The Tampa Times from Tampa, Florida • 15

i The Tampa Times Saturday, May 29, 1 976 Section set tomorrow kid 9 1 4 i '7 -f x' If i i .4 -'I Back in the saddle again Jimmy Riddle, shown here after one of ny Sprint Car victories, has returned Jimmy Riddle, shown here Sprint Car victories, after one of has returned his back-wrenching many to broken bone hasn't knitted completely. But for Tampa's Golden Gate Speedway following a Riddle, race car racing again, despite the pain Pos. Car Driver ChassisEngine Time Speed 1 2 Johnny Rutherford McLarenOffy 3:10.52 188.957 2 20 Gordon Johncock WilcatDGS 3:10.95 188.531 3 68 TomSneva McLarenOffy 3:13.18 186.355 4 21 Al Unser ParnelliCosw. 3:13.28 186.258 5 14 A. J.

Foyt CoyoteFoyt 3:14.32 185.261 6 48 Pancho Carter EagleOffy 3:14.78 184.824 7 40 Wally Dallenbach WildcatOffy 3:15.18 184.445 8 45 Gary Bettenhausen EagleOffy 3:18.03 181.791 9 5 Bill Vukovich EagleOffy 3:18.42 181.433 10 69 Larry Cannon EagleOffy 3:18.47 181.388 11 12 MikeMosley EagleOffy 3:11.91 187.588 12 3 Bobby Unser EagleOffy 3:11.98 187.520 13 7 Roger McClnskey HopkinsOffy 3:13.03 186.500 14 93 Johnny Parsons EagleOffy 3:16.89 182.843 15 98 John Martin DragonOffy 3:17.35 182.417 16 17 Dick Simon VollstcdtOfly 3:17.43 182.343 17 9 Vern Schuppan (R) EagleOffy 3:17.79 182.011 18 83 Bill Puterbaugh EagleOffy 3:17.80 182.002 19 6 Mario Andretti McLarenOffy 3:10.07 189.404 20 73 Jerry Grant EagleAMC 3:16.06 183.617 21 28 Billy Scott (R) EagleOffy 3:16.31 183.383 22 77 SaltWalther McLarenOffy 3:16.94 182.797 23 92 Steve Krisiloff EagleOffy 3:17.66 182.131 24 86 Al Loquasto (R) EagleOffy 3:17.80 182.002 25 19 Spike Gehlhansen McLarenOffy 3:18.11 181.717 26 63 Larry McCoy RascarOffy 3:18.47 181.388 27 23 George Snider EagleOffy 3:18.74 181.141 28 96 BobHarkey KingfishOffy 3:18.74 181.141 29 97 Sheldon Kinser DragonOffy 3:18.77 181.114 30 51 Lloyd Ruby EagleOffy 3:13.05 186.480 31 33 David Hobbs McLarenOffy 3:16.10 183.580 32 24 Tom Bigelow EagleOffy 3:17.84 181.965 33 8 JanOpperman EagleOffy 3:18.11 181.717 FIRST ALTERNATE: 58 Eldon Rasmussen RascarFoyt 3:19.28 180.650 SECOND ALTERNATE: 38 Bill Simpson EagleOffy 3:19.55 180.406 Indy 500 Line Up Suns hope court helps Local driver "I'm hurtin'," Jimmy Riddle said, forcing a smile. "But I'm here." The 41-year-old Riddle has been driving race cars for 20 years. Naturally, he isn't going to let a little thing like a fractured vertebra slow him down now. Five short weeks ago Riddle, prince of the sprint car set at Tampa's Golden Gate Speedway, crashed. But through acupuncture and the help of a chiropractor, Riddle was back in action for Gate fans last night.

"The doctor said I could race," Riddle said as he rested in pit row. "It hurts. But I had to come out tonight." Five weeks ago, Riddle had just come out of the Golden Gate second turn and was probably running at about 90 m.p.h. down the back straightaway when it happened. Suddenly his tiny sprint car tangled with a car driven by Larry Brazil.

But to Riddle it's all a blur, now. "I don't really know what hap pened. In fact I don't even remember going to the hospital. I just remember seeing Larry Brazil out in front of me. "And then I hit that dirt pile over there in mid-air." "That dirt pile" is a ring of sand fondly nicknamed "the sand dune" by some drivers.

It wraps around the corners of the track, and it may have helped Riddle avoid tragedy in the No. 3X Pete Crocker-owned sprinter. A few years ago, Golden Gate had guard rails similar to interstate highway railings. But Gate owner Frank Dery, Jr. changed that.

"We brqught in 170 truck loads of dirt," Dery recalled. "When a driver hits that, he has a cushion. If a driver went off the track before, he'd hit the rail and stop like that," Dery said, smacking his fists together. "That sand has saved thousands of dollars in equipment and maybe a few drivers, too." One of those drivers is Riddle, who talks as freely about his race injuries as other people talk about the weather. Last year he suffered a fractured vertebra (a different one) when he "turned it over" in a Indy 500 INDIANAPOLIS (UPI) Two weeks ago, A.J.

Foyt said he "disgraced" himself. Tomorrow, he hopes to atone in a big way by winning the Speedway's million dollar 500-mile race for a record fourth time. At 41, USAC's six-time national driving champion is as competitive as ever. He will start the 60th annual holiday classic for a record 19th consecutive time, from the middle of the second row. But two weeks ago was his "black Saturday." He had to settle for the fifth best speed on the opening day of qualifications because his orange-colored Coyote wasn't handling properly.

"It was a disgrace to me and my car," the tough Texan snorted. In effect, he threatened to park his machine if it didn't handle in the race. The Houston flyer assumed the blame for "screwing up" during the time trials and vowed his car would be a top threat on race day. "I'll be ready," said, the winner of 54 championship events on USAC's big-car circuit. His 32 rivals took him at his word, realizing fully well that Foyt would be one of the top contenders for the ride into victory lane a trip he hasn't made since 1967.

But Foyt wasn't fooling himself. "You never know about this place," he said. "I may break something in a couple of laps." Like three years ago, when he went only 37 laps before a connecting rod broke and he had to settle for 25th place. But for two tough breaks, Anthony Joseph Foyt might have been in the chase for first place all the way last year. First, he "popped" a front tire when running over debris from Mario Andretti's spin in the early part of the race.

It cost him 45 seconds in the pits changing three tires. Later, he lost a lap when he ran out of fuel. "It might have been the race of the century" but for that bit of misfortune, said Foyt, who had to settle for third place, behind winner Bobby Unser and Johnny Rutherford when See FOYT, page 3-C goal! series opener Sunday in Los Angeles, they blanked England, 1-0. Gil, playing only his fourth international match, scored two goals from his forward position to move the Brazilians within grasp of the cup in the four-team round robin, crosscountry tournament. He knocked in an unassisted 12-yarder at the 29-minute mark of the first half and then put the match out of reach with little more than a minute left when he kicked in a rebound past Team America goalie Eric Martin.

Working with clockwork precision, Brazil completely dominated the first half, controlling the ball in a wide zone in front of the Team America goal and building a 22-13 margin in shots on goal. Brandao said his team's performance during the first 30 minutes was excellent. He also had kind words for the Americans, which battled back to dominate much of the second half. Fyt limes photo crash a few weeks ago. The driving is good therapy.

Miami-owned sprint car. And Riddle admits to "three or four" concussions in his career. Still, his specialty continues to be the sprint car, whose open cockpit affords little protection. But Riddle wouldn't have it any other way. Last night, Riddle drove a late model Camaro, No.

9 owned by Miles Hudson, because the sprints don't race until tonight. After the late model heats Riddle looked restless and a little uncomfortable. Sort of like the uncomfortable feeling a young boy gets when he's forced to dress up in a suit and tie to go to Sunday school. "There's just no feel to a late model," he said, looking unhappily at No. 9.

"In sprint racing you feel like part of the car. The transmission is right here," he said, motioning between his knees. "The whole car is hardly wider than you are. And you barely have to turn the wheel, it's that responsive." Riddle simply shrugs off the See RIDDLE, page 3-C Leaping lizards, a Streak ends at 30 games LeFlore starting new after hitless night 4 1 DETROIT (UPI) Ron LeFlore is only 56 games away Jrom tying Joe DiMaggio's major league record consecutive game hitting streak. The Detroit center fielder saw his batting streak slopped at 30 games Italy's Francesco Graziani leaps into the air Jim Rimmer during a Bicentennial Cup match last night as the ball scoots by English goalkeeper at Yankee Stadium.

England won, 3-2. Brazil dumps Team America iw I PHOENIX, Ariz. (UPI) Coach John MacLeod believes the Phoenix Suns learned a lesson in their first two NBA championship losses to the Boston Celtics and will be playing a different game before friendly fans at home. Game 3 in the best-of-seven series will be played tomorrow at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. "All of our players realize what they have to do and you're going to see a different game," MacLeod told an estimated 700 fans gathered at Phoenix Municipal Stadium to welcome the Suns back to Phoenix from Boston.

"We're going to have to get out there and start playing defense and we're going to have to be more aggressive," MacLeod said. "We're certainly not in a position we'd like to be in but we're not out of it especially with the enthusiasm this city has shown." Despite the Celtics 2-0 series ad-vantage, veteran Dick Van Arsdale said the Suns remain confident and said he felt playing at home "is going to make a great deal of difference." Van Arsdale, the only player remaining from the Suns' original 1968 team, said he wanted to hear the fans "yelling, 'John Havlicek senior as they were yelling at me at Boston." Van Arsdale said two key Celtics' steals, a pressing Boston defense and a cold shooting performance by the Suns were the primary reasons for the two Phoenix losses to Boston. "We've got to start playing more of our kind of game," he said. Offensively, the Suns have shot poorly, under 40 per cent, in the first two games. "I can't remember the last time that might have happened to us," said Phoenix center Alvan Adams, the NBA's Rookie of the Year.

"In fact, the last time we came close was when See SUNS, page 2-C f- last night when he went hitless in four at-bats in the Tigers' 9-5 loss to the New York Yankees, their 11th loss in 13 outings. The end of the streak means LeFlore must start over just like every other major leaguer who went without a hit last night if he hopes to match DiMaggio's record. LeFlore went out as one of only 15 players since the turn of the century to have a hitting streak of 30 games or more. Additionally, the fleet fly-hawk was only four games shy of equalling George Sisler's record for a hitting streak at at the start of a season. "I don't think the pressure would have been anything.

I couldn't have handled if I'd kept going," the nervous LeFlore said. "I don't think it would have been much greater than it was. "Quite naturally there is going to' be pressure," LeFlore said with a trace of peevishness. "When you get a hit every day, people are calling you all the time. It's hard not to think about it.

"I suppose people will be calling me tomorrow (today) to find out my reaction to not getting a hit," he said. LeFlore went to the plate four times without success. He came closest to getting a hit when his slow ground ball to third was scooped up by Gruig Nettles, who threw him out in the third inning. He took a called third strike his last time up, in the eighth. New York won the game on a span of eight pitches in the fourth three of which were knocked for home runs.

Vern Ruhle, who took his first loss in four decisions, had retired the first four batters when usually meek-hitting Mickey Rivers belted his third home run of the season. After Roy White walked, Thurman Munson hit his sixth home run and Chris Chambliss connected for his sixth on the next pitch. i DPI photo In the final 30 minutes, Team America, comprised of stars of the North American Soccer League, made a bid to overtake the Brazilians, primarily on the work of forward Julie Veee of the San Jose Earthquakes. "Veee entered the game and sparked them," Brandao said. "He was able to come in and give them life." In the half.

Team America out-shot Brazil, 15-13. Ken Furphy, coach of the all-stars, said the performance against Brazil was a vast improvement over the 4-0 opening round loss to Italy. "We're just running into form now to play England," Furphy said. He added, "I'm just amazed at people who think 2-0 is bad. A 1-0 score would have been more reflective of the character of the game." Brazil's second goal, he pointed out, came when Team America had scuttled its defense in an all-out effort tyfte the score.

SEATTLE (UPI) Even without superstar Pele, Brazil can field a formidable world caliber soccer team. With Pele looking on along with 20,253 fans in the new Kingdome last night, Brazil registered its second consecutive shutout and came within a game of clinching the Bicentennial Cup Soccer Series by beating Team America, 2-0. The young South Americans, unbeaten in two games, can clinch the series with either a tie or a victory over Italy in New Haven, Memorial Day. Although a tie would give Brazil the championship, coach Oswaldo Brandao said he won't settle for anything less than a victory in the finale. "I won't even consider a tie," he said after last night's victory.

"It (last night's game) was a better test because we were able to do more things and there was more flow to the game," Brandao added. In the t. The streak ended Detroit Tigers' Ron LeFlore eyes a fly ball in the second pitch of the first inning last night against the Yankees at home. LeFlore was held hitless on the evening and had his hitting streak ended at 30 games. The i Tigers lost the game, 9-5..