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IRL Trackside Report from Pikes Peak -- The Race

30 June 1997


SUNDAY, JUNE 29
Race Day - DAY 3


The Indy Racing League is making today a special one for 12-year-old
Crissy Crow of Fountain. Crissy has successfully fought off abdominal
cancer, is living with diabetes and is looking forward to a lung
transplant. She and her family are guests today of Mari Hulman George,
chairman of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in the IRL suite for
today's Samsonite 200. On Saturday, IRL representatives presented a
check for $4,500 to the Crow family at a fundraiser sponsored by the
Lutheran Brotherhood at American Legion Post 38 in Security. When
Crissy said she was a race fan,m Mrs.  George provided tickets for
today's race. Mrs. George read of Crissy's plight in Thursday's
Colorado Springs Gazette. Fundraising will continue to cover the
estimated $200,000 cost of the lung operation.

Steve Knepper of Belleville, Ill., became the first driver in the
history of the new 16th Street Speedway in Indianapolis to win three
midget features in a row. He was followed in the main by Andy Pierce,
Travis Welpott, Jerry Zike and Johnny Parsons III. Jack Hewitt was
fast qualifier.

8:30 a.m. update on driver Jim Guthrie: He remains at Penrose Hospital
in good condition with a fracture of the thoracic 7 vertebra. It's
anticipated he'll be released on Monday.

Rookie Jimmy Kite has a rookie crew chief. Steve Namisnak, who has
been with Team Scandia for four years and has been the lead mechanic
on the #33 Old Navy entry this year, is in charge as crew chief this
weekend. Regular crew chief Brad McCanless is back home in
Indianapolis with his wife, Marian, awaiting the birth of their second
child. Namisnak, 29, was a tank commander in Operation Desert Storm
and said his army training prepared him well for this type of
situation.

Thomas Chastain, owner of the #77 Estridge-Moen-Nutone-Porter
Paint-Jack K.  Elrod entry, said in his garage this morning that his
sponsors are carryovers from the Indianapolis 500, where the car
driven by Stephan Gregoire was taken out in a first-lap accident. "We
worked very hard on getting Paul Estridge (home builder from Carmel,
Ind.) and Jack K. Elrod (an Indianapolis firm) for coming on board as
first-time sponsors at the Indy 500," Chastain said, "and we're very
disappointed not to ever see the green flag. So, we're carrying their
names at the Samsonite 200 as _pay back.' We feel we need to give them
something back. We believe they were cut short, as our team feels it
was cut short. It's part of racing but for first-time sponsors, you
don't want them to be discouraged. We want to keep their interest up."

At Saturday's autograph session, Brad Calkins, father of 1996 IRL
co-champion Buzz Calkins, helped a handicapped youth into the cockpit
of the #12 Bradley Foodmarts entry in the garage area. After the
experience made his day, the youth's mother asked him in sign language
who he wanted to win.  The youth signed back, "Tony Stewart."

University of Colorado football coach Rick Neuheisel will again be the
"lollipop man" for Buzz Calkins in the Samsonite 200. Neuheisel has
served on the Bradley Motorsports crew previously at the Indianapolis
500. The lollipop man (a designation coined by the Bradley team) holds
the sign board that shows the driver where to "hit the marks" on a pit
stop.

According to a Speedway Motorsports release, more than 149,000
spectators passed through the Texas gates during the weekend of June
6-7 to attend the Indy Racing League's True Value 500 and the Prono
Auto Parts 400 Craftsman Truck Series race. Although these events were
"inaugural", they both established records for Speedway Motorsports
and for the individual racing series. The Texas Motor Speedway crowd
for the IRL race was the largest in history other than the
Indianapolis 500, which annually is the world's largest one-day
sporting event.

SAMSONITE 200 RACE RUNNING:

1 p.m. _ Temperature was 90 degrees, track temperature 137 degrees,
according to Goodyear tire engineers.

Lap 1: YELLOW, #2 Stewart took lead on outside in Turn 2, #1 Sharp did
a quarter-spin to hit outside wall.
	#2 Stewart has now led the opening lap of every IRL race during 1997.

Lap 2: #70 Greco to pits, crew checked engine, returned to track.

Lap 7: Leaders _ #2 Stewart, #14 Hamilton, #6 Goodyear, #4 Brack, #12 Calkins.

Lap 12: GREEN.

Lap 17: #2 Stewart leads #14 Hamilton by 1.9 seconds.

Lap 20: #2 Stewart leads #14 Hamilton by 3.0 seconds.  

1:15 p.m. _ Temperature 89 degrees, track temperature 140, according
to Firestone tire engineers.

Lap 23: #97 Ray to pits.

Lap 25: YELLOW, #10 Unser hit wall, Turn 2. Unser was examined and
released from the track emergency center.

Leaders _ #2 Stewart, #14 Hamilton, #6 Goodyear, #4 Brack, #12
Calkins.

Update: Scott Sharp was transported by ambulance to Penrose Hospital
awake and alert for further evaluation.

JONATHAN BYRD (owner, #10 Unser): "I don't know what happened. The
spotter called and told him the leader was coming up on him. He got
high. Everything was going along as planned."  Lap 28: #91 Lazier to
pits, car reported loose, returned to track.  Lap 29: #97 Ray to pits,
rear-wing adjustment.

	#6 Goodyear to pits.

1:30 p.m. _ Temperature 90, track temperature 142 from Firestone tire
engineers.  

Lap 30: 15 cars on lead lap.  

Lap 34: #77 Gregoire, #97 Ray to pits.  

Lap 38: GREEN. #91 Lazier just head of leader #2 Stewart on same lap.

Lap 41: YELLOW, #33 Kite hit wall, Turn 4.

Lap 45: #21 Guerrero, #4 Brack to pits.

Lap 50: 14 cars on lead lap.

Leaders _ #2 Stewart, #14 Hamilton, #6 Goodyear, #12 Calkins, #17
Giaffone, #18 Boat, #30 Groff, #22 Sospiri, #51 Cheever, #5 Luyendyk.

Lap 55: #70 Greco to pits, tires and fuel.

Lap 57: GREEN.

Lap 59: #2 Stewart leads #14 Hamilton by 1.1 seconds.

Lap 68: Leaders _ #2 Stewart by 2.8 seconds over #14 Hamilton, #6
Goodyear, #12 Calkins, #18 Boat.

UNSER: "I don't know reqally what happened. It felt like the front of
the car got pinched. It wasn't that great through (Turns) 1 and 2 but
that isn't anything we hadn't experienced before. I'm just sorry it
had to happen."

2 p.m. _ Temperature 89 degrees, track temperature 136 from Goodyear
tire engineers.

Lap 76: #17 Giaffone to pits, four tires, fuel.

KITE: "It was fun. I wished it would have lasted longer. We'll go to
Charlotte and get some laps in and start thinking about finishing the
race there. I'm sorry for the team this afternoon. I just want to
thank everyone from Scandia and Old Navy."

Lap 83: #2 Stewart leads #6 Goodyear by 10.4 seconds.

Lap 87: YELLOW, #21 Guerrero, #18 Boat tangle, Turn 4.

Lap 89: #2 Stewart, #6 Goodyear, #14 Hamilton, #17 Giaffone, #30
Groff, #12 Calkins, others to pits.

Lap 91: #5 Luyendyk to pits, four tires, fuel.

Lap 92: #77 Gregoire in lead, followed by #2 Stewart, #6 Goodyear, #14
Hamilton, #12 Calkins.

Lap 94: 9 cars on lead lap.

Lap 96: #77 Gregoire to pits, 32 Stewart takes lead.

Lap 99: GREEN. #4 Brack returns to lead lap.

Lap 101: Leaders _ #2 Stewart by 1.8 seconds over #6 Goodyear,
followed by #22 Sospiri, #14 Hamilton, #51 Cheever.

Lap 107: 10 cars on lead lap.

Lap 113: YELLOW, #97 Ray hit wall, Turn 4.

GUERRERO: I'm disappointed. The car was running very well. It was fun for
me to race again. It's too bad what happened. Billy (Boat) just lost it."

Lap 116: #17 Giaffone to pits, returned to track.
 	#4 Brack to pits, four tires, fuel.
	
Lap 117: Leaders _ #2 Stewart, #6 Goodyear, #22 Sospiri, #14 Hamilton,
#51 Cheever, #30 Groff, #12 Calkins, #5 Luyendyk, #77 Gregoire, #4
Brack.

	#91 Lazier to pits, wing adjustment.

Lap 119: #28 Dismore returned to pits for wicker bill adjustment.

Lap 120: GREEN. #22 Sospiri passes #6 Goodyear for second place in Turn 3.

Lap 121: #51 Cheever passes #14 Hamilton in Turn 3 for fourth.

Update: Guerrero, Boat and Ray were examined and released from the
track emergency center.

Lap 123: #2 Stewart leads #22 Sospiri by 3.0 seconds.
	#7 Salazar to pits, rear cowling removed by crew, clutch problem.

Lap 129: Leaders _ #2 Stewart, #22 Sospiri, #6 Goodyear.

Lap 130: #14 Hamilton passes #51 Cheever in Turn 3 for fourth.
	#4 Brack passes #5 Luyendyk in Turn 3 for ninth.

Lap 131: #2 Stewart leads #22 Sospiri by 3.4 seconds.

Lap 136: #12 Calkins passes #51 Cheever at line for fifth.

Lap 140: #2 Stewart leads #22 Sospiri by 4.0 seconds.

Lap 144: #12 Calkins passes #6 Goodyear in Turn 3 for third.

Lap 146: YELLOW, #40 Miller hit wall, Turn 4, came to a stop at
start/finish line.

JOE KENNEDY (co-owner, #40 Miller): "The spotter said he got up high
in Turn 4 and just lost it."

Lap 149: #22 Sospiri to pits, four tires, fuel, wicker adjustment.
	#2 Stewart to pits, four tires, fuel.
	#6 Goodyear to pits, four tires, fuel.
	#12 Calkins to pits, four tires, fuel.

BOAT: "The car was flying the first 65 laps or so (had moved from 15th
to fifth). Then it got real loose. We made a stop and changed
tires. After the stop, it was still pretty loose. Then it started to
come around to where it was feeling pretty good again but I was
running on the edge anyway. I had to save it a couple times. When he
(Guerrero) came up behind me, I don't know...the air off the rear wing
might have upset the car. It just jumped out on me which it shouldn't
have done. I spun and he hit me."

Lap 153: #91 Lazier to pits, wing adjustment.  

Lap 154: #70 Greco to pits.

Update: Dr. Jack Miller was examined and released from the track
emergency center.

Lap 154: Leaders _ #2 Stewart, #12 Calkins, #77 Gregoire, #14
Hamilton, #51 Cheever, #5 Luyendyk, #4 Brack, #30 Groff, #6 Goodyear,
#22 Sospiri.  10 cars on lead lap.

Lap 157: GREEN: #51 Cheever to third on restart, to second .8 of a
second behind Stewart at end of lap.

Lap 159: #77 Gregoire passes #12 Calkins for third in Turn 1.

Lap 161: #2 Stewart leads #51 Cheever by 1.6 seconds.

Lap 163: #17 Giaffone to pits.

Lap 165: YELLOW, #5 Luyendyk hit wall in Turn 2, came to stop against
inside wall down backstretch.

SKIP FAUL (chief mechanic, #5 Luyendyk): "He got loose going out of
(Turn) 2 and spun and hit the inside wall. That's all we know."  Lap
166: Leaders _ #2 Stewart, #51 Cheever, #77 Gregoire, #12 Calkins, #4
Brack, #14 Hamilton,

Lap 168: #51 Cheever crew reports he has no second gear.

Lap 172: GREEN.	#14 Hamilton passes #4 Brack in Turn 1 for fifth.

Update: Luyendyk was examined and released from the track emergency
center.  Lap 174: #2 Stewart leads #51 Cheever by 1.2 seconds.

2:45 p.m. _ Temperature 92 degrees, track temperature 139 degrees,
according to Firestone tire engineers.

Lap 178: #2 Stewart leads #51 Cheever by 1.5 seconds, #77 Gregoire by 2.0
seconds, #12 Calkins by 2.7 seconds.

Lap 181: YELLOW, #4 Brack hit wall between Turns 3 and 4, stopped in
Turn 4.  3 p.m. _ Temperature 91 degrees, track temperature 136
degrees, according to Goodyear tire engineers.

Lap 184: 8 cars on lead lap.

Lap 188; GREEN. #14 Hamilton passes #12 Calkins in Turn 1 for fourth.

Lap 190: #2 Stewart leads #51 Cheever by 1.3 seconds.

Lap 192: #77 Gregoire side-by-side with #51 Cheever, passes for second
in Turn 3.

Update: Brack was examined and released from the track emergency center.

Lap 194: YELLOW, #30 Groff spun in Turn 2, hit inside wall.

Lap 198: GREEN. #14 Hamilton passes #51 Cheever for third in Turn 1.

Lap 199: #2 Stewart leads #77 Gregoire by .5 of a second.

Lap 200: #2 Stewart wins the Samsonite 200 by .2 of a second over #77
Gregoire. #14 Hamilton third, followed by #51 Cheever, #12 Calkins,
#22 Sospiri, #6 Goodyear. Seven cars on lead lap.

This is Tony Stewart's first Indy Racing League victory.
12 cars running at the finish.

Update at 3:17 p.m.: Scott Sharp has a subdural brain hemorrhage, is
listed in serious condition and will remain in Penrose Hospital in
Colorado Springs.

POST-SAMSONITE 200 NOTES, QUOTES:
	
STEPHAN GREGOIRE: "We got a slow start. The car was really loose. We
went from 11th to 17th right away. We made adjustments during each pit
stop. My engineer, Darrell Soppe, was Rick Mears' engineer...he's
very, very good and he gave me a great car."

AFFONSO GIAFFONE: "This was our first finish of the year. We're
feeling really good. The car was loose all day and we made one extra
pit stop to make some adjustments and in the end, it was really
good. This gives the team some momentum for future races."

Stephan Gregoire's finish of second is his best career finish. His
previous best was fifth at Phoenix in 1997.

It was also the first time Gregoire has led an IRL event, although he
led Lap 18 of the 1993 Indianapolis 500, his first race in Indy-style
cars.  Vincenzo Sospiri's finish of sixth is his best career
finish. His previous best was ninth at Texas.

Davey Hamilton has now been running at the finish in eight straight
races.  This is Tony Stewart's fourth straight top-five finish.

The seven cars running on the lead lap at the finish is the most in
IRL history. The previous highest total was five at Walt Disney World
in January of this year.

SCOTT GOODYEAR: "The run was fine. We were running second most of the
day and at the end we had a fuel problem. The second-to-last stop, we
didn't get any fuel and we had to come back in. So we went from second
to ninth. It's a difficult track to pass on. Starting the race up
front was important."  (About when Unser came across in front of him):
"I just barely missed him. I thought I was going to hit him."

ELISEO SALAZAR: "Hard to be satisfied with 12th. We got a black-flag
penalty because Kite missed a gear and they said we passed him on a
restart. After the stop-and-go, we were passing everyone. Then towards
the end, the gearbox was stuck in fourth and we pitted and lost 11
laps. I think we had the fastest car today because I passed Stewart
and could keep up with him."

BUDDY LAZIER: "There's no kidding it. We had one of the more miserable
days ever. The car wouldn't ever get a balance. We adjusted several
times and just couldn't get it balanced. Look forward to testing on a
short oval. We had a real rough day. It's tough on the team and tough
on me."

EDDIE CHEEVER JR.: "My car had a lot of push and on the restarts I
could go in very hard. The car got better throughout the race. The
crew had great pit stops. On the last restart, I got snookered by
Hamilton. I had been told earlier by the officials that if I held back
one more time on a restart, they would black-flag me. I did not see
Hamilton. He must've gotten a run on me and got me in Turn 1." (About
racing with Gregoire): "It was a great race. He ran a helluva race. I
had him covered in Turn 1 and 2 and he had me in (Turns) 3 and 4. It
was a great race, a great track and at the end, he strung me out for a
lap and a half and going into (Turn) 3, I couldn't do anything else."

BUZZ CALKINS: "I had a small handling problem but I really didn't need
those late cautions. We were handling better at the end but the
yellows got me.  Don't know why people had so much trouble with Turn
4. I was having some in 9Turn) 2. We were capable of a better finish."

MARK DISMORE: "We were good for a handful of laps and then it would go
away.  We were bad loose 80 percent of the day. We really missed it on
the setup.  I've never had less fun in a race car."

ARIE LUYENDYK: "I'm really disappointed to crash twice here this
weekend.  It's certainly not my idea of a good time. My car was a big
struggle in traffic and my restarts were slow due to a sticky
gearshift. I think it hurt us that we missed two sessions and never
had the chance to run in traffic."

MARCO GRECO: "We had problems starting the car. It kept misfiring and
I lost the dash...no instruments. The car was slow and I had a problem
with understeer. At the end, as I exited pit road on the back
straight, the car died. I was towed to the pits, where they fixed the
problem and I was able to finish the race. My crew did a great job but
we need to make some adjustments to the car. I'm looking forward to
Charlotte."

DR. JACK MILLER: "For awhile, the car was perfect. Then we dropped 10
miles per hour in about three to five laps. My car was as loose as
could be. A couple of cars came underneath me and the wind just pushed
me up to the wall. We had poor handling prior to the accident. It's
unfortunate that the dentist brushed the wall."

ROBBIE GROFF: "Our car was really good. I'd been running with
everybody all day long except Stewart, who's in a league of his
own. This is the type of track with conditions you really have to stay
on top of. These cars are so close time-wise (that) any little error
on the line could cause problems."

VINCENZO SOSPIRI: (about first race on a one-mile oval): "Very busy
out there. It's nice. One-mile is wide, perfect banking all the way
through. I think there was a lot of rubber (on the track). If you get
off the groove just even five inches, that's it. It happened to
Luyendyk, Brack and others.  I think if a (sweeper) truck could clean
it up, that'd make it a safer race...not so many accidents. My Old
Navy team did good for me. We went from 18th to sixth. We changed an
engine eysterday. We did a lot of improvement.  At one stage we got up
to second and then had a slight delay on one pit (stop) and dropped
back to eighth. But (we) managed to finish fifth or sixth, I'm not
sure. (The) Old Navy (team) has gotten very strong since we've been
here. I think we will finish (on the) podium soon. The best thing
about this place is the weather. It's similar to my place in
Italy...mountains next to my house and things."

Attendance estimates for the weekend: 6,200 on Friday, 11,300 on
Saturday and 38,100 on Sunday for a total of 55,600.

Margin of victory was .222 of a second, which is the closest finish in
IRL history. The previous closest was the 1997 Indianapolis 500, when
Arie Luyendyk beat Scott Goodyear to the line by .570 of a second.
Tony Stewart led 193 laps, which is the most laps led by a driver in a
single IRL race.

DAVEY HAMILTON: "The yellows hurt me earlier. Towards the end, they
helped me. Eddie (Cheever) taught me the move and I got him with
it. It was a two-groove race track towards the end. Earlier, it was a
three-groove race track. This is due to the tire war between Goodyear
and Firestone. They're making good tires and there were a lot of
marbles out there (meaning the tires were sticking). I want to win
one. I've been third three times now."

STEPHAN GREGOIRE: "Race after race, it's still a learning curve. We
need to do more testing. We are a small team and we didn't make it to
Texas and coming here, we had problems on Friday but everyone worked
hard to overcome them. I'm still carrying the same sponsors we did at
Indy because they helped us so much and they deserved it." (NOTE:
Gregoire was last on the Friday speed chart.)

KENNY BRACK: "I had an oversteer all day and I finally just lost
it. To me it looked like I was losing time all day. I came in very
early to try to get it fixed and it never got corrected."

TONY STEWART: (upon entering conference room): "I finally get to sit
in the middle seat." (About the race): "At the beginning of the race,
the car was pretty good so we decided to see how it went. In the
middle, the car got a little loose. We had a yellow and came in and
tightened it up. We got it too tight. Then it took a couple more
yellows, but it was eventually okay. I hoped that everything would
stay together. All the pieces did stay together.  If this altitude is
what it takes for me to win, then we had better start elevating race
tracks. I just tried to work with the balance and sway bars in the
cockpit and just kept balancing it out all day. There were no engine
failures today. It shows how strong the IRL is. To start the year with
brand-new engines and chassis, it just shows the commitments of Nissan
and Oldsmobile to this program. It's pretty remarkable that halfway
through the season, you can have a race with no engine failures."
(About winning): "I've been racing for 18 years so every win is
special but I'm just glad to do this for these two guys (Larry Curry
and John Menard). With all the 18-hour days, they've never griped at
all. I'm just happy to do this with them."  (About Charlotte): "I
think there's a lot of interest there. When we tested last week, there
were about 3,000 people who came out. Those people like us, too. When
we quit testing at 10:30 that night, half of them were still
there. There's definitely an interest in us and our racing in
Charlotte."

JOHN MENARD: "I entered my first race in '79. I think that was before
Tony was born. I guess it shows perseverance pays off. I hope it
doesn't take another 18 years to win again. I think we had nine cars
on the lead lap at the end. It was a great race. I couldn't even
breathe the last few laps. I was hyperventilating."

LARRY CURRY (director of racing, Team Menard): "I've been in this
busienss for 24 years and today, without a shadow of a doubt, was the
absolute best communication between the teams and control. Those guys
(race control officials) deserve an A-plus."