The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 9

S10 THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR MONDAY, MAY 30, 1994 "Fans provide off4lie4rack distractions 'ft yi f' ffi 1 HI Afc-M. Vy ro Vi1 A A. a Rubber rat, a search for celebrities and beer in a casket keep some spectators busy. By John R. O'Neill and Janet E.

Williams STAR STAFF WRITERS For a mere 25 cents, Craig Jung and his buddies were offering the best bargain at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday: The chance to squeeze the rubber rat fastened to the hood of their "Sphinx-mobile." Jung and his pals, all from St. Louis, hadn't planned on becoming entrepreneurs. They got into business out of necessity they wanted to bail a buddy out of the Marion County Jail. Their friend. Chip Baldeck, was arrested outside the track the night before the 500-Mile Race.

Their fund-raising drive was all in jest. By 8:30 a.m., when they had raised $4.75 in quarters, they figured their friend was out of jail. But that didn't stop Jung, David Heinze or Terry Pumphrey from trying to entice passers-by to ante up. With about 400,000 people at the track for Race Day, they were hopeful of getting more. Jung and his five friends left St.

Louis Friday night In their shimmering gold 1978 Ford LTD, made up to look like an Egyptian chariot. Jung said a friend did the handiwork, creating a mobile art museum with brightly colored hieroglyphics painted on the Inside. The exterior, made of plastic foam and metal, would have amazed Rodin. On the roof was the head of a Sphinx, with working headlights for eyes. Giant wings rose over the back of the car, with red taillights wired to really work.

And the hood ornament was the rubber rat, painted gold, of course. Where is he? As they partied and showed off their car, they waited for Baldeck to show up. "We still don't know where he is," said Jung, hopeful that sometime before the end of the three-hour race they'd hook up with their friend. At about the same time, over in the garage area, Greg Lutz's day was a little less worrisome. Lutz, from San Diego, was lounging in the passenger seat of a golf cart, watching the constant parade of drivers, celebrities, paparazzi and cars in tow.

From his seat he could see the fence around the garage area and the sea of faces pressed against it. They were the faces of those less fortunate, those without the magic badges that provide access to areas like the garages. Until this year, Lutz was among them. He always arrived in a Winnebago, parked in the infield and enjoyed Just being at the track. But this year, he said, he got to go "first class." A friend of his is a friend of Roger Ward son of the two-time "500" winner.

And that explains why, this year, Lutz had a gold badge and seats in the paddock penthouse. "I'm lucky to know somebody who knows somebody," Lutz said. "I've always been on the outside looking in," he added. "It's amazing to see what's on this side of the fence." Looking for celebrities It sure is. Just ask Jim Eber-hardy, who was one of those people hanging around on the outside of the fence, camera at the ready, waiting for a glimpse of someone famous.

"I'm Just trying to get a few pictures," said Eberhardy, who came down from Wausau, with daughter Sara and fiancee Donna Hutchinson. "I'd sure like to be on that side," Eberhardy said, looking through the fence. "It feels like a zoo, staring in there," Hutchinson said. i' kit vl-r- 'f 00tr ami Jk Fewer fans receive stop and Star Staff Photo Matthew Kryger A RELAXING DAY Chad Harrelson splashes passersby while sitting in a "cool tub" with Joe Fetters and Jenny Icenogle (top photo), while George Wilson (left in photo at left) and John Bender from Grand Rapids, relax on a couch atop their van in Turn 1. go penalty qualifications and the race, arrests were way down this year," said Sgt.

Ronald McClain, unit supervisor for identification records at the Indianapolis Police Department. "Track arrests are 95 percent (public intoxication), and the rest is public indecency, usually for relieving yourself in public because there's not enough public restrooms." But more than a few mothers were left fuming in the lobby on Alabama Street as they waited to pick up their adult children. Shirley Jackley, of Sterling, 111., bolted out of bed at 5:30 a.m. Sunday and drove SV hours to post bail and pick up her son, who was arrested for public intoxication. "These guys all come here to have a good time: they're not hurting anybody," she said.

Circle Centre Mall, the State-house, the White River and the teeming intersection of 16th and Georgetown. Not everyone involved in Sunday's helicopter operation avoided that traffic, however. Ironically, company president Kinnaman missed his helicopter flight to the track early in the morning and had to drive instead. "I got stuck in traffic for an hour and a half," he mused. Aside from that snafu, the day's operation went "very smoothly," due in large part to the sunny skies, he said.

And should anyone want to reserve a ride for next year's race, Kinnaman and Celarek are accepting requests now. Indianapolis Heliport's phone number is (317) 262-3000. Zoo doesn't quite describe the chaotic party atmosphere near the fourth turn, behind the tower of bleachers seats that wiped out most decent views of the race track. Beer flowed, rock music blasted and young guys sitting atop vans yelled for scantily clad women to show off even more of their bodies. What bothered Robert Steele, who drove to the race from Cincinnati, was the tower of bleachers that blocked a once clear view of the track.

"1 don't like It. When you can't see nothing, it takes away from the partying," Steele said. Steele and his friends drove in Saturday, spent the night in the North 40 parking lot and drove into their spot on the fourth turn about 5:30 a.m. And they were ready to party, bleachers or no bleachers. Steele came prepared a specially designed coffin lined with plastic and filled with 40 pounds of dry ice and another 10 pounds of regular ice to keep their 25 to 30 cases of beer on ice.

And that was for 12 people. Why the coffin? "This was something different to do. Instead of bringing two or three coolers, we have this," he said, patting the lid of the white wooden coffin that, under normal circumstances, carries a more somber load. Worth the wait Thanks to the casket full of beer, Steele and his friends were able to avoid waiting in line to buy their brews. But other people didn't mind waiting in line, if the cause was Just.

About an hour before the race, the line to get into the Official Trackside Gift Shop was about 60 people long. Mark Sorenson and Kay Phillips were at the end of it. Other gift shops might have shorter lines, but Sorenson and Phillips always wait to get into this one behind the tower terrace seats on the main straightaway. The selection is better, said Sorenson, who lives in Clinton, Iowa. Phillips, of Dallas, agreed.

The two friends always attend the race together. Spear was more visibly moved by the experience than the other 274 passengers who bought tickets for the helicopter rides, which have been organized and flown by the Indianapolis Heliport Corp. for the past eight years. But then, the lucky passengers were a bit more refined than your average race-goer. Each, for instance, paid $275 for the privilege of round-trip, airborne transportation to the track which also included complimentary beverages on takeoff, a brown-bag lunch and race souvenirs such as baseball caps and canvas tote bags.

Many of the female passengers sported elegant summer outfits as opposed to the cutoffs and bikini tops favored by many women "I always buy a hat with the date of the race on it," Sorenson said. "I wear them at the race, take then home and put them on a shelf." And then, he never wears them again. "They get some race sweat on them, and that's it," Sorenson said. And Sorenson wasn't the only one who was upholding tradition on Sunday. Bill Myers was at the track to do for his son what his dad had done for him.

Myers said his dad always took htm to the race, and he always loved it. But he hadn't been back since 1985. Now, with a young son of his own, he felt it was important to make the drive from Cincinnati. "I want him to at least hear the roar of the cars," Myers said as he relaxed in the Turn 1 infield. As those cars sped by, Myers reflected on how things had changed since the last time he attended the race.

"Everything's new. It looks a lot nicer," he said. "But the crowd is more or less the same." Star Staff Photo Patrick Schneider that." But aside from the long lines and even longer faces of those who had to learn the outcome of the race from a crowded jail cell, authorities said the weekend went much smoother than expected. Arrests for common Race Day misdemeanors such as public intoxication, disorderly conduct and indecent exposure were down this year. And aside from the usual post-race traffic snarls near the track, the Indiana State Police reported a smooth getaway for most race-goers.

From 6:30 p.m. Saturday to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, jail officials processed 405 arrests, the majority of which were race-related. On a normal weekend, the jail usually processes 150 arrests. "For the two weekends of rode In a helicopter with three friends.

Bowman, however, traveled for free, since his dad works for Indianapolis Heliport's parent company. "It's Just really convenient," agreed Jim Mitchell, a real estate developer from Phoenix. "It's Just a monumental task to get from where you're staying to the track." And the high cost of such convenience? "We think it's worth the price," said Mitchell, who added that the service would help him, his brother and one friend make their evening flight back to Phoenix. Mitchell and his party also were treated to a spectacular view of the city during their trip, viewing the top of the still-uncompleted By Ruth Mullen STAR STAFF WRITER Race fans can rest assured that the Marion County Sheriffs Department hasn't lost its sense of humor. Race-goers who tied on one too many this weekend were greeted with a giant red-and-white Budweiser banner that read "Welcome Race Fans" at the entrance to the prisoner receiving area at the Marion County Lockup.

But not everyone was laughing. "1 got here around midnight last night, and I just now got out," said disgruntled Westsider John Plott, who was waiting for a ride outside the jail Sunday afternoon. "I'd had about five beers. It's just not right that they can do rations, said Lynn Celarek, the Heliport Corp. administrative assistant who booked reservations for the trips.

Passengers boarded helicopters from three different Indianapolis locations the Downtown heliport, Indianapolis International Airport and the Embassy Suites North Hotel throughout the morning. After quick, smooth rides in perfect weather, the four- and six-seat Bell LongRangers and Je-tRangers landed in a grassy field Just south of the Speedway. The copters ferried passengers back to the original locations for three hours after the race. "Leave the house at nine, get here at quarter to ten," marveled passenger Fred Bowman, who ervice helicopters in rich, famous and anonymous By Rebecca Buckman STAR STAFF WRITER Tom Spear and friend Larry Conway usually travel to the 500-Mile Race in an RV caravan from Terre Haute. This year, they took a more direct route with a birdseye view.

Spear and Conway, both of Ev-anville, caught a helicopter in Indianapolis Sunday morning, bypassing the traffic on West 16th Street and enjoying much more breathtaking scenery. "God, that was great!" gushed Spear as he stepped off the helicopter after a velvety smooth six-minute ride. "Sitting up front (next to the pilot) was too neat. There were all these pedals and camped out in the infield. And the copters even brought in a few famous folks, such as driver Scott Goodyear.

Last year, television actor Craig T. Nelson took advantage of the service, according to the helicopter company's president, Steve Kinnaman. Then there were the people who looked famous but didn't seem to want anyone to know. "I think it's best that no one knows I'm here." said one man who disembarked with his wife and three children. All had important-looking Marlboro racing team credentials hanging from their necks.

Despite the high cost of the trip, however, most of those buying tickets were private groups of families and friends, not corpo-.