1996 Indianapolis 500 Daily Trackside Report

Brian Battaglia, Paulo Carcasci, Affonso Giaffone, Jack Hewitt and Jerry Karl passed driver physicals Friday, bringing the total to 55, according to Dr. Henry Bock.

Practice scheduled to start at 8 a.m. was delayed by wet conditions. At 9:45 a.m., the temperature was 45 degrees and winds were out of the north at 12 miles per hour.

Clarence Baker, nephew of Cannonball Baker and a well-known member of the Hall of Fame staff (he's been a Speedway employee for more than 60 years) is pictured in a soon-to-be published travel book "Great Drives," from K-III Magazine Corp. Baker's co-workers gave him a framed copy of the photo when he visited the museum today -- his first time back since February -- when he suffered a stroke.

The minimum qualifying speed requirement of 220 miles an hour for the 80th Indianapolis 500 is not a new procedure. Minimum speed requirements existed for every Indianapolis 500 from 1911 through 1963. The last time a minimum speed requirement was in effect in 1963, the minimum was 135 miles per hour and the pole speed was 151.153. A complete list of minimums and pole speeds/fast qualifiers is available from the press room office.

At a press conference this morning in the Trackside Conference Room, Mechanics Laundry announced sponsorship of the #75 Cunningham Racing entry to be driven by Johnny O'Connell. "On behalf of Darroll French, President and CEO, and our 1,400 employee partners, I am pleased to announce that Mechanics Laundry and Supply will be the major sponsor for driver Johnny O'Connell and the Cunningham race team," said Mac Wright, senior vice president. O'Connell, who is expected to start his driver's test Monday, said, "Needless to say, this is a big relief to me. Actually, I was very confident things would come together. Everyone in Indy has been really supportive. You learn where the term ‘Hoosier Hospitality' comes from."

The track went green for 30 minutes of open practice at 11:55 a.m. and #21 Roberto Guerrero and #45 Lyn St. James led a total of 24 cars initially on to the track.

At 11:58 a.m., Johnny Parsons in the #16 Team Blueprint Racing entry went low in Turn 3, did a half-spin over 400 feet to hit the wall with the left side, slid along the wall 180 feet, then came off the wall 330 feet with a full spin to a stop at the end of the north short chute. Parsons suffered a bruised left foot and was examined and released from Hanna Medical Center and cleared to drive. The car sustained heavy left-side and rear-end damage. Arie Luyendyk in the #5 Jonathan Byrd's Cafeteria/Bryant Heating & Cooling entry had two wheels on the grass avoiding a wayward tire from the Parsons accident.

At 12:21 p.m., the track went yellow for a tow-in on #5 Arie Luyendyk. Fred Treadway, the car owner, said the problem was engine-related. The crew immediately went to work on it and Luyendyk took out the team's other car later in the session. NOTE: The car numbers on these two cars were changed this morning. The car currently carrying No. 5 is the car in which Luyendyk ran the fastest practice lap in Speedway history at 239.260 Friday.

At 12:30 p.m., Buzz Calkins in the #12 Bradley Food Marts Reynard turned a lap at 233.973 miles per hour, fastest of the session to that point. At 12:53 p.m., Eddie Cheever in the #3 Quaker State Menards Special turned a lap of 233.876, fastest of session to that point. Also at 12:53, Tony Stewart in the #20 Menards/Glidden/Quaker State Special turned a lap at 235.719, fastest of session.

Marco Greco in the #41AJ Foyt Enterprises entry lost an engine during the practice and the crew was changing it as practice ended. Scott Sharp in the #11 Conseco AJ Foyt Racing entry also lost an engine going into Turn 3 during the practice and the car was also returned to the garage for an engine change.

At 1:35 p.m., the track temperature was 77 degrees, according to Goodyear tire engineers.

2:00 p.m.  #45 LYN ST. JAMES/Daytona Beach, FL
               Spirit of San Antonio - 94 L/F/G

QA - 1  1 -- 39.979 -- 225.118    Q - 1
        2 -- 40.055 -- 224.691    Locked In
        3 -- 40.039 -- 224.781
        4 -- 40.216 -- 223.792
         T 2:40.289 -- 224.594

2:05 p.m.  #91 BUDDY LAZIER/Vail, CO
               Hemelgarn Racing-Delta Faucet - 95 R/F/F

QA - 2  1 -- 38.878 -- 231.493    Q - 2
        2 -- 38.864 -- 231.577    Locked In
        3 -- 38.888 -- 231.434
        4 -- 38.899 -- 231.368
         T 2:35.529 -- 231.468

2:10 p.m. #64 JOHNNY UNSER/Sun Valley, ID
              Ruger-Titanium/Project Indy/Reynard - 95 R/F/G

QA - 3  1 -- 39.868 -- 225.745    Q - 3
        2 -- 39.836 -- 225.926    Locked In
        3 -- 39.743 -- 226.455
        4 -- 39.764 -- 226.335
         T 2:39.211 -- 226.115

Johnny Unser becomes the first rookie at Indianapolis to lock in a qualifying position.

2:15 p.m.  #8 ALESSANDRO ZAMPEDRI/Monte Carlo, Monaco
              Mi-Jack/AGIP/Dinema - 95 L/F/G

QA - 4	1 -- 39.200 -- 229.592    Q - 4
        2 -- 39.182 -- 229.697
        3 -- 39.217 -- 229.492
        4 -- 39.199 -- 229.598
         T 2:36.798 -- 229.595

2:20 p.m. #70 DAVY JONES/Lake Tahoe, NV
              Delco Electronics High Tech Team Galles - 95 L/MI/G

QA - 5  1 -- 38.636 -- 232.943    Q - 5
        2 -- 38.660 -- 232.799
        3 -- 38.673 -- 232.721
        4 -- 38.616 -- 233.064
         T 2:34.585 -- 232.882

Davy Jones sets the new 1 and 4 lap track records. Previous record holder was Roberto Guererro who set 1 and 4 lap records in 1992 of 232.618 and 232.482 respectively.

2:24 p.m. #60 MIKE GROFF/Palm Desert, CA
              Valvoline Cummins Craftsman Special - 95 R/F/G

QA - 6  1 -- 39.286 -- 229.089    Q - 6
        2 -- 39.293 -- 229.048
        3 -- 39.361 -- 228.653
        4 -- 39.469 -- 228.027
         T 2:37.409 -- 228.704

2:29 p.m.  #4 RICHIE HEARN/Canyon Country, CA
              Della Penna Motorsports Ralph's Food 4 Less Fuji Film - 95 R/F/G

QA - 7  1 -- 39.639 -- 227.049    Q - 7
        2 -- 39.704 -- 226.677    Locked In
	3 -- 39.759 -- 226.364
	4 -- 39.824 -- 225.994
         T 2:38.926 -- 226.521

Richie Hearn sets the 4 lap record for a rookie.

2:34 p.m. #20 TONY STEWART/Indianapolis, IN
              Menards/Glidden/Quaker State/Special - 95 L/M/F

QA - 8  1 -- 38.620 -- 233.040    Q - 8
        2 -- 38.597 -- 233.179    Locked In
        3 -- 38.614 -- 233.076
        4 -- 38.609 -- 233.106
         T 2:34.440 -- 233.100

Tony Stewart is the first rookie to set both 1 and 4 lap records since Teo Fabi in 1983. Previous to Stewart and Fabi, 3 other rookies (Walt Faulkner - 1950, Jim Hurtubise - 1960, Mario Andretti - 1965) accomplished the same feat.

2:38 p.m. #18 JOHN PAUL, JR./West Palm Beach, FL
              V-Line Earl's Supply - 93 L/M/G

QA - 9  1 -- 39.880 -- 225.677    UA - 1
        2 -- 41.011 -- 219.453
        3 -- waved off

2:43 p.m. #12 BUZZ CALKINS/Denver, CO
              Bradley Food Marts/Reynard - 95 R/F/F

QA - 10 1 -- 39.478 -- 227.975    Q - 9
        2 -- 39.346 -- 228.740    Locked In
        3 -- 39.188 -- 229.662
        4 -- 39.184 -- 229.686
         T 2:37.196 -- 229.013

2:51 p.m. #27 JIM GUTHRIE/Albuquerque, NM
              Team Blueprint Racing Inc. - 93 L/M/F

QA - 11 1 -- 40.485 -- 222.305    Q - 10
        2 -- 40.477 -- 222.348    Locked In
        3 -- 40.464 -- 222.420
        4 -- 40.449 -- 222.502
         T 2:41.875 -- 222.394

2:56 p.m. #14 DAVEY HAMILTON/Boise, ID
              AJ Foyt Copenhagen Racing - 95 L/F/G

QA - 12 1 -- 39.319 -- 228.897    Q - 11
        2 -- 39.335 -- 228.804    Locked In
        3 -- 39.304 -- 228.984
        4 -- 39.325 -- 228.862
         T 2:37.283 -- 228.887

3:01 p.m. #3 EDDIE CHEEVER/Aspen, CO
             Quaker State Menards Special - 95 L/M/F	

QA - 13 1 -- 39.032 -- 230.580    Q - 12
        2 -- 38.825 -- 231.809    Locked In
        3 -- 38.758 -- 232.210
        4 -- 38.704 -- 232.534
         T 2:35.319 -- 231.781

3:06 p.m. #21 ROBERTO GUERRERO/San Juan Capistrano, CA
              WavePhore/Pennzoil Reynard-Ford - 95 R/F/G

QA - 14 1 -- 39.123 -- 230.044    Q - 13
        2 -- 38.777 -- 232.096    Locked In
        3 -- 38.850 -- 231.660
        4 -- 38.843 -- 231.702
         T 2:35.593 -- 231.373

3:09 p.m. #33 MICHELE ALBORETO/Monte Carlo, Monaco
              Alta Spring Water/Perry Ellis/Royal Purple - 95 R/F/G

QA - 15 1 -- 40.153 -- 224.143    UA - 1
        2 -- 40.157 -- 224.120
        3 -- waved off

3:14 p.m. #34 ELISEO SALAZAR/Santiago, Chile
              Cristal/Copec Mobil - 95 L/F/G

QA - 16 1 -- 38.668 -- 232.751    Q - 14
	2 -- 38.652 -- 232.847    Locked In
        3 -- 38.710 -- 232.498
        4 -- 38.686 -- 232.642
         T 2:34.716 -- 232.684

3:19 p.m.  #2 SCOTT BRAYTON/Coldwater, MI
              Glidden Menards Special - 95 L/M/F

QA - 17 1 -- 38.868 -- 231.553    Q - 15
        2 -- 38.921 -- 231.238    Locked In
        3 -- 38.867 -- 231.559
        4 -- 38.828 -- 231.791
         T 2:35.484 -- 231.535

The 15 car field average is 229.333.

3:28 p.m. #22 MICHEL JOURDAIN, Jr./Mexico City, Mexico
              Herdez Quaker State Canels - 95 L/F/G

QA - 18 1 -- 39.370 -- 228.600    Q  - 16
        2 -- 39.152 -- 229.873    Locked In
        3 -- 39.205 -- 229.563
        4 -- 39.218 -- 229.486
         T 2:36.945 -- 229.380

Michel Jourdain, Jr. is the nephew of Bernard Jourdain, 1989 co-Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. Bernard Jordain qualified for the 1989 race with an average speed of 213.105 mph.

The 16 car field average is 229.336.

3:33 p.m.  #9 STEPHAN GREGOIRE/Indianapolis, IN
              Hemelgarn Racing - 95 R/F/F

QA - 19 1 -- 39.791 -- 226.182   Q - 17
        2 -- 39.452 -- 228.125   Locked In
        3 -- 39.555 -- 227.531
        4 -- 39.405 -- 228.397
         T 2:38.203 -- 227.556

The 17 car field average is 229.231.

3:37 p.m. #30 MARK DISMORE/Greenfield, IN
              Quaker State Menards Special - 95 L/M/F

QA - 20 1 -- 39.642 -- 227.032   Q - 18
        2 -- 39.565 -- 227.474
        3 -- 39.582 -- 227.376
        4 -- 39.620 -- 227.158
         T 2:38.409 -- 227.260

The 18 car field average is 229.120.

4:42 p.m. #33 MICHELE ALBORETO/Monte Carlo, Monaco
              Alta Spring Water/Perry Ellis/Royal Purple - 95 R/F/G
(2nd attempt)
QA - 21 1 -- 39.388 -- 228.496    Q - 19
        2 -- 39.458 -- 228.091
        3 -- 39.449 -- 228.143
        4 -- 39.441 -- 228.189
         T 2:37.736 -- 228.229

The 19 car field average is 229.073.

4:52 p.m. #18 JOHN PAUL, JR./West Palm Beach, FL
              V-Line Earl's Supply - 93 L/M/G
(2nd attempt)
QA - 22 1 -- 39.945 -- 225.310    Q - 20
        2 -- 40.040 -- 224.775    Locked In
        3 -- 40.034 -- 224.809
        4 -- 40.154 -- 224.137
         T 2:40.173 -- 224.757

The 20 car field average is 228.853.

5:27 p.m. #35 ARIE LUYENDYK/Scottsdale, AZ
              Jonathan Byrd's Cafeteria/Bryant Heating & Cooling - 95 R/F/F

QA - 23 1 -- 38.834 -- 231.756    Q  -  21
        2 -- 38.617 -- 233.058
        3 -- 38.340 -- 234.742
        4 -- 38.457 -- 234.028
         T 2:34.248 -- 233.390

The 21 car average is 229.065.

Car #2 qualified by Scott Brayton at 231.535 was withdrawn at 5:40 p.m. In an attempt to win the pole in the #32 car.

5:42 p.m. #32 SCOTT BRAYTON/Coldwater, MI
              Glidden Menards Special - 95 L/M/F

QA - 24 1 -- 38.515 -- 233.675    Q - 22
        2 -- 38.538 -- 233.536
        3 -- 38.493 -- 233.809
        4 -- 38.486 -- 233.851
         T 2:34.032 -- 233.718

The 21 car field average is 229.166. 1995 - 227.401 for a difference of 1.765 mph.

5:51 p.m. #11 SCOTT SHARP/Danville, CA
              Conseco AJ Foyt Racing - 95 L/F/G

QA - 25 1 -- 38.796 -- 231.983    UA - 1
        2 -- 38.788 -- 232.031	
        3 -- waved off--

With his second straight Indianapolis 500 pole position, Scott Brayton and Team Menard receive the $100,000 PPG Pole Award plus a customized Dodge Tiara van valued at $35,000. Other qualifying awards decided today:

Front-row pictures will be taken at 8 a.m. Sunday at the start-finish line.

In the Trackside Conference Room at 7:45 p.m., USAC Chief Steward Keith Ward announced that the #35 machine qualified for second starting position by Arie Luyendyk had its run disallowed because the car was found in post-qualifying technical inspection to be seven pounds under weight. The car may requalify and has one qualifying attempt charged against it.

KEITH WARD: "Unfortunately we have a bad situation here. Car #35 was found to be seven pounds underweight. It ended up weighing 1,543 pounds, which violates Rule 103, Paragraph M. We thoroughly looked at the car from every aspect. It was my judgment that there was no malicious intent on the part of the team. They had had some problems earlier and they were hustling to get the car back out to try to qualify. They went through a lot of turmoil today. I think it was just an oversight. The qualification run will be disallowed and the car will be charged with one qualifying attempt."

FRED TREADWAY: "Where do I start here? This is my first year in racing and I'm learning a lot today. I'm not used to being called underweight..."

JONATHAN BYRD: "...and I can guarantee you I've never been called underweight..."

TREADWAY: "It's been a terrible day. I've experienced some real highs and real lows today. We're going to try to figure out what we're going to do now. We'll come out tomorrow and try to set a new track record and start 21st. The crew is pretty low right now. I'm going to go back and talk to them...I think we were dealt with fairly."

JONATHAN BYRD: "I'm obviously disappointed. I feel sorry for the team members...some of them are practically in tears. We'll come out tomorrow and try to qualify the car that Arie really wanted to have in the race."

KEITH WARD: "I think we put on a good show for the fans today and this takes the edge off it. We looked at it as fairly as we could and made the only decision we could. I know these two guys are terribly disappointed."

ARIE LUYENDYK: "It was just...the way I see it, it was an oversight. The crew never did weigh it before they put it on the line. It wasn't a panic situation. The car went through last night and it was five pounds too heavy. We were okay there. Then we broke an engine and then the second engine, something went wrong, I'm not sure. The other car, we didn't check the weight. Our team today screwed up. Call it an oversight, call it a mistake. Seven pounds, according to the engineer (Tim Wardrop) is equal to 1/100th of a mile. The thing that pissed me off is we'll get a lot of stupid remarks from other teams for this. Embarrassed may be a big word. It wasn't done intentionally. But at any rate, I have never been disqualified from any race in the 24 years I've been racing and I'm proud of that. If a competitor came in and was seven pounds light, they should throw him out, too. The rules are 1,550 pounds and that's what it should be. That's why we have a rule book. This has put a damper on things. The fact that I got put off the pole...I could have gotten over that tomorrow. Actually, my biggest concern is starting in the middle of the pack. I've been there before and I don't like it. The guys worked their butts off today and because they did, there's the oversight. I want to try to qualify the car I tried to qualify in the first place. I want to try to put down the big numbers. The only thing positive about this is that I don't have to stand outside tomorrow morning for the -------- front-row pictures. I really feel badly for Jonathan (Byrd). This (Indy) is his baby. He's a good person. I really feel bad for him. He's the one who had to tell me about this."

The last time a qualification run was disallowed was in 1989 when the car of Michael Andretti was found to be 4.5 pounds under the minimum weight limit. USAC felt the infraction was not deliberate, and therefore, allowed the car to requalify with one qualification attempt charged against it. The last time a car was disqualified after completing a qualification run was in 1985 when a post qualifying inspection found Jim Crawford's car to be 20 lbs. under the minimum weight requirement.

With the disallowance of Luyendyk's qualifying run, Scott Brayton's one-lap mark of 233.851 miles per hour and four-lap average of 233.718 miles per hour break Tony Stewart's one-lap mark of 233.179 and four-lap average of 233.100. The one-lap track record was broken three times today -- by Davy Jones, Tony Stewart and by Scott Brayton. The four-lap record was broken three times today -- by Davy Jones, Tony Stewart and Scott Brayton.

Field average for 20 cars: 228.959.