Indianapolis Motor Speedway Trackside Report, Day 9 (w/ Updated Starting Grid)
11 May 1997
IMS Trackside Report
Day 9--Sunday, May 11
Second Qualifying Day
Veteran Dennis Vitolo of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was assigned this
morning to the #54 Beck Motorsports entry, now the SmithKline
Beecham/Kroger/Beck Motorsports Dallara/Infiniti.
Chronological record of first day/original line qualifiers from present back
to 1983, the track record year:
1997 _ 21
1996 _ 22 (one disallowed, one withdrawn)
1995 _ 20 (11 on May 13, nine on May 14)
1994 _ 25 (21 on May 14, four on May 15)
1993 _ 15
1992 _ 21 (18 on May 9, three on May 10)
1991 _ 12
1990 _ 23 (rain all day May 12, 15 on May 13, eight on May 19)
1989 _ 21 (rain all day May 13, 21 on May 14, including one disallowed run)
1988 _ 19
1987 _ 11 (including one withdrawn run)
1986 _ 25 (two disallowed runs)
1985 _ 28 (includes one disqualified run)
1984 _ 28 (includes two withdrawn runs)
1983 _ 33 (first weekend rained out, 33 on May 21)
Of the 21 qualifiers Saturday, 12 were on Goodyear tires and nine were
on Firestones. The combined average speed of the Goodyear qualifiers
is 212.532. The combined average speed of the Firestone qualifiers is
213.900. The per-lap difference in time is an average of only .271 of
a second.
Top speeds of not-yet-qualified cars in morning practice: #97 Greg Ray
212.580, #44 Steve Kinser 211.854, #30 Robbie Groff 207.646.
10 a.m. update from Dr. Henry Bock, Speedway medical director: Scott
Sharp has a small brain hemorrhage as a result of his crash on
Friday. His condition remains good and his status for driving is yet
to be determined. He is no longer hospitalized. 11:30 a.m. update
from Dr. Henry Bock, Speedway medical director: John Paul Jr. has been
released from Methodist Hospital. He has casts on both legs and will
be wheelchair-bound for about six to eight weeks.
Thomas Knapp Motorsports announced today the addition of the Arizona
Diamondbacks, Major League Baseball's newest expansion team and a
supporter of the Tobacco Free Kids, for Greg Ray and the #97 Ash
Kicker entry.
12:02 p.m. - Robbie Groff took 1 warm up lap but did not take the green due
to engine misfire.
12:11 p.m. #44 STEVE KINSER/Bloomington, IN
One Call/Menards/Quaker State - D / A / G
QA - 30 1 -- 42.680 -- 210.872 Q - 22
2 -- 42.639 -- 211.074
3 -- 42.584 -- 211.347
4 -- 42.881 -- 209.883
T 2:50.784 -- 210.793
1:05 p.m. #30 ROBBIE GROFF/Atlanta, GA
Alfa-Laval/Team Losi/McCormack Motorsports - G / A / G
QA - 31 1 -- 44.520 -- 202.156 UA - 2
2 -- 44.664 -- 201.505
3 -- waved off
This morning, USAC Chief Steward Keith Ward clarified the qualifying
status of the cars qualified Saturday by Buddy Lazier and Roberto
Guerrero, saying the #91T qualified by Lazier can be bumped but the
#21T of Guerrero actually qualified as #21 and cannot be bumped. "John
Barnes (Pagan Racing team manager) made a declaration to me that he
wanted to make the #21T car in the qualifying line into the #21," Ward
said. "That's what I agreed to do. In the hurry to get him out there
(as the day's final qualifier), we didn't have time to take the _T'
off and I didn't get the required paperwork until this morning."
At 4:20 p.m., rookie Billy Boat went on the track in the #1T Conseco
AJ Foyt Racing Dallara/Oldsmobile Aurora for practice.
5:47 p.m. #97 GREG RAY/Plano, TX
Tobacco Free Kids - D / A / F
QA - 32 1 -- 41.897 -- 214.813 UA - 1
2 -- 41.796 -- 215.332
3 -- 41.745 -- 215.595
4 -- waved off, ran out of fuel
5:50 p.m. #30 ROBBIE GROFF/Atlanta, GA
Alfa-Laval/Team Losi/McCormack Motorsports - G / A / G
QA - 33 1 -- 43.075 -- 208.938 Q - 23
2 -- 43.388 -- 207.431 Locked In
3 -- 43.382 -- 207.459
4 -- 43.405 -- 207.349
T 2:53.250 -- 207.792
The last pair of brothers to start in the Indianapolis 500 were Gary
and Tony Bettenhausen in 1993. With exemption status, Mike and Robbie
Groff are guaranteed starting positions in this year's race.
5:57 p.m. #11 Billy Boat took warmup laps but did not take the green.
The #11 car practiced as the #1T and changed numbers prior to warming
up for the qualifying attempt.
At 10:18 a.m., the temperature was 65 degrees with winds from the
southwest at 18 mph.
At 6:06 p.m., the temperature was 70 degrees with winds from the southwest
at 24 mph, gusting to 33 mph.
Field average for 23 cars: 212.777. The 1996 23 car field average:
229.388 (-16.611 difference).
Qualifying order for Saturday, May 17:
#97 Greg Ray
#11 Billy Boat
A total of 43 cars are now at the Speedway, 38 have passed technical
inspection and 0 are in the process. 31 drivers have been on the
track to date. There were 14 yellows for 1 hour, 21 minutes.
There were reports of a possible new track record achieved on Pole
Day, in terms of the number of birds interfering with the day's
qualifying attempts. A bird was reported on the warmup lane at 9:35
a.m. but flew away. At 11:13 a.m., when Mike Groff was on the track
during his qualifying attempt, ducks were reported in the lane, but
moved off the track before a yellow had to be thrown. In the span of
41 minutes late in the afternoon, three birds met their demise to
qualifying race cars. At 4:48 p.m., the #7 car of Eliseo Salazar hit
a bird in Turn 4. "I thought I missed it," Salazar said. "I missed
the big family (of ducks in the warmup lane) last year. This year, it
was only one." At 5:03 p.m., the #12 car of Buzz Calkins hit a bird
in the middle of the north chute, and at 5:29 p.m., a dead bird was
reported near the pit exit when the #42 car of Robby Gordon was on the
track. USAC Chief Steward Keith Ward said, "I've only seen one or at
the most two birds causing problems in the case of qualifying. This
was certainly an unusual number for one day. I'd definitely say it's
a new track record."
Post Qualifying Quotes - Sunday, May 11 Page 1
STEVE KINSER (#44 One Call/Menards/Quaker State): (On working with Al
Unser) "Al started working with me yesterday. He really smoothed me
out a lot. I got more relaxed in the car. (Fourth lap slower) "I
think that was my fault. I looked at the times, saw laps of 211, and
said to myself _Don't do anything stupid.' On the last lap I relaxed
a little too much. . . . The run felt really good. I might have
gotten a little aggressive. (Sprint cars vs Indy) "My first warmup
lap was 112 -- I mean 212 _ I'm used to hundreds. (Comparing dirt to
pavement) "A lot of it is for me, you make sprint cars get out of the
throttle harder. (With these cars) if you jump on and off the
throttle you get false readings. It's hard to set up the car until
you get comfortable with the car. (Comparing 1981 and 1997) "It's
been so long since _81. In _81 Gary Stanton came here with a car that
he had no intention running unless it was a second weekend ride, if it
opened up. I don't remember much more. I got through the rookie test
and left here with a spin and contacted the wall. (On qualifying)
"This is the most relaxed since I've been here, knowing I could get
the car over 210. . . . We weren't expecting to qualify today. We
went out this morning, saw the speeds we were running, and decided to
get this thing in the race and keep the miles down. We decided we
better do it. . . . We planned to get sprint car stuff all done,
concentrate on qualifying in the second weekend. In fact, I'm going
to be in trouble with my father tonight. I told him I had no intention
to qualify today and he's not here, and he's bigger than me. . . .My
father has been a great inspiration to me my whole life. (Sprint car
racing) "We have a race the night after the 500 at Hagerstown, MD.
(Asked if running at Granite City in St Louis last night presented any
problems qualifying today) "Not a problem now. Next week we don't have
to race until Sunday. I'm going to go get a haircut on Monday...enough
cut to put tape on to hold the (radio) plugs in. (How much time have
you spent in Indy) "Limited time as a non-driver at this track. I've
probably spent more time coming up here getting fuel for my sprint
car. " (Pavement experience includes Winston Cup racing and
International Race of Champions competition, including a win in IRO at
Talladega.)
AL UNSER (IRL Driver Coach): (about the rookies:) "The new crop of
rookies _ they're all good. Until the race starts, though, you just
don't know. But, right now, they're listening to the officials _
they're doing everything they're supposed to. I think they're going
to do a great job." (About Steve Kinser's run today versus the last
time he tried to qualify for the Indy 500:) "There's a lot of
difference between 16 years ago and today. He's probably a lot
smarter. But things are so different _ the cars are so different,
there's no way for me to compare. He has a lot of driving experience.
It's just a matter of time for him to get time in the car here before
he really gets the hang of it. . . . (On different types of racing)
"We all used to run dirt cars, stock cars, rear-engine cars, and you
just learned to run all kinds of cars. I think with his (Kinser's)
miles and experience, he's just that good of a driver."
BILLY BOAT (#11 AJ Foyt Enterprises): "We did not take the green flag.
We didn't plan on taking it. We made some changes to the car late in
the day and we just wanted to see how the car felt."
ROBBIE GROFF (#30 Alfa-Laval/Team Losi/McCormack Motorsports): (On
making the field on the third attempt) "We didn't want to get it down
that far but I had to get a Mother's Day gift for my mom. . . . It's a
terrible thing when you're down to your last attempt. Dennis
(McCormack) did a great job of encouraging me and pumped me up and got
me determined. I just put my head down and bit my teeth together.
(On run) "It was one of the best 4 laps all month, or pretty close.
(On attempt earlier today) When we went out at 12:00 for an attempt we
had a misfire. It took an hour and a half, and when we went back out,
the track went away from us. The track was hotter and took away the
setup and got some understeer. (Next on agenda) "Tonight we're going
to have a nice dinner, a couple of beers, and sleep in tomorrow.
. . .This week we'll get comfortable with traffic and get the car
ready for the race. (On attempt yesterday and brush with wall)
"Yesterday it was a combination of factors. We lost the setup, the
track conditions were not as good as we were accustomed to, and there
was inexperience and overenthusiasm. We learned a valuable lesson.
It took an attempt away from us. We got the car back together due to
an excellent job by the crew. (Has your brother Mike given you any
advice?) "He told me that if you have big understeer you should have
the left foot on the brake to control the understeer. I wish he'd
said that sooner. (First time at the Speedway?) My first time at the
Speedway was in 1983 when Tom Sneva won, and pretty much every year
from 1988 onwards and since my brother's been racing here. . . . This
is the most incredible place. . .I've seen extreme highs and extreme
lows _ I know it's like no other place in the world. Bottom line is
you just can't lose respect for this place." The Groffs become the
first set of brothers to qualify for the same Indianapolis 500 since
Tony and Gary Bettenhausen in 1993.
S
P CAR DRIVER CAR NAME C/E/T Time Speed
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Row 1
1 5 Arie Luyendyk Wavephore/Sprint PCS/Miller Lite G/A/F 2:44.939 218.263
2 2 Tony Stewart Glidden/Menards/Special G/A/F 2:45.122 218.021
3 8 Vincenzo Sospiri (R) Scandia Royal Purple Alta Xcel D/A/G 2:46.035 216.822
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Row 2
4 3 Robbie Buhl Quaker State/Special G/A/F 2:46.588 216.102
5 6 Scott Goodyear Nortel/Sprint PCS/Quebecor Printing G/A/F 2:46.813 215.811
6 27 Jim Guthrie Jacuzzi/Blueprint Racing Dallara D/A/F 2:47.281 215.207
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Row 3
7 52 Jeff Ward (R) FirstPlus Team Cheever G/A/G 2:47.819 214.517
8 14 Davey Hamilton AJ Foyt PowerTeam Racing G/A/G 2:47.845 214.484
9 7 Eliseo Salazar Copec/Cristal/Scandia D/A/G 2:47.973 214.320
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Row 4
10 91T Buddy Lazier Delta Faucet-Montana-Hemelgarn Racing D/A/F 2:48.000 214.286
11 51 Eddie Cheever, Jr. FirstPlus Team Cheever G/A/G 2:48.167 214.073
12 42 Robby Gordon Coors Light G/A/G 2:48.847 213.211
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Row 5
13 77 Stephan Gregoire Chastain Motorsports G/A/G 2:48.914 213.126
14 17 Affonso Giaffone (R) GM of Brazil Chitwood Dallara D/A/G 2:49.035 212.974
15 4 Kenny Brack (R) Monsoon Galles Racing G/A/G 2:50.438 211.221
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Row 6
16 90 Lyn St. James Lifetime-TV-Cinergy D/I/F 2:51.310 210.145
17 12 Buzz Calkins Bradley Food Marts G/A/G 2:51.785 209.564
18 40 Dr. Jack Miller (R) AMS/Crest Racing D/I/F 2:52.043 209.250
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Row 7
19 34 Alessandro Zampedri Mi-Jack Scandia Royal Purple D/A/G 2:52.171 209.094
20 10 Mike Groff Jonathan Byrd's Cafe./Visionaire/Bryant G/I/F 2:52.631 208.537
21 21T Roberto Guerrero Pennzoil-Pagan Racing Dallara Infiniti D/I/G 2:53.602 207.371
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Row 8
22 34 Steve Kinser (R) One Call/Menards/Quaker State D/A/G 2:50.784 210.793
23 30 Robbie Groff (R) Alfa-Laval/Team Losi/McCormack Mtrsprts G/A/G 2:53.250 207.792
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Legend: SP=Starting Position
C=Chassis E=Engine T=Tires
D=Dallara A=Aurora G=Goodyear
G=G-Force I=Infiniti F=Firestone
1997 23 Car Field Average 212.777
1996 23 Car Field Average 229.388
Difference: -16.611