Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 46

10E THE DETROIT NEWS SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 1992 3 Rookie Tommy Archer wins with late surge in Dodge i pi SCCA Trans-Am Results Saturday of 48-lap, 100 8-mile SCCA Tide Trans-Am Tour race at the Detroit Grand Prix: Start Driver Car Laps 1, (1) Tommy Archer Dodge Daytona 48 2, (2) Greg Pickett Chevy Camaro 48 3, (5) Bobby Archer Dodge Daytona 48 4, (26) Ron Fellows Ford Mustang 48 5, (8) George Robinson Chevy Camaro 48 6, (3) Jack Baldwin Chevy Camaro 48 7, (9) Randy Ruhlman Chevy Camaro 48 8, (16) Deborah Gregg Chevy Camaro 48 9, (13) Jim Derhaag Chevy Camaro 48 10, (18) Craig Shater Olds Toronado 48 11, (11) Jim Stevens Ford Mustang 47 12, (12) Rick Dittman Olds Cutlass 47 13, (20) Bill Gray Chevy Camaro 47 14, (19) Donald Sak Olds Cutlass 47 15, (15) Michael Dingman Ford Mustang 46 16, (24) Glenn Fox Ford Mustang 46 17, (23) R. J. Valentine Chevy Camaro 45 18, (27) Jerry Simmons Chevy Corvette 44 19, (22) Ed Hinchliff Ford Mustang 44 20, (7) Willy T. Ribbs Ford Mustang 42 21, (14) Bruce Nesbitt Chevy Camaro 41 22, (25) Scott Sharp Chevy Camaro 36 23, (4) Wayne Akers Ford Mustang 31 24, (6) Paul Gentilozzi Chevy Camaro 26 25, (21) Jerry Clinton Ford Mustang 12 a He and Pickett got the first two spots in the front row after Sharp, the pole-sitter, decided to change tires before the race. Under race rules, a car is allowed to change equipment if it moves to the rear of the starting field.

In Sharp's case, the equipment change was tires. Sharp had a blistered tire after qualifying and decided he didn't want to go for the new tires and sacrifice his position. Canadian Ron Fellows, who had the No. 3 position after qualifying, also changed engines and also dropped back in the pack. Sharp started 26th in the 31 -car field; Fellows 27th.

Tommy Archer took the lead at the start, with Baldwin in second and George Robinson's Chevy Camaro running third. After 16 laps, Sharp had moved into eighth place and Fellows was 10th. Baldwin took the lead from Tommy Archer in the 23rd lap, as Bobby Archer moved into third place after Robinson had rammed into a tire barrier. Sharp moved to fifth place after 29 laps and passed Bobby Archer for third place. But Sharp's bid to pass Tommy Archer failed when the car scraped the wall and blew a tire.

After that, it was a race between the Archers, Baldwin and Pickett. "I must have run over something and cut the tire," said Baldwin, explaining how he lost the lead to the Archer brothers. "When I was in the lead, it took awhile for the car to come. When it came, I went for it. I knew I had the power." Tommy Archer quickly built an eight-second lead over Pickett and coasted to his first Trans-Am victory.

The Archers had finished fifth at Long Beach, in their first Trans-Am race. "I guess I was last for a while," Pickett said. "And I had to come back up through the pack. We were second last year. Second again.

If I don't get too old, I'll see if I can improve on that." There was an 11-lap caution flag early in the race following an accident. Jerry Clinton's Ford Mustang hit the wall. All three of the leaders had spin-outs during the race. Late in the race, Bobby Archer ran off the course. But he managed to control his car and get back in the race.

The Archers raced trucks and smaller sports cars for a long time and got into Trans-Am racing this year when Chrysler returned to the sport after a 20-year absence. "i nun inn rmmw- irr it i miniw DALEG. YOUNG The Detroit News Tommy Archer, who won Saturday's Trans-Am race, is followed by sixth-place finisher Jack Baldwin at Belle Isle. By Bill Halls THE DETROIT NEWS Rookie Tommy Archer, who gained the top spot when pole-sitter Scott Sharp elected to use new tires" and start at the back of the pack, won the Trans-Am 100-mile race Saturday, beating Greg Pickett by 11.7 seconds. Archer's Dodge Daytona outlasted Jack Baldwin, who led much of the way until his Chevy Camaro blew a tire on the 41st lap of the 48-lap race on the Belle Isle course.

Both Tommy Archer and his brother, Bobby, driving another Dodge Daytona, passed Baldwin on the 40th lap. However, Bobby Archer spun out during the 41st lap, allowing Pickett to pass him. "It was really the hard work of the crew in setting up the car," said Tommy Archer of Duluth, Minn. "They kept it together. "Jack (Baldwin) got wide in the marbles (pellet-size debris), and we got by him.

At the beginning of the race, the car started to get away a little bit. It was a four-car race, and I said to myself, 'Let's get it Tommy Archer averaged 67.374 mph in the 1-hour, 27-minute race. Andrettis get past bad time Fan support: Race enthusiasts keep Indy 500 nightmare from haunting family. By Angelique Seremetis THE DETROIT NEWS Anything bad that could happen to Michael Andretti, all happened in one day. That was two weeks ago during the Indianapolis 500, when the usual Andretti good fortune became misfortune.

Andretti led 163 of the 200-lap race before a fuel-pressure problem caused his engine to stall. That was the exclamation point on what had been a dismal afternoon, as his brother, Jeff, and father, Mario, were involved in accidents. Although Mario was released last week to recover from broken toes to both feet, Jeff is still hospitalized for the serious injuries he suffered to both feet and ankles. "It's been a rough two weeks, for sure," Michael Andretti said. "It's been really tough, with everything that happened and losing the race on top of that.

"Not a day goes by, yet, that I don't think about that. I think it will get better as time goes on, but it still hurts. The thing that made it tough was it all happened at once. It was all in one day. First dad, then Jeff, then to lose the Indy 500 with just a few laps to go." Jeff Andretti is still hurting and remains in Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

Michael said his younger brother intends to be back racing next season. "One thing that's keeping you going, is all the support we've gotten from fans," Andretti said. "That means a whole lot to Jeff, right now. He really appreciates all that." Just another fan William Stokkan, president and CEO of Championship Auto Racing Teams, took the long way to the track Friday. He left his car one of the Cadillac Allante PPG loaners downtown and took the fans' route to the Belle Isle course.

Stokkan purchased a $3 shuttle ticket, arrived at the island and walked with everyone else to his destination. In the works Ly St. James, named Rookie of the Year at the Indianapolis 500, said she is working on a deal with car owner Dick Simon to run the whole IndyCar season next year. Fools for fashion Several IndyCar drivers took part in a fashion shoot for magazine Saturday afternoon in their private coaches on Belle Isle. Eddie Cheever, Arie Luyendyk and Robby Gordon, members of the Chip Ganassi Target team, and Danny Sullivan and Emerson Fittipaldi were photographed for the fall fashion issue, which will be out in September.

On the air A familiar radio voice will be heard on a nationally broadcast television commer- cial that will begin airing this week. Valvoline is running an ad rating Al Unser Indianapolis 500 victory, and the voices for the backdrop are from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. The first voice belongs to WJR's Larry Henry, who calls i. r-' TV Ik mm DALEG. YOUNG The Detroit News Electronics selling karaoke systems.

A sign on the race car says to call 1-800-KARAOKE. Doug Shierson of Adrian, owner of the 1990 Indianapolis 500 champion car driven by Luyendyk, was visiting old pals along with his daughter, Molly, a CART executive. He likes the Belle Isle course much, much more than he ever liked the.downtown circuit. "The ambience is a lot better," he said. "It's hard to see, but beyond that I like it." Detroit News staff writers Chris Singer and Bill Halls contributed; during qualifying Saturday after 26, (10) Wally Owens Ford Mustang 27, (17) Walter Payton Ford Mustang 28, (28) Mark Pielslicker Chevy Camaro 10 7 2 Reasons (or not finishing: Ribbs, mechanical: Sharp, suspension: Akers, Getilozzi, Clinton, Ow-ens and Payton crashed, Pielslicker, mechanical RACE STATISTICS Time of race: 1 27:53 833 Average speed: 68 807 mph Margin of victory: 11713 sec Lap leaders: T.

Archer, 1 24, Baldwin, 25-41: T. Archer, 42-48. Fernandez's Friday time wins pole By Bill Halls THE DETROIT NEWS Mexico's Adrian Fernandez retained the pole position Saturday after the second day of qualifying for the Buick Challenge of Detroit Indy Lights race. Fernandez posted a qualifying speed of 89.9087 mph Friday but couldn't push his Amway of Mexico machine any higher than 88 mph Saturday. "It was quite slippery today and took a long time to warm up the tires," Fernandez said.

"The track was so slick." Tommy Byrne of Ireland finished second in qualifying with a speed of 89.885. Mark Smith of McMinnville, was third at 89.119. Robbie Buhl of Grosse Pointe Shores remained in sixth position with a qualifying speed of 88.5939. The race will be at 10 a.m. today on the 2.1 -mile road course on Belle Isle.

"It will be a very interesting race," Byrne said. "We'll have to be very careful. Everyone was trying to go faster, and it (the track) just wasn't there." Drivers agreed that, with the humid weather, the new asphalt track was very slippery, causing a number of cars to brush the cement retaining walls. Fernandez said he twice nearly lost his car in turns. "It's just not a straight line, always corners," Fernandez said.

Smith said the biggest difficulty was trying to warm up tires to get ready for a serious timing lap. "It took four or five laps just for the tires to come in," Smith said. "Everyone was searching for a grip. I almost lost it in the second and 14th turns. "Because there is a lot of dust coming out of the apex of the corners, it's tough to hold the car.

One mistake could end your day. Byrne said the winning time might be a good deal slower than the qualifying laps in today's race. "The person who does not make a mistake will win the race," he said. Fernandez won the first race in the Indy Lights series at Phoenix. Franck Freon of France, who was fifth in qualifying on Belle Isle Saturday, won the second race at Long Beach, Calif.

Robbie Groff of Los Angeles, who finished fourth in the qualifying, leads the series with 32 points. Buhl is second with 28. Freon has 25 points. 2 Indy Lights qualifiers Friday's provisional qualifying times for Sunday's Buick Challenge of Detroit race for Firestone Indy Lights for single-seat, open-wheeled cars on the 2.1-mile Belle Isle road circuit showing driver, hometowns or countries, and qualifying speed in (wuaiiiyiny umnmues oaturaayj: Driver Hometown Speed 69 908 89 885 1 Adrian FernandezMexico 2. Tommy Byrne Ireland 3.

Mark Smith 4 Robbie Groff McMinnville, Ore. Los Angeles 89119 89059 5. Franck Freon 6. Robbie Buhl France Grosse Pointe 89 035 88 228 88 048 87 694 7. Bruce Feldman Wanaque, N.J, aryan nerta Los Angeles 9 Herve Regout 10 Marco Greco Belgium Brazil 87513 87504 11.

David Kudrave LaCanada. Calif. 86001 M. Mark Hitchey Indianapolis 85 092 13. George Sutclifte Odessa, Fla.

14. Bob Reid Commerce Two. 84071 82 660 15. Sandy Brody Boca Raton, Fla 81977 Detroit Grand Prix lineup The provisional lineup, by rows, for today's ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix IndyCar race, with country, type of car and qualifying speed in miles per hour: Driver Country Cm Speed Comment xl Michael Andretti Nazareth, Pa. Lola-Ford Cosworth X8 101.695 Hardship is great motivator.

2. Bobby Rahal Dublin, Ohio Lola-Chevrolet-A 101.606 Bridesmaid turns to winner? 3. Teo Fabi Italy Lola-Ford Cosworth XB 101 505 Doing wonders in Mario's car. 4. Paul Tracy Canada Penske-Chevrolet-B 100 720 Mears' sub hasn't lost a step.

5. Emerson Fittipaldi Brazil Penske-Chevrolet-B 100.647 Has won two of three here. 6. Raul Boesel Brazil Lola-Chevrolet-A 100.580 Has security with '92 ride. 7.

Al Unser Jr. Albuquerque Galmer-Chevrolet-A 100.049 It's time to win in Detroit. 8. Stefan Johansson Sweden 1991 Penske-Chevrolet-A 99.964 Definitely has feel for course. 9.

Scott Pruett Crystal Bay, Nev. Truesports-Chevrolet-A 99.955 Blew engine qualifying. 10. John Andretti Indianapolis Lola-Chevrolet-A 99.953 May sneak in a top-3 finish. 1 1 Danny Sullivan Aspen, Colo.

Galmer-Chevrolet-A 99.948 New team gives him new life. 12. Eddie Cheever Aspen, Colo. Lola-Ford Cosworth XB 99.941 Expect him to finish high. 13.

Robby Gordon Orange, Calif. Lola-Ford Cosworth XB 98.108 Rookie still has to learn. 14. Scott Goodyear Canada Lola-Chevrolet-A 98 046 His year is already made. 15.

Scott Brayton Coldwater, Mich. Lola-Chevrolet-A 97.814 Michiganian desperate for win. 16. Christian Danner Germany 1991 Lola-Cosworth 97.723 F-1 driver makes IndyCar debut. 17.

Brian Till Columbus, Ohio 1991 Truesports-Judd 96.907 Wants to learn from this race. 18. Eric Bachelart Belgium 1990 Lola-Cosworth 96 634 Rookie making progress. 19 Ted Prappas Los Angeles 1991 Lola-Chevrolet-A 96.511 Cautious and steady. 20.

Brian Bonner Boston Lola-Chevrolet-A 94443 a.J.'s new road-course sub. 21. Jeff Wood Wichita, Kan. 1991 Lola-Buick 93 914 Wishes he could get more speed. 22.

Buddy Lazier Vail, Colo. 1990 Lola-Buick 93.238 Has problems with hot seats. 23. Ross Bentley Canada 1990 Lola-Cosworth 91.798 Still feeling way through. 24.

Mike Groff Northridge, Calif. 1991 Lola-Chevrolet-A 90 001 Man behind the Goodyear. 25. Jay Hill Lake Geneva, Wis. 1990 Lola-Cosworth 84.117 Have a Coke and a smile.

FAILED TO QUALIFY Driver Country Oar Speed Reason Dennis Vitolo Golden Beach.Calif. 1990 Lola-Cosworth NoneDid not start Scott Pruett climbed from his car the Indy 500 action from turn three. Henry will be the anchor of the new IndyCar Network that makes its debut at Milwaukee on June 28. It has not yet been determined which local radio station will carry the network. Credential, please You know you're in a park when a brown hare somehow makes its way onto the race course.

The animal hopped into the safety run-off area of turn eight, right at the end of the longest and fastest straightaway during IndyCar qualifying Friday afternoon. Course marshals were able to evict it safely. It didn't have the proper credential, anyway. Football fans A.J. who? Ex-Chicago Bear Walter Payton, who knows some things about fast running, wasn't worried about crime in Detroit.

Every time he left the Team 34 motor coach, the NFL's career rushing leader was surrounded by Detroit police officers who giggled over him like so many school boys. Payton was to drive the Team 34Budweiser Camaro in Saturday's Tide Trans-Am Tour race. He has moved up from several years of competition in the Sports Car Club of America's Pro Sports 2000 series. Elementary visitors Positive role model: Randy Gibson of Detroit, making his Firestone Indy Lights debut Sunday, was host to 19 children Friday from Keith Elementary and Hosmer Elementary in Detroit. Gibson serves as a spokesman for the DARE anti-drug program and invited police officer Mark Thorton of the mini-station section to bring the children out to see what racing is like.

"This is what it's about," Thorton said, "showing them the alternatives." With this ring Al Unser winner of the Indianapolis 500 this year, officially received the diamond and checkered flag winner's ring from Thornton Bardach on Saturday at the PPG hospitality tent at Belle Isle. "Wearing this ring makes it official," Unser said. This is the eighth Bardach ring won by the Unser family. Al Unser Sr. has won the event four times and brother Bobby is a three-time Indy winner.

The ring originated in 1946 as a retroactive award for former Speedway present and two-time winner Wilbur Shaw. He received the inaugural ring in the engine began smoking, Racing LolaCosworth IndyCar. You don't laugh about "Ross Franck Freon of Paris drives the Aldus PageMakerLandford Racing car in the Firestone Indy Lights series. Briefly PPG Industries and IndyCar have completed negotiations for a three-year renewel of PPG's sponsorship of the series. Stokkan said the only remaining hurdle left before signing the deal, which has been ready for the past month, is sorting out a trademark agreement.

One of the Arciero Racing Indy-Cars, this one driven by Jeff Wood, has an associate sponsorship from Pioneer Note: To make the field, drivers had to qualify through two 30-minute sessions one each on Friday and Saturday. Drivers can run as many laps as possible in the 30 minutes, with the fastest lap used as the qualifying lap. Teo Fabi held the pole after Friday's qualifying, and Michael Andretti was fastest Saturday, earning the pole for the race today. x-Track record; previous record: 100.614 by Teo Fabi, June 5, 1992 1947 and the Indy 500 champion has received a similar ring ever since. In the pits Crews are complaining that there is too little space in the pits and that they "are as crowded as Indianapolis." Driver Buddy Lazier roared into the pits with a small oil fire behind the Buick V-6 in his Leader Cards Racing Lola.

Fire crews were dousing the flames with pails of water and C02 foam before the race car came to a complete stop. No one was hurt. The car was not damaged, Best name for a hero racing driver: Ross Bentley of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, driver of the Dale Coyne 64.238 16. Randall Gibson Detroit.