The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 5

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR MONDAY, MAY 30, 1994 S5 Another Andretti9 another hard-luck story Michael suffers a punctured tire, then a Map penalty that drops him to 6th place. on me in Turn 4. In Turn 1, I almost lost it. "We lost more than a lap (on the stop to replace the tire). We came in under green.

Since we were out of sync with the leaders we lost a another lap. I was running on full tanks when everyone else was on lighter loads. I had all this weight and couldn't pass anybody. "Then. I had to keep making green flag stops while the others were stopping on the yellow.

We "When it comes to the month of May, I wish our family name was Unser." Michael Andrettl T7 -v i J-Zr- A X-X rr Mt rj- BOSCH VAi-- CJ' 3 4PK Plugs I OC7' I 1 UN. By John Bansch STAR STAFF WRITER Mario wasn't the only Andrettl struck down by misfortune Sunday. Son Michael was twice victimized before being awarded sixth In the 78th running of the Indiana-polls 500. First, a tire puncture on Lap 41 almost sent the 31 -year-old driver Into the wall and forced him Into the pits for a unscheduled stop. Then, with Just 10 laps remaining, race officials ruled Andrettl was guilty of an illegal pass during a yellow light.

They wanted to bring him In for a stop-and-go penalty, but Stan Fox crashed before he came In and the pit entrance was closed. USAC opted to give Andrettl a one-lap penalty, dropping him from third to sixth and moving Bobby Rahal, Jimmy Vasser and Robby Gordon up one spot, "To have a call that was too close to call, that gave us absolutely no advantage, take away a hard-earned third place is very disappointing," Andrettl said in a prepared statement after declining to discuss the ruling in his post-race news conference. "When it comes to the month of May, I wish our family name was Unser." Andrettl did talk about tire puncture, which came moments after the green flag dropped following the Dominic Dobson-Mike Groff crash. "I almost crashed," he said in the quiet of his garage. "I stood on it, and the car really got sideways had to claw our way back up all day.

Before the race, Andrettl said he thought the Mercedes-powered Penske cars. Including the one Al Unser Jr. drove to victory, had close to 200 more horsepower than any car in the rest of the field. After chasing the winner and Emerson Flttipaldl, Andrettl was convinced the Mercedes were stronger. "They had 200 more horses," he said.

"They would Just take off on the restart. I couldn't stay in their tow. Normally, you can suck up on somebody. No way, today. They were gone." The Mercedes machines were running about a mile an hour quicker on each lap than Andret- ti's TargetScotch 94 Reynard Star Photo Kristin Enzor BAD FAMILY LUCK: Michael Andretti gets encouragement from wife Sandra after his problem-plagued run.

Ford, according to Michael. finished second." laps because of fuel system prob- thumbs up sign after I heard he "We had to play catch up, but Andretti was aware of his fa- lems. was out. I was telling them I want- we were competitive. If I hadn't ther being forced out of his fare- "When we were under yellow ed to win it for dad." cut the tire, I would have easily well Indianapolis race after just 23 (Laps 30-40) I gave his pit the It was not to be.

Plastic bag keeps Vasser from going faster MOTOROLA (ft) MOTOROLA WTOTE PHONE I 3Full CENTURY CAR PHONES 5720 W. 71 st Street Indpls. 297-9797 164 Southpark Blvd. Greenwood 888-7265 Rd. MARSH MOTOROLA Rip Phone Includes: AC Charger XT Battery "I'm flattered to hear that." he said.

"Those are some pretty big shoes to fill. (Rick) Mears, Mario (Andretti). (Johnny) Rutherford. Those guys are heroes." In Car Holder Open Mon-Frl 11-7- Sat. Sun.

12-5 $89 i ii 842-1034 FREE ACTIVATIONS require 2 Yaar GTE Mobilnat Seivice SUr News Classifieds. Sell it quicker in the Certified Agent Mobilnet" Cellular Communications omi FflSinctionB apply Njw activationa only Subject to credit approval One-year service agreement required the fence once. I thought I was going to have to take evasive action that time and I was behind John Paul when he had a tire go and crashed. "The more you run at this place the better you feel. I wonder why a guy like Al Unser Sr.

retired. I think he still has what It takes to do well here. The more experience you have here the better you will do. Look at a guy like Bobby Rahal. He's a true champion.

He's been battling team and equipment problems, then gets into a year-old car and finishes in front of us. My hat is off to him." Vasser experienced few looks at the powerful Mercedes-Benz engine that dominated the race. "I wasn't around them that much," he said. "Until the bag incident, 1 was one of the cars on the lead lap. One time, Emerson (Flttipaldl) came around and lapped me.

He had superior power down the straightaway." Vasser's name is often included when racing experts list the new generation of drivers expected to become the sport's top 4th-place finisher was forced into ill-timed pit stop for adjustment. By John Bansch STAR STAFF WRITER Jimmy Vasser's pay envelope at tonight's annual Penske awards ceremony will be lighter than it could have been, thanks to an inconsiderate race fan. About a third of the way into Sunday's Indianapolis 500, the promising 28-year-old driver was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop when a plastic bag was sucked into his radiator, causing the ConsecoSTP '94 Reynard-Ford to overheat. So, instead of possibly finishing second, Vasser was awarded a controversial fourth-place finish in his third "500." The green light was on when Vasser pulled in to have the unwanted bag removed from the car. Shortly afterward, the caution light came on, and Vasser's main competitors were afforded the advantage of pitting during a yellow.

"We had a half a tank of fuel and were running fifth or sixth when we had to come in." Vasser said as he sat on a stool in the back of his garage. "When the yellow came on, It put us out of sequence. "We dropped to 13th or so and had -to work our way back up. We're happy with the finish, but we could have been farther up the road, maybe where (Jacques) Vllleneuve finished (second)." Vasser was awarded fourth when USAC penalized Michael Andretti a lap for passing under the yellow Just before the restart on Lap 190. The decision dropped Andretti from third to sixth and advanced Vasser from fifth to fourth.

It didn't take long for Vasser to move up from his 16th starting slot to the top 10, and he ran among the leaders almost all day except for his unscheduled stop. "I had a smooth ride," said Vasser, who has two fourth-place finishes and a fifth In four races this season. "It was very comfortable out there all day. I only had a couple of close calls. Eddie Chee-ver did a helluva Job to keep It off Van about town.

Stop-and-go penalty costly to Cheever in m4 wsu "I was running as fast as we could, hoping we could make it to the finish. The engine Just kept getting hotter, right to the end. "Certainly this Is very disappointing for everyone. Unfortunately, we had no luck again." Boesel finished 21st after starting second. He was fourth last year and would have won without the penalties.

despite his second consecutive Row 1 start. He quickly dropped out of the hunt and was never a factor. "The car was running hot and losing water from the start," he said. "Since the beginning, (the car) lost power to everyone else. We never had the usual horsepower, so we Just dropped back In the pack.

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Auto Club officials for violating pit-road and on-track rules. He felt It cost him the race. Sunday, Cheever and Nigel Mansell were charged for rolling past Boesel In the pits. Boesel's pit box was stationed at the far south end of the assistance road, and he wasn't up to speed when the two faster cars went sailing past. USAC might have allowed that to happen, but Cheever and Mansell made no attempt to wave Boesel.

who had apparently crossed the blend line, back in line. Both teams were livid. For Man-sell, who was taken out of the race by rookie Dennis Vitolo In a crash, the stop-and-go penalty didn't figure into the post-race results. Cheever's did. though.

He finished in eighth place and could have been higher had the penalty not been assessed. Mansell finished 22nd. 'The car ran really well." said Cheever, who started on the front row in 1992. "It's a pity that I got that stop-and-go penalty. I don't know what that was all about.

The USAC official made the decision. If he's right. OK, it was a good decision. But I have to find out. "It affected me.

It took us out of the race." The penalty came around Lap 40. Cheever was running fourth at the time and was recycled to 15th, the last spot on the lead lap. Boesel's day never materialized fortable ride. And the payload is larger as well. A combination that makes Ryder CityVan trucks a great new addition to what is the country's largest commercial rental fleet.

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