IMS Trackside Report (05/21/97)
22 May 1997
The "500" Festival issued a statement this afternoon regarding ther fire at
Expo Design this morning that destroyed 10 floats for the Monsoon 500
Festival Parade scheduled at Noon Saturday downtown. The statement said that
the parade will go on as scheduled with 90 of the 100 scheduled parade units
remaining intact. These include 22 specialty units, 14 marching bands, eight
giant helium balloons, Hollywood celebrities and four floats which were
unharmed. The statement added that billboard-sized float renderings of those
floats destroyed in the fire will be created and displayed along the parade
route, complete with originally- planned music, celebrities and surprises.
Tickets to the nation's largest interactive parade are still available at
TicketMaster locations or by visiting the "500" Festival office.
Jimmy Ryser, with special guests Kathi George and Sue Medley, will perform
on the FanFest stage 3:15-4:30 p.m. Thursday.
As accurately as records are available, the six Indiana-born drivers in the
1997 field is the fourth largest total in "500" history. The six are Tyce
Carlson, born in Indianapolis, resides in Indianapolis; Mark Dismore, born
in Greenfield, resides in Greenfield; Steve Kinser, born in Bloomington,
resides in Bloomington; Dr. Jack Miller, born in Indianapolis, resides in
Carmel; Billy Roe, born in Indianapolis, resides in Gilbert, Ariz.; and Tony
Stewart, born in Rushville, resides in Indianapolis. The most Indiana-born
drivers in a "500" field was eight in 1922. The 1932 and 1933 fields each
contained seven Indiana-born drivers. In all, 47 total "500" drivers were
born in Indiana and have started a total of 183 races.
Driver Ralph Liguori and the Lincoln Electric team of Dennis Klingman, Ted
Pinnick, Steve Riva and J.B. Winkle won the 38th annual Race Drivers Golf
Tournament Monday at Brickyard Crossing. The Spot-On Sportswear and Control
Cables team of Wanda Devin, Dee Walters, Debbie Atkerson and Sheri Crandall
won the second annual Women's Invitational Golf Tournament benefiting the
USAC Benevolent Foundation, a nine-hole scramble event at Eagle Creek.
Doug Boles, director of governmental and corporate affairs for Indianapolis
Mayor Stephen Goldsmith, spoke to members of the Indianapolis Public
Relations Society today at the Pennzoil hospitality trailer about the
economic impact of auto racing on the Indianapolis area. Boles said
community efforts to draw racing-related businesses to Indianapolis have
raised the total to 300, many small businesses forming a large industry that
is centrally located in the U.S. The effort involved offering tax incentives
to racing-related businesses. Boles said the "500" brings about $150 million
in revenue to the area through jobs, tourism, souvenirs and other avenues.
Boles will be the spotter on Race Day for the #21 Pennzoil/Pagan
Racing/Infiniti driven by Roberto Guerrero.
C2 Players/Toyota Atlantic champion Mike Shank was named as driver for the
new Nienhouse Motorsports team and the wind tunnel model of the Riley &
Scott chassis was unveiled this afternoon at the Nienhouse Motorsports
hospitality tent. The team plans to debut at Las Vegas with a Riley & Scott
car and Oldsmobile Aurora power.
"It was difficult to choose between chassis manufacturers since they have
all consistently demonstrated race worthiness," said Bob Nienhouse, owner of
the team. "The IRL rules are well crafted to provide equality among the
chassis manufacturers. However, our relationship with Riley & Scott, the
confidence our team has in them, their sterling reputation and significant
experience led us to begin our IRL racing with this new chassis."
Arie Luyendyk is honorary chairman of the Leukemia Society's "Racing for
Life" program to be held at 6 p.m. at Average Joe's, Mineshaft and Rock
Lobster in Broad Ripple. This year's event, held in memory of former
Mineshaft employee Stacy McKay, features a celebrity pool tournament, live
and silent auction, raffles, virtual reality racing against the drivers and
autographs. MACH 5, a band composed of race drivers, will play 9-11 p.m. at
Rock Lobster. Last year's donations totaled $11,000.
Lyn St. James served as chief steward and Bob Jenkins as announcer today at
the 16th annual Zoopolis 500 for Aldabra tortoises at the Indianapolis Zoo.
"Lyn" defeated "A.J.", reversing the 1996 finish. During Community Day at
the Speedway, the Lyn St. James Automotive Team conducted car care clinics
sponsored by Dreyer Reinbold Infiniti. Three female drivers _ Trish Koger,
Carolyn Wright and Alice Ridpath -- gave car care tips to the public. Koger
is currently the only female legends driver in Florida and is employed
full-time as a NASA engineer.
Longtime Speedway public-address announcer Tom Carnegie was presented with a
bronze statue by Rick Galles and the Galles Racing team in the Trackside
Conference Room today as an honor from the team. The statue is a bronco
rider and is called "Monday Mornin'", by Curtis Fort. "When a team
recognizes my love for racing, it makes me feel proud," Carnegie said. "The
fact it was sculpted just for me is a thrill."
At 9:29 p.m. Tuesday, Peter Joseph Hofmann was born at Methodist Hospital,
the son of Tony and Ruth Ann Hofmann of the Speedway Trackside Report staff.
Trackside Conference Room/Press Room Quotes:
JEFF WARD: "We've had meetings with (Johnny) Rutherford and (Eddie) Cheever
and they tell you horror stories to try to scare you, such as turbulence,
breathing methanol in the back of the pack...things to be prepared for. In
high school, when you're a freshman, you're always picked on. Here it's an
honor to be a rookie and do well." (about continuing with Cheever):
"Discussions are going on. They're happy so far."
GREG RAY: "In the past, the rookie meeting was brief. I know it's hard to
tell a rookie what to do but yesterday Eddie (Cheever) described the
feelings, smells, the speed and duration of the race with very valuable
comments. I really appreciated it. It was a fun meeting." (about Carb Day):
"Mostly working through traffic, scrubbing tires, simulate race times, do
fuel calculations, make pit stops. It's all totally new to us. I'll try to
prepare myself mentally and physically." (about Race Day strategy): "It's
going to be about how fast you go and still have an engine together after
the race."
DR. JACK MILLER: (about the race): "I'm not nervous. I'm more excited. It's
hard to describe driving 200 miles per hour and Turn 1...it's something you
have to experience. I've experienced speed. Now, I want to experience
turbulence. This (track) is where I feel at home. Speed is relative. On a
one-mile oval, you're always turning. Here, you have a little time to relax
but you have to concentrate on the next corner. To me, it's easier here than
Phoenix or Orlando."
CLAUDE BOURBONNAIS: (about longest race he's done previously): "I've done
the 24 Hours of LeMans, which was quite an experience, but this is different
too...you don't have a different driver. Before, (at leMans), you have eight
hours with two hours of rest." (about Race Day): "I'd like to take it easy
at the start and maybe the first half of the race." (about media attention):
"Indy is one of a kind. I think it's pretty addictive. That's why everybody
wants to come back." (about ovals): "I have quite a lot of experience in
oval racing, but not superspeedway. I've done Indy Lights, etc., so it's not
totally new to me." (about response to his success in Canada): "Yes,
especially Quebec and Montreal. The press has followed it closely. I'm only
the third Quebec driver to race here."
STEVE KINSER: (running another race Sunday after the 500): "If we win this
race (500) we probablly won't go anywhere. Right now we are looking toward
tomorrow and getting back out on the race track. We've got the car back
together and we'll see how the motor performs, shake everything down and
make a few laps. And we'll be ready on Sunday. We've had big support,
especially around Indiana and across the country from all the open-wheel
midget and sprint people. It's been great. I don't think is any happier to
be here or to have the opportunity to be here than myself. They had a big
banner (last night at a sprint-car program at Lernerville Speedway, Sarver,
Pa.) and had all the fans go by and sign it on both sides and gave it to me
at the end of the race. Physically, I won't have any problems. Mentally,
it's going to be hard."
The $70,000 Coors Indy Pit Stop Challenge quarterfinals, semifinals and
final are scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. on Carburetion Day, with eight
teams competing for the $40,000 top prize. The #77 Chastain Motorsports
entry has been withdrawn from the field and has been replaced by the #44
Sinden Racing Services entry. The #14 AJ Foyt Enterprises entry has been
withdrawn and replaced by the #52 FirstPlus Team Cheever entry. Teams will
change four tires and simulate a fuel-hose connection for five seconds in
all remaining rounds. The matchups:
QUARTER-FINALS - 1:30 p.m. Carburetion Day
Heat 1 #22 Team Scandia
Driver: Marco Greco Sao Paulo, Brazil
#44 Sinden Racing Service
Driver: Steve Kinser Bloomington, IN
Heat 2 #27 Blueprint Racing
Driver: Jim Guthrie Albuquerque, NM
#52 FirstPlus Team Cheever
Driver: Jeff Ward San Juan
Capistrano, CA
Heat 3 #5 Treadway Racing, LLC
Driver: Arie Luyendyk Scottsdale, AZ
#51 FirstPlus Team Cheever
Driver: Eddie Cheever, Jr. Tampa, FL
Heat 4 #4 Galles Racing International
Driver: Kenny Brack Karlstad, Sweden
#42 Team Sabco
Driver: Robby Gordon Cornelius, NC