Indy 200 Journal

part 1

     Every year, excerpts from my daily journal during the month
of May at Indianapolis appear in the Hungness Indy 500 Yearbook
as "The Insider."  While we are at Walt Disney World for the
inaugural Indy 200, we'll share some of these reporter's notes
from our journal with readers of The Auto Channel.  Hopefully,
they'll provide some insight into the way a journalist, or at
least, one journalist, experiences a race meeting.  Remember,
this isn't an edited, polished story.  Just some notes and
personal observations.  Enjoy.  TC
 
 
Wed. 1/24:
 
9:00, at the credentials tent, overheard:  Guy getting Bobby
Unser's autograph tells him he misses Bobby's nephew.  BU: "Yes,
it's gonna be strange without him."  Indeed, along with MOST of
the great Indy car drivers.
 
Like everyone else, have a hell of a time finding my way into the
new track.  No tunnel, gate guards don't really know what's
happening yet or where anything is.  Finally, after several
people ask the one open-gate guard when they (we) are going to be
able to cross, word comes to let the journalists in.  We
literally sprint across the track.  Alright!  Once I find the
press area, feel at home, lots of vets from Indy Press Room, Bill
York, Jan Shaffer, Tim Sullivan....the same crew that we spend
the month of May with every year.  Now, that's better.
 
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Marketing Director Kurt Hunt on the
rationale for the IRL's controversial 25/8 qualifying rule at
Indy this year, a critical point of contention between CART and
Tony George: "Look, in the NFL, you wouldn't let anyone into the
Superbowl that didn't play the season, right?"
 
Take my first walk through the garage area - really, just big
trucks and trailors with awnings here.  No buildings.  First
person I see is legendary Speedway mechanic and builder A.J.
Watson, fiddling with something in the Pagan "garage,"  Roberto
Guerrero's team.  Says he's just come down to help out, as the
Pagan guys work out of his shop in Indianapolis.  Watson has
brought with him a beautiful old sprint car.  Actually, it's a
beautiful NEW old sprinter, painted up like Micky Rupp's late-
'60s #51.  We just gape in awe at this reminder of history and
admire.  I ask A.J. him what he thinks of what's goin' on here at
Disney World, the IRL's first race.  Always a man of few
words, Watson answers, "We need more cars."  Yup.
 
Roberto Guerrero, who still holds the all-time qualifying record
at Indianapolis, is impressed with the Disney mile.  "It's very
difficult and challenging, the whole track."  And what's the most
critical spot, I ask.  "Probably [turn] two, because eventually
we'll be flat there.  It will determine our speed at the end of
the front straightaway because we are flat all the way through
three.  Any physical problems from his time away from the
cockpit?  "No, but I'm glad I worked on strength in my regular
workouts, because it's very hard to steer here.  We're pulling
4.7 Gs in turn one.  That's the most I've ever seen.  We only get
about 4 Gs at Phoenix [the one-mile PIR oval]."
 
See former Nissan GT and GTP driver and now Indy car rookie
Johnny O'Connell and ask how he's going.  "Well, we had a grand
total of about 60 laps on Friday, that's all," he answers, "and
half of them were just for set-up."  The 33-yr. old redhead
jokes, "I'm ready...No, actually, these cars are a lot easier to
drive than a GTP or Indy Lights car.  The engine is smoother and
less peaky, and everything is right with these cars."  His
Reynard-Cosworth is shod with Firestones, I note.  "Yep," he
says, seemingly quite pleased about that.
 
Walk out for a brief look at the track before lunch.  Immediately
notice the pit entrance, uncomfortably close, actually, UNDER the
exit of turn three, where drivers will be at top speed.  God
forbid, should two cars get together there or something happen
like Kevin Cogan's 1990 spin and crash out of turn four at the
Speedway, there could be a problem.  Wouldn't want to be on a pit
crew near there.  "That's exactly why we tried VERY hard to get
our pits on the other end," John Menard tells me a short time
later.  His cars, new Lola-Menards (nee-Buick V6s) for veterans
Eddie Cheever, Scott Brayton, and 1995 USAC sprint, midget, and
Silver Crown champion Tony Stewart, are in fact, I notice, parked
quite far down pit lane, as are A.J. Foyts's cars.
 
At lunch, see veteran oval-track racer Johnny Parsons Jr., son of
the 1950 Indy 500 winnner.  When I tell "J.P." Guerrero is
pulling 4.7 Gs, he shakes his head grimly and says, "Well, mine
doesn't get anything like that."  His '93 Lola-Buick, untried on
a mile track, was so far off in setup that after only seven
warmup laps, it bottomed out and sent Parsons into the wall last
week.  "Heck, I wasn't going faster than 100 mph," he laughs.
J.P. knows his ride isn't as quick as some of the other cars and
is realistic about what he can do in the next few days.  "I'm
just going to have to be patient with some of these quick cars
and keep my nose clean out there.  Maybe it'll come back to me."
 
Johnny Parsons Jr. is a real racer.  It's a damn shame he doesn't
have a competitive ride, but he's completely for the new league,
having lost rides to people with money long ago.  "I first tasted
that in 1981 at the Speedway," he tells me, "They wanted me to
drive the Jerry O'Connel-Judd Phillips car, but I had to bring
$25,000.  I couldn't get it.  Parnelli Jones bought the ride for
[Kevin] Cogan.  He drove and I sat and watched."  Cogan finished
fourth that year.
 
Overheard: USAC's Executive V.P./IRL Cary Agajanian re CART's
rejection of The Disney Company's bid for an Indy car race:
"They made a big mistake."  Couldn't agree more, even if, as
insiders claim, Marlboro wasn't thrilled with the prospect.
 
When Oldsmobile headman John Rock (whose Aurora V8 engines will
be among those that power 1997 IRL cars and whose Aurora's now
pace IRL events) enthuses about the relationship between the IRL
and the 99-yr. old Oldsmobile company, one journalist quips,
"What a perfect chronological mix with USAC's officials!"
 
Listen as USAC/Indy 500 historian Donald Davidson answers a
question from Sports Illustrated's Ed Hinton about the closest
historical parallels to the current boycott-lockout (depending
upon whether you're on the CART or IRL side) situation at
Indianapolis.  In 1930, when the Speedway suddenly banned
superchargers, favoring stock-derived, two-man cars ("the Junk
Formula"), to cut costs because of the Depression, many top
drivers refused to take part in the 500.  Oddly, it was the
drivers, not car owners, and most came back in 1931.
 
Then, of course, there was the 1979 attempted lockout of CART
cars and drivers by the Speedway.  That ended when a lawsuit was
filed against the Speedway.  Because there were many, many
drivers and owners who took part in CART's suit against IMS, only
one person was actually named on paper, followed by "et al."
Ironically, that one named person was current IRL/Speedway flag-
waiver (and strong CART opponent) Johnny Rutherford!
 
Joking with Rutherford when USAC phenom (the only driver to win
three USAC titles in one year) Tony Stewart comes up.  "You
ready?" asks "Lone Star J.R.," alluding to the Rookie Orientation
session about to happen.  "Yup," answers Stewart, then alluding
to the circle-track origins he shares with three-time 500 winner
Rutherford, the personable kid smiles, "Go get the push-truck
started."  What a calm, savy guy this 24-yr. old is.  Very
impressive.
 
Rib Stewart's car-owner, John Menard, about his multiple entries,
six in all, asking, "What have you got, about half the field in
this race, John?"  "Yeah," he answers, "I just hope it's the
front half."  His cars are among the quickest, although
admittedly, the peaky if stout V6 Menard motor is not ideally
suited to a one-mile track.
 
Quick time today is Richie Hearn in a Goodyear-shod '95 Reynard-
Ford Cosworth, at 20.254 sec., an average of 177.743 mph.  Next
is Stewart in the #20 Menard at 20.83.  Guerrero is only .045
sec. slower in his Pagan Racing '94 Reynard-Ford Cosworth.
None of the other five cars on the track today were under 22
seconds.
 
Talk with rookie Hearn, who has braces on his teeth and looks
younger than his 25 years.  He seems very comfortable where he
is.  "I've been very lucky," he says, "my career has just seemed
to go up and up.  No flat spots.  I've met the right team owner
at the right time.  This is the best car I've ever driven."  Any
worry about the broken wheel bearing that caused his crash at PIR
earlier, a concern before with Reynards?  "You bet, but we've
done some things, now."
 
Overheard:  A.J. Foyt holding court with a couple of journalists,
talking about Roger Penske (with gusto): "Sucker's owed me money
for over a year.  I told him if I see him, I'll punch him in the
nose."  Ah, A.J., maybe not politically correct, but always
quotable!
 
To be continued......
 
 
                                Copyright Tim Considine, 1996
                                Editor-at-Large, The Auto Channel
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