Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 68

Zace Weekend SectionCPage16Star-TelegramSundayJune81497' do )P fIRUE VALUE RACING LEAGUE 500 INDY 'RI 4 From Page 1 I' i at me and then I got hit from behind e'l in the back of the head" IV It 1 Foyt grabbed Luyendyk He zzr i 1 made it clear that he did not appre- ciate the Dutchman's party-crashing 1 i t1 p4 I Si appearance "You don't come in there and 1 1 tX I C1' 4 qs start mouthing somebody in Victory -4: 4 Circle" said Foyt who scored 67 't Z't4i-4 Indy-car victories during his driving 4 PI '47(1'kizz' 3 -4: -0'0' career "He Luyendyk won Indy 0 1 4 4 44 1 k0 54: 6 I and probably thought he won this ''4 rl' ti'' f'' --1-: clanmed race But he got down early TZ and never made it up I just wanted '4 1- :4 dill to get out of Victory Circle and Z1 tk ohltiz ''zt leave us alone We sure didn't go 4 '1 4 0 into Victory Circle at Indy I said 4 4 2 ''''e ttih': tikiA11600 1 0iANi: 'Just get out of here' i 1 rIf Speedway security personnel ---Nt041' PI 1 c'-g-0- i MI From Page 1 at me and then I got hit from behind in the back of the head" Foyt grabbed Luyendyk He made it clear that he did not appreciate the Dutchman's party-crashing appearance "You don't come in there and start mouthing somebody in Victory Circle" said Foyt who scored 67 Indy-car victories during his driving career "He Luyendyk won Indy and probably thought he won this damned race But he got down early and never made it up I just wanted him to get out of Victory Circle and leave us alone We sure didn't go into Victory Circle at Indy I said 'Just get out of here'" Speedway security personnel ri I Ji Star-TelegramHILLERY SmrrH Billy Boat an BM rookie who started 21st of 26 in the True Value 500 field surges to his first Indy car victory Luyendyk's team protests results Star-Telegram FORT WORTH Luyendyk's Treadway Racing team protested the final results of the True Value 500 last night saying a scoring error denied Luyendyk the victory US Auto Club chief steward Keith Ward was reviewing tape of the race at press time to rule on the protest "We won't have a chance to rule on the protest until I see all the auditing and scoring from the race" Ward said "That could take anywhere from one to four hours" Race results were posted at 10:55 pm and Treadway Racing filed a protest on behalf of Luyendyk and Scott Goodyear saying that Luyendyk was the winner and that Goodyear finished higher than ninth as listed Luyendyk was listed as the third-place finisher The protest requires a $500 fee Luyendyk's team had been complaining since midway through the race that a lap had been taken away from him Ward said he was not aware of any "altercation" that took place between Luyendyk the winner of the 1997 Indianapolis 500 and Foyt the owner of Billy Boat's 0-Force Aurora that won the race "We will look at that and decide what approach to take regarding discipline" Ward said RUE VALUE 500 UCAP Billy Boats road to victory: 1173 1-20 --LEADERS: Pole sitter Tony Siewart used his superior speed outtace Robbie Buhl into Turn 1 and stayed in front for the first '0 laps BREAKDOWN: There was a sense of dela vu from the Win6ton Cup Interstate Batteries 500 when the caution flag flew first lap This time though it wasn't a wreck Marco CAreco blew an engine going into lUrn 1 and spewed oil onto the track Eighteen of the first 20 Lps were run under yellow l)tificly Lazier got inside Kenny off Turn 2 and passed for lltird place on the 20th lap IIIPS 21-40 LEADERS: Stewart continied to set the pace and Lazier as the only driver close enough to smell his exhaust les BREAKDOWN: Lazier rocketed around Buhl into second Nice and moved in on Stewart couldn't get close enough to t' It-eaten a pass Stewart and pulled away from a four-pack of Buhl Brack Scott Goodyear and Greg Ray with ft le rest of the field trailing The 'ieid bunched again when the flag came out for the 101h lap after Allen May lost control coming out of Turn 1 and upAnto the wall in Turn 2 Ups 41-60 LEADERS: Stewart HEnained in front despite a couple of serious challenges from Lazier BREAKDOWN: Lazier made run at Stewart when the green fLlg came out on the 48th lap I le went to the outside down the tient stretch but couldn't get Stewart responded with 213-mph lap Stewart and once again pulled away the rest of the field In the 718th lap Stewart flew around 'Roberto Guerrero and AlessanOro Zampedri but the two cars lilocked Lazier and the leader polled away 61-33 LEADERS: Eliseo Salazar took the top spot when Stewart I fuel problems on lap 69 but for long Shuffling because itt pit stops also put Davey illton and Jim Guthrie atop -to scoring stand BREAKDOWN: Lazier pulled i110 the pits on lap 66 but Stew-at stayed out The crew rniscaliilated the gas mileage as he it)wed on the backstretch on inp 69 out of fuel Stewart around to get a full tank it was back in 13th and a lap when he got out of the Guthrie took the lead when got around Hamilton at the ntitifinish line to begin the 75th Boat also got around Hamilfen and moved into second iPS 81-100 LEADERS: Boat took advanvie of Guthrie's blown tire to 1-A in front Robbie Groff took -)ver the lead when Boat pitted l)ut then he went into the pits Lazier moved into first Guthrie's igitt was ruined when the right oar tire blew as he got into the Jinightaway coming out of Turn 4 Guthrie spun and Boat went around on the inside to take the lead When the green flag came out Lazier built a big lead over Boat and Hamilton the only other cars on the lead lap Forty-four of the first 93 laps were run under caution LAPS 101-120 LEADERS: Lazier stayed in front facing no serious challenges BREAKDOWN: The best racing was done by Stewart who was trying to get his lap back He moved around slower cars until he was parked on Lazier's rear spoiler He moved to the inside of Turn 3 in the 116th lap to get back on the lead lap LAPS 121-140 LEADERS: Pits stops again caused shuffling Boat Stewart and Lazier all took turns in the lead BREAKDOWN: Lazier went to the pits on lap 121 giving the lead back to Boat Stewart passed Groff for third and Hamilton for second then he took the lead when Boat pitted on lap 133 Stewart didn't stay out until he ran out of gas this time pulling in on the next lap as Lazier retook the lead Stewart again lost a lap while in the pits LAPS 141-160 LEADERS: Lazier held the lead through 157 but a blown engine ended his night and put Stewart in front BREAKDOWN: Stewart drove magnificently to get back on the lead lap He took the high line and moved to Lazier's outside in the front stretch of lap 154 and stayed there for a full two laps in the most thrilling piece of racing yet at TMS Stewart finally got around Lazier out of Turn 2 in lap 156 to get back on the lead lap He took the lead when Lazier pulled into the pits in lap 157 because of engine problems Boat was in second but was well back LAPS 181-180 LEADERS: Stewart extended his lead and appeared to be on his way to his first career IR victory BREAKDOWN: Buhl blew an engine on lap 168 bringing out another caution and putting some suspense back in the race The leaders headed into the pits on lap 169 putting a premium on quick stops to see who would come out first It was Stewart with a 123-second stop LAPS 181-200 LEADERS: Stewart built a huge lead before blowing an engine at the start of lap 207 Boat took over and cruised to victory under yellow BREAKDOWN: Stewart had a five-second margin over Boat after 187 laps but refused to be conservative He was running laps at 215 mph with only Arie Luyendyk staying close but Luyendyk was a couple of laps down Boat was the only other car on the lead lap after Stewart lapped Hamilton on lap 198 and he was 16 seconds back Then Stewart's engine blew and Boat won under yellow Simon Gonzalez quickly separated the two and directed Foyt back to the celebration Luyendyk team owner Fred Treadway informed Keith Ward USAC's chief steward that they were filing a pmtest USAC officials were meeting late last night to review tape of the race Scott Goodyear who finished ninth and is a teammate of Luyendylc also joined the protest "USAC had a mix-up and they never corrected it I felt I was in the lead" Luyendyk said The victory by the 31-year-old Boat in his No 1 Conseco ForceOldsmobile-Aurora V-8 was the second as an 1RL team owner for the feisty Foyt a four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Boat was not surprised Earlier in the day he walked through the garage area in anonymity befitting a designated driver Boat hired on Tuesday by Foyt to replace the recuperating Scott Sharp already was thinking like an IRL winner "I think there's a dozen guys that can win this race and we're definitely one of 'em" said Boat an accomplished US Auto Club open-wheel series champion "I've probably got as much experience on banked tracks like this as a lot of these guys out here even though I don't have as much Indy-car experience "I've got a good race car And we've defmitely got enough speed to win it" Ironically the night produced side-by-side racing over 210 mph in open-wheelers that would make NASCAR's Winston Cup drivers envious Where the Cup cars and drivers complained that the 15- mile trioval was a tight one-groove racetrack not suited to passing or fender-rubbing the IRL drivers attacked the same 24-degree banked-turns with breathtaking abandon Points in the race produced racing in packs of three and more cars particularly through the treacherous turn 3 and 4 area The racing highlight of the night and certainly MS's inaugural season of speed was the 212 laps of side-by-side racing put on by race-leader Buddy Lazier and Stewart Trading places from their race-opening duel dominated by pole-sitter Stewart Lazier was at the point on lap 153 when Stewart took up the challenge After stalking Lazier and closing to within sight of his gearbox TR Finish Start 1 (21) 2 (9) 3 (11) 4 (1) 5 (22) 6 (7) 7 (17) 8 (23) 9 (5) 10 (6) 11 (14) 12 (26) 13 (15) 14 (25) 15 (13) 16 (2) 17 (4) 18 (3) 19 (10) 20 (16) 21 (8) 22 (18) 23 (20) 24 (19) 25 (24) 26 (12) Driver Billy Boat Davey Hamilton Arie Luyendyk Tony Stewart Eliseo Salazar Eddie Cheever Jr Vincenzo Sospiri Johnny Unser Scott Goodyear Greg Ray Mark Dismore Alessandro Zampedri Roberto Guerrero Tyce Carlson Robbie Groff Robbie Buhl Buddy Lazier Kenny Brack Buzz Calkins Giatione Jim Guthrie Allen May Sam Schmidt Dr Jack Miller Fermin Velez Marco Greco I More power on the way Ed Pink engine builder for thq Nissan Infiniti Indy racing program says to look for "substantial" 7:: improvement the engine's' IRm horsepower il notes the next Indy 7 Racing teague event June 29 at Pikes Peak International Race- way in Fountain Colo and "andth- er substantial increase" by the eyent after that July 26 at lofte (NC) Speedway 1 Only three of the 26 cars that 7' started last night's True Value 500- kilometer race were equipped WTI the InfinitiTwo of those used in cars driven by Johnny Unser and Roberto Guerrero were built by Pink's company 'We know we need to build more horsepower nobody needs to tell us that' said Pink whose engines were a major force in drag racing in the 1960s and '70s Twenty-three cars used the Oldsmobile Aurora the other dei- ignated engine supplier for the El circuit Oldsmobile announced 14 participation in the IRL engine program in January 1996 and "had the whole program aligned from the start" said Pink who admits he has been playing catch up Sounds different So why do these Indy-car engines make a throaty rumbliog sound instead of the familiar high pitched squeal that comes from the cars on the rival circuit Championship Auto Racing Teams? CART cars have turbochargeq: engines The Indy Racing League' mandates normally aspirated engines The turbocharger was a mug fler" said Ed Pink engine builder: for Nissan Infiniti Indy "The turbocharger was running at 100000 rpm What you were hearing was the turbocharger not the true exhaust" Hometown boy Greg Ray was glad to be sleeping at home Ray who is from Plano drove the No 97 Ash Kicker DallaraAurora that finished 10th at last night's True Value 500K Ray's team which is 45 days old has no permanent sponsors but did up some money for last night's race from a local radio station 'It's fabulous racing at home: Ray said "I've been racing since 1992 and this is the first time that I got to sleep at home: Ray coasted down pit road when he pitted on lap No 62 last night after running out of fuel According to Ray the pit crew's management system said there was enough fuel in the car On top of that Ray's car cut both rear tires at the same time "We had the opportunity to win here just bad luck" Ray said "But I have a fantastic race team one of the best race teams here' His to win For Buddy Lazier seeing leader Tony Stewart blow an engine in lap 206 to lose the race might have been justice Lazier didn't blame Stewart directly for Lazier falling out of the lead and race in lap 156 Instead Lazier was angry with Stewart for "ungentlemanly" driving Lazier had a lap on the field when Stewart pulled high and even in lap 154 and the two provided the best neck-and-neck racing of the evening for two laps SuddentY Stewart edged ahead nearly brushing Lazier's tires in getting by Lazier then lost either his engine transmission or suspen- sion "Stewart was trying to get his lap back: Lazier said "I gave hirn plenty of room to race me I was just being a gentleman All of sud- den I didn't have any room" Two strikes and out It was a shorter night than -expected and not a very good one' for team owner Jeff Sinden who had two cars go out early First Sinden Racing Service's SRSYoung Chevrolet driven by Dallas' Allen May went out when' May spun on lap 39 hit the outside wall in Turn 2 and slid down the track Then Dr Jack Miller's AMSCrest Racing car owned by Arizona Motorsports which is partly owned by Sinden exited with electrical problems "Jack just said the ignition went dead" said Sinden "We'll just have to try harder next Staff writers Jill Dorson Vince Langford David A Markiewicz and Troy Phillips contributed to this report when he passed Stewart At that point Stewart was leading Boat by 136 seconds with Hamilton third and Luyendyk being scored in fourth Stewart who had done everything in his previous eight IRL races but win was poised to do so as the laps clicked off toward 208 Stewart had just put lap 206 into the books when the Aurora V-8 in his No 2 Glidden Special G-Force chassis went up in a smoke Stewart carried the car into Tum 1 where it looped backward and went up into the Turn 2 wall shearing off the left front suspension and tire assembly When the night's eighth caution flag flew Boat and Hamilton were lined up to give Foyt an improbable 1-2 Stewart meanwhile dealt with his latest 1RL misfortune "To run that strong all day to be that superior on the racetrack it's disappointing" said Stewart 26 "What do you want me to say?" Team-owner John Menard said neither the team's computers nor Stewart gave any indication of an engine problem I 1 I 1 1 1 Li Stewart darted right and alongside Lazier who was hugging the preferred yellow line separating the track's 24-degree banked turns from its 8-degree apron In near-perfect formation Stewart and I a7ier shadowed each other on laps 154 and 155 neither willing to lift from the throttle and concede Stewart who had practiced here at 217-plus mph and was racing at 213 completed the pass and took the lead Lazier's race ended on lap 157 when the Aurora V-8 in his No 91 Delta Faucet Da Ham expired in Tum 3 "I was having a really good race and the car simply broke" said Lazier the 1996 Indy 500 champion "My guys told me I had a lap on the field and between turns 3 and 4 something went and that was that" As for racing Stewart up-close Lazier said he was "being courteous" "I was giving him some room but I've got to talk to some people" he said "This is a professional racing series and we're supposed to drive like professionals" On lap 189 Luyendyk got back one of the two laps he had lost 500 RESULT t' CarEngine ForceAurora ForceAurora ForceAurora ForceAurora DallaraAurora ForceAurora Da IlaraAurora ForceInfiniti ForceAurora DallaraAurora DallaraAurora Da VaraAurora Da IlarafInfiniti Da IlaraAurora ForceAurora ForceAurora DallaraAurora ForceAurora ForceAurora Da IlaraAurora DallaraAurora Da IlaraAurora Da IlaraAurora DallaraInfiniti Da tiaraAurora Da IlaraAurora Caution No Lap-Lap 1 1-19 2 24-27 3 37-47 4 81-92 5 137-142 6 143-149 7 168-172 8 207-208 Lead change No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 periods Reason No 22 oil on track Turn 1 No 40 lost power No 44 and 16 accident Accident front stretch No 4 blown engine Accident cars No 6 and 18 No 3 blown engine No 2 blown engine Driver Had Lead Tony Stewart 1-68 Eliseo Salazar 69-71 Davey Hamilton 72-73 Jim Guthrie 74-81 Billy Boat 82-84 Robbie Groff 85-87 Greg Ray 88-120 Billy Boat 121-132 Tony Stewart 133 Buddy Lazier 134-157 Tony Stewart 158-169 Billy Boat 170 Tony Stewart 171-206 Billy Boat 207-208 i 6 4 al 4-t 1 t(1 1 A 3' '3 -e 'k''''' 16' ri $1 'ft e) I 0: 11 10: 14 I s'fi''- 01 N441ek 11 12 13 14 Time of race: 2:21:25 Margin of victory: under caution Average race speed: 132381 mph Estimated attendance: 128000 Star-TelegramMILTON ADAMS Vnli-boys quarterbackTroy Aikman adjusts his helmet at the start If die Celebrity Legends Car race yesterday afternoont 0 I.