Ventura County Star from Ventura, California • 35

Monday May 28 2000 The Star Auto Racing Kenseth comes from way back to win Coca Cola NASCAR: Starting 21st rookie climbs farther than any other previous winner By Jenna ryer The Associated Press CONCORD NC Matt Kenseth proved more than one outstanding NASCAR rookie this year racing to his first Winston Cup victory Sunday night in the Coca Cola 600 Kenseth passed leader Bobby Labonte on Lap 374 and slowly pulled away to beat him to the finish line by about two car lengths After taking the checkered flag Kenseth cir back around the track and cut dough in the grass on the Coca Cola logo Kenseth who started 21st came back from farther in the field than any other pre vious winner Dale Earnhardt finished third and was followed in the top five by Dale Earnhardt Jr another rookie and Dale Jarrett yThe victory was sweet redemption for Kenseth who dominated last month at Cal "ifornia and had a late lead but lost it on acaution and finished third his previous Tbest finish of the season heart started beating pretty hard assoon as I took the lead from said remembered California fwhpn I thought we had that won too so I jygot a little nervous I think we had itJin the bank until there was two to JX Although California had been his only top five finish of the season Kenseth came into the Coca Cola 600 leading Earnhardt f2jr in the rookie points standings Earn The Associated Press 'Au COME ON DAD: Dale Earnhardt Jr (8) passes his father Dale Earnhardt (3) to take the early lead in the Coca Cola 600 race in Concord NC Earnhardt Jr hang on as rookie Matt Kenseth took the Winston Cup victory hardt Jr has won two races this season but Kenseth has been more consistent Still struggled to get even a piece of the spotlight Earnhardt Jr has claimed so he quietly went about his business used to kind of being overshad owed by Dale Kenseth said beat me in the (Busch) championships won races this year used to He used a 15 second pit stop on Lap 309 to beat Earnhardt Jr off pit road and take his first lead of the night But Earnhardt Jr who led a race high 175 laps passed him eight laps later and looked to be running away with the race Earnhardt Jr had about a four second lead on the rest of the field when the seventh cau tion flag of the night came out on Lap 362 ive cars beat Earnhardt Jr out of the pits in cluding Kenseth who came out in third He stayed there while Labonte passed leader Jeff Gordon then settled into sec ond place and bided his time He made his move on Labonte on the straightaway headed into turn one of Lap 374 and never looked back last couple of laps I was just trying not to hit the Kenseth said start ed getting a little teary there and just tried to hit my marks real easy to mess one of these things victory marked a rookie sweep at Motor Speedway as Earn hardt Jr won The Winston last week And Earnhardt Jr looked like the car to beat again on Sunday He started from the pole and led six different times But after dominating most of the race his crew made a poor adjustment on the final pit and he challenge Kenseth for the victory Robby Gordon seeking to become the third driver to race in both the Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR race on the same day only partially completed the feat Rain delayed the start of the Indy 500 by three hours making him late in his bid to start the 600 Gordon arrived at Motor Speed way 254 laps into the NASCAR race and in the middle of a rain delay He got behind the wheel of his No 13 ord when racing resumed an hour later but was assessed a five lap penalty because his crew had worked on the car under the red flag stop for rain When he was finally permitted on the track he was 10 laps off the pace in 40th place He finished 35th Jeremy Mayfield was sixth followed by Mike Skinner Rusty Wallace and Steve Park Jeff Gordon who gambled by taking just two tires on the final pit stop rounded out the top 10 The most disappointed driver had to have been Jerry Nadeau who had by far the best run of his Winston Cup career be fore blowing an engine on Lap 360 orce ties record with 85th victory The Associated Press ENNIS Texas John orce tied Pro Stock great Bob career record for NIIRA national event victories Sunday winning the Castrol Nationals for the unny Car 85th win orce of Yorba Linda powered his ord Mustang to a quarter mile run of 4919 seconds at a top speed of 31326 mph to beat team mate Tony Pedregon Pedregon lost traction at the start and slowed to a pass of 9747 seconds at 8438 mph orce who has won three straight events moved into the season points lead 33 ahead of Jerry Toliver Gary Scelzi Gaines and Matt Hines also won their divi sions in the $19 million competi tion at the Texas Motorplex Scelzi raced to his third Top uel victory of the year beating Larry Dixon with a run of 4614 seconds at 31667 mph Gaines topped the Pro Stock di vision for his first NHRA national event victory He beat Warren Johnson with a run of 7041 sec onds at 19693 mph Hines won the Pro Stock Mo torcycle competition with a run of 7289 seconds at 18457 mph Indianapolis 500 RACE RESULTS Official INDIANAPOLIS Results Sunday from the 84th Indianapolis 500 with starting position in parentheses driver car number chassis en gine laps completed average speed of all cars still runping or reason out and prize money from a record purse of $9476505 (previous record $9047150 1999 rookie): 1 (2) Juan Montoya No 9 orce Au rora 200 laps 167496 mph $1235690 2 (16) Buddy Lazier No 91 Dallara Auro 'ra 200 167495 $567100 3 (3) Eliseo Salazar No 11 orce Au rora 200 167362 $468900 4 (6) Jeff Ward No 14 orce Aurora I 200 167320 $355000 5 (10) Eddie Cheever No 51 Dallara ln 1 finiti 200 167315 $360000 6 (4) Robby Gordon No 32 Dallara Auro SXa200 167309 $214355 4: 7(7) Jimmy Vasser No 10 orce Auro 199 106568 $207505 8 (20) Stephan Gregoire No 7 orce ftyrpra 199 166323 $305900 9 (13) Scott Goodyear No 4 Dallara Au 199 166294 $347800 i 10 (5) Scott Sharp No 8 Dallara Aurora 198 165760 $312000 1 11 (11) Mark Dismore No 28 Dallara 1" Aurora 198 165650 $293500 ft: 12 (15) Donnie Beechler No 98 Dallara '4 Aurora 198 165455 $283000 13 (26) Jaques Lazier No 33 orce "Aurora 198 165449 $290250 14 (29) Jeret Schroeder No 6 Dallara 4 Aurora 198 165268 $278000 15 (31) Billy Boat No 41 orce Auro 165 246 $210000 16(24) Raul Boesel No 55 orce Au JT (era 197 164948 $212000 17f (17) Jason Leffler No 50 orce Aurora 197 164713 $169905 18 (22) Buzz Calkins No 12 Dallara Au 162143 $169000 19 (27) Steve Knapp No 23 orce In i finiti 193 161602 $166000 20 (28) Davey Hamilton No 16 orce Aurora 188 157332 $165500 21 (12) Robby McGehee No 5 orce Aurora 187 156070 $280400 22 (30) Johnny Unser No 22 orce Aurora 186 155434 $161000 jir 23(8) Stan Wattles No 92 Dallara Auro ra 172 engine $159000 24 (14) Sam Homish Jr No 18 Dal lara Aurora 153 crash $268250 25 (21) Airton Dare No 88 orce Au 126 engine $262250 id 1 Robbie Buhl No 24 orce Au rora 99 engine $258500 J27 (23) Richie Hearn No 75 Dallara Au 'hjra 97 electrical $155000 28 (33) Andy Hillenburg No 48 Dallara Aurora 91 wheel bearing $154250 ro''29' (18) Al Unser Jr No 3 orce Auro i ra 89 overheating $256000 30 (25) Jimmy Kite No 27 orce Au Tora 74 engine $164000 I 'lor Jb (19) Sarah isher No 15 Dallara 4Aurora71 crash $165750 '(32) Lyn St James No 90 orce Aurora 69 crash $152000 33 (1) Greg Ray No 1 Dallara Aurora '67 crash $388700 Race statistics I priTimeof race: 2 hours 58 minutes 59431 seconds Winners average speed: 167607 mph jjr Margin of victory: 7184 seconds Lead changes: 7 among 4 drivers Lap leaders: Ray 1 26 Montoya 27 29 Vasser 30 McGehee 31 32 Montoya 33 1J5 passer 176 179 Montoya 180 200 Cautions: 7 for 39 laps IRL points leaders: BLazier 138 Buhl 112 Goodyear 112 Salazar 110 Cheever 104 3 Dismore 94 Boat 91 Ward 86 Beechler 85 Ol Unser Jr 78 WINNERS Xi i'DI7 oreign (IINDIANAPOUS oreign bom winners of the Indianapolis 500: Jules Goux rance tjd Rene Thomas rance J1915 Ralph DePalma Italy Dario Resta Italy I Ml Gaston Chevrolet rance George Robson England Jimmy Clark Scotland 011966 Graham Hill England Mario Andretti Italy 1989 Emerson ittipaldi Brazil Arie Luyendyk Netherlands li 1 Emerson ittipaldi Brazil Jacques Villeneuve Canada Luyendyk Netherlands Kenny Brack Sweden 1 1 2000 Juan Montoya Colombia Is bgcji Rookie INDIANAPOLIS Rookie winners of the In diapapolis 500: Ray Harroun O) 8 Jules Goux jrn Rene Thomas 1 rank Lockhart George Souders 1966 Graham Hill 2000 i Juan Montoya RACE HISTORY Past winners Ray Harroun Joe Dawson Jules Goux Rene Thomas Ralph DePalma Dario Resta No races World War I Howard Wilcox Gaston Chevrolet Tommy Milton Jimmy Murphy Tommy Milton LLCorum and Joe Boyer Pete DePaolo rank Lockhart George Souders Louis Meyer Ray Keech Billy Arnold Louis Schneider red rame Louis Meyer Bill Cummings Kelly Petillo Louis Meyer Wilbur Shaw loyd Roberts Wilbur Shaw Wilbur Shaw loyd Davis and Mauri Rose No races World War II George Robson Mauri Rose Mauri Rose Bill Holland Johnnie Parsons Lee Wallard Troy Ruttman Bill Vukovich Bill Vukovich Bob Sweikert Pat laherty Sam Hanks Jimmy Bryan Rodger Ward Jim Rathmann AJ oyt Rodger Ward Parnelli Jones A oyt Jimmy Clark Graham Hill AJ oyt Bobby Unser Mario Andretti Al Unser Al Unser Mark Donohue Gordon Johncock Johnny Rutherford Bobby Unser Johnny Rutherford AJ oyt Al Unser Rick Mears Johnny Rutherford Bobby Unser Gordon Johncock Tom Sneva Rick Mears Danny Sullivan Bobby Rahal Al Unser Rick Mears Emerson ittipaldi Arie Luyendyk Rick Mears Al Unser Jr Emerson ittipaldi Al Unser Jr Jacques Villeneuve Buddy Lazier Arie Luyendyk Eddie Cheever Kenny Brack Juan Montoya Youngest Oldest winners INDIANAPOLIS The youngest and oldest winners of the Indy 500: Youngest Troy Ruttman 1952 22 years 2 months 19 days Joe Dawson 1912 23 years 1 month 11 days rank Lockhart 1926 23 years 1 month 23 days Louis Meyer 1928 23 years 10 months 9 days Jacques Villeneuve 1995 24 years 1 month 19 days Billy Arnold 1930 24 years 5 months 14 days Juan Montoya 2000 24 years 8 months 8 days AJ oyt 1961 26 years 4 months 14 days Oldest Al Unser Sr 1987 47 years 11 months 25 days Bobby Unser 1981 47 years 3 months 4 days Emerson ittipaldi 1993 46 years 5 months 16 days Gordon Johncock 1982 45 years 9 months 5 days Arie Luyendyk 1997 43 years 8 months 6 days Sam Hanks 1957 42 years 10 months 17 days Emerson ittipaldi 1989 42 years 5 months 17 days Women take each other out of race The Associated Press TOUGH LUCK: Lyn St James slides along the wall after contact with Sarah isher right The accident took both drivers out of the race By Paul Newberry The Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS There enough room for two women at Indy Sarah isher and Lyn St James who gave the Indianapolis 500 its first two woman field wound up squeezing each other out of the race Sunday when they collided on Lap 74 so much focus on the two women in the field the last thing we needed was for that to said St James 53 who was racing at Indy for the seventh time in the heck did this have to isher a 19 year old rookie strug gled with mechanical problems but was driving a solid race when she came up to pass St James in the first turn Jaques Lazier slipped inside to make it three wide going into the turn a dangerous situation that proved un manageble for the others isher stuck a wheel in front of St James but the older driver clipped the teen ager in the side St James slid into the concrete wall while isher lost control of her car as well skim ming the wall in the short chute be tween the first and second turns my isher said was stuck in the middle I was a sitting duck in this case very disappoint She screamed into her radio 11 kill that son of a according to car owner Derrick Walker who blamed Lazier not St James for creating a hazardous situation was real real Walker said was like she had a boat anchor on her car Sarah was closing so fast she had to pass Mr Lazier made two wide into three wide going into the corner There was no room for Sarah and she got squeezed by St James who was running two laps behind isher implied that isher got a little too aggressive going into the corner not going to say she made a St James said put her car at risk Sometimes it works some times it not a move I would have Despite teaming up to make Indy history it was clear the two women were not close They had not talked since isher at tended St driving school four years ago isher said she learn much at the school and boasted that she would bring a new attitude to female dri vers at the Brickyard hinting that St James and Janet Guthrie were merely satisfied to qualify and race to win Guthrie was the first woman to qualify for the 500 finishing no better than ninth from 1977 79 St James who qualified for the first time in 1992 has never placed higher than 11th isher wound up 31st in the 33 car field one spot ahead of St James me this is such a positive to have two women in the St James said have us involved in an incident like this just opens the door for all kinds of statements and Still isher made quite an impact in her Indy debut drawing large crowds wherever she went When she emerged from her garage fans on a nearby balcony erupted in cheers love you one person screamed enticing a weak smile and wave luck another yelled Neither isher nor Walker found it ironic that the two women took out each other both just race car isher said return turns out sour By Steve Herman The Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS Al Unser return to the Indianapolis 500 went sour about the same time as his en gine In the race for the first time since his second victory in 1994 Unser finally pulled his car back into Gasoline Alley just past the midway point of Sun race de ciding there was no point continuing when he al UNSER ready was out of contention have anybody to said Unser whose 29th place finish was the worst of his 13 starts at Indy was no sense racing myself I did that for a lot of years but not any more want to put a lot of dri vers at risk or myself at risk so I de cided to park he said After starting 18th Unser worked his way into the top 10 before run ning over debris left on the track after pole sitter Greg Ray slammed the wall on Lap 66 The radiator on Little Oldmosbile Aurora was punctured forcing him to go to the garage for repairs He returned to the race on Lap 78 but last long he said re ferring to the series where heavy emphasis is placed on finishing races 220 mph Indy cars and I want to be a INDY: Montoya becomes first rookie since 1966 to take famous checkered flag Continued from Cl not here with a CART But John Menard one of the origi nal IRL team owners saw overwhelming victory as proof that the newer open wheel series is not yet a match for CART raised the level of competi tion to a whole new said Menard who fielded cars Sunday for pole winner Greg Ray the defending IRL champion and Robby Gordon certainly going to raise some questions about the ability of the IRL teams to compete with CART they were the best of the best a very powerful team a very organized Tony George president of the Indi anapolis Motor Speedway and founder of the IRL defended his creation and said he care who wins as long as good racing like to see whoever wants to he said takes a commitment We have a whole year to see in Montoya seemed unaffected by the tradition of Indy and the electricity at the 84th running of the event billed as greatest spectacle in Smiling but not appearing very ex cited Montoya said he feel world famous happier than I was about an hour he said while eating cookies during the post race news conference be honest I was joking with Chip over the radio The car was perfect We have to risk Ganassi whose team has won an unprecedented four straight CART ti tles called the victory the moment of my life right is still the biggest race in the he said Montoya and Vasser had a right to be more tired than the other drivers They drove Saturday in the CART race in Nazareth Pa postponed last month by snow Everything seemed to work for Ganassi on Sunday even the three hour rain delay at the start of the race Ganassi co owner of the team that won Indy with Emerson ittipaldi in 1989 said it helped his drivers loosen up Vasser was almost as strong as Montoya The 1996 CART champion wound up a lap down in seventh after a late stop for fuel It was an incredible performance for team which had to adapt to different chassis and engines than used in its regular series Ganassi is the only CART owner to bring his reg ular drivers to Indy since 1996 Montoya dueled early with Greg Ray the defending IRL champion and made a spectacular pass in the middle of slower traffic to take the lead for the first time on lap 27 Ray regained the lead the next time around passing Montoya on the back stretch but the Colombian came out of the first series of pit stops in front and was hardly challenged the rest of the way Lazier whose win in the 500 came in the first year CART boycotted Indy made the biggest run at Montoya He passed Jeff Ward to take second place on lap 151 and began to chase orce Aurora in earnest Lazier stayed within two seconds of Montoya until the leader pulled away just moments before Stan blown engine on lap 174 brought out the last of seven caution flags All of the leaders except Vasser who had been running seventh made their final stops When the green flag waved for the start of lap 178 Vasser was leading Montoya on the track Montoya needed just two laps to put his teammate into second place It then took Lazier until lap 193 to get past Vasser By then it was too late Montoya crossed the finish line 7184 seconds nearly a full straight away ahead of Dallara Au rora He averaged 167496 mph and won $1235690 of a record purse of $9476505 Ward and Eliseo Salazar both dri ving for AJ oyt finished third and fourth oyt won last year with driver Kenny Brack now in CART Eddie Cheever Jr the 1998 winner was fifth followed by Robby Gordon who left Indianapolis and flew to Char lotte NC where he hoped to become the third driver to race in both Indy and Coca Cola 600 on the same day Lazier was frustrated throughout the race by slower cars that made it difficult for him to pass had a really good he said I would have been able to get through the way Juan got through I would have had a chance Every time we got in traffic I got I.