the decision.

Both said they understood that the Speedway has "got get it in" to allow the racing crews to get ready for a race in Texas. Both men already were planning how they could return today. For Dennis Danek of Connecticut, this would have been his first race. "I was impressed." he said of what racing he saw. Impressed enough to have considered returning Saturday.

He also fished officials would have considered starting the race earlier on Monday than 11 a.m. 5 The decision not to run race on Saturday i adds to the disappointment at the track By Robin Miller STAFF WRITER Just as the 81st Indianapolis 500 was settling down Monday, the skies opened up and closed down the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 'I After an aborted start. 15 laps were In the books before it began raining. By 2:15 p.m.

it was a downpour, and the estimated 200.000 people who came back after Sunday's rain-out were sent away again. At 1 1 a.m. today, for the third straight day, Indy will try to finish what rapidly is becoming an endurance race. With today's forecast calling for cool, cloudy conditions, and the Indy Racing League facing a time crunch before its next race In Texas (June 7). race officials decided to run the race the next day instead of waiting until Saturday.

ABC will pre-empt its daily programming and provide live television coverage nationally. The race will be blacked out locally. "It's Important we get it done as quick as we can and as safely as possible," said USAC chief steward Keith Ward. "If we can't get it in (today), it will be the next day, or the next day after that until we get it done." In 1986, it took three days to get the race in. After two days (Sun- day-Monday) of rain and no action, all 500 miles were run on the foI lowing Saturday.

It was believed that the ABC network, which has millions tied up in-race coverage, again would lobby for a weekend date. "ABC could obviously put a lot of pressure on us, but they told us, to do what was best," IMS Vice President Bill Donaldson said. David Downs, who is a senior vice president of network program -w- 'Staff Photo Steve Healey ITS OVER: A pit crew member for Affonso Giaffone has a tough moment after the team's car crashed during the parade lap. See RESTART Page -A See FANS Page 5 4.