European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 11, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 22 the stars and stripes monday May 11,1992 another car shattering crash shocks Indianapolis 500 onlookers saturday As hero Matsushita slams into the Wall but the japanese Driver escaped with a broken thigh. Guerrero snares indy pole with record qualifying run by Mike Harris a motor sports writer Indianapolis a Eddie Cheever produced a 230 Mph Lap sunday but not nearly enough Overall Speed to Knock record wrecking Roberto Guerrero off the pole position for the Indianapolis 500. Cheever one of five Drivers with a Chance to gain positions at the front of the tentative 33-car lineup when time ran out on first Day qualifying saturday wedged his Ford co Worth a a powered Lola Between pole Winner Guerrero and Mario Andretti in the front Row for the 76th edition of the race May 24. Four of five Drivers still eligible for the pole ran sunday when qualifying resumed at noon. But Guerrero who set the Benchmark of 232.482 on saturday was not Able to celebrate his sixth career pole and first since 1987 until teammate Jim Crawford pulled his car out of line closing out first Day qualifying. Crawford the fastest Driver in practice with several unofficial laps Over 233, blew his second engine in As Many Days near the end of sundays morning Warmup. His Crew scrambled to replace the engine in about 45 minutes a a nearly impossible task. They came up about 10 minutes Short and crewman Mike Perkins was run Over by Crawford a car and sustained a broken foot As the car was hustled Back to the pits. Guerrero Guerrero a Buick powered 1992 Lola running in the final half hour saturday in virtually perfect conditions turned consecutive laps of 232.186, 232.516, 232.618 and 232.606 to dazzle a crowd of about 200,000 at the Indianapolis motor Speedway. Guerrero a 10-mile average on the 2.5-mile Oval was 7.181 Mph faster than the four Lap record of 225.301 set in 1990 by Emerson Fittipaldi. The 33-year-old Guerrero who spent 17 Days in a coma after crashing during a test at the Speedway in september 1987, has not been Able to get his racing career Back in gear since. But winning the pole even with the nervous wait that kept him awake most of the night raised his spirits. A you always Hope a Guerrero said. A obviously i wanted to come Back to racing. I did and when you re racing you always dream of this moment. Racing is 99 percent disappointment but when you ave a moment like this that last 1 percent it makes it All Worth Cheever a former formula one regular was the Only one of sundays qualifiers Able to break into the front Row. A we had our eyes set on beating certain cars out there and we achieved it so we re very Happy a said Cheever after qualifying for his second indy Start with a four Lap average of 229.639. His fast Lap of 230.103 made him Only the sixth Driver to surpass the 230 Mark at the Speedway and Only the third in qualifying. All four of Guerrero slaps were Over 232, including his record Lap of 232.618, while Andretti the 1969 Winner hit 230.864 on the Way to a 4-Lap run of 229.503. Cheevers was a solid run on a warm cloudless Windy afternoon that made the 2.5-mile Asphalt Oval More Slick and treacherous than on saturday when conditions were nearly perfect with Cloudy skies temperatures around 10 degrees cooler and virtually no wind. Michael Andretti Mario a son and teammate and the defending indy car series Champion took the outside spot on the second Row with a 4-Lap average of 228.169, while 1985 Winner Danny Sullivan wound up in the Middle of the third Row in the tentative lineup at 224.838. For the pole Victory Guerrero collected $150,000, including $100,000 from series sponsor pig industries and a Van Worth about $30,000. The younger Andretti who had also been Over 232 in practice said a a in a very disappointed. The car worked great but the writing was on the Wall this morning. We were Down on Power this after Andretti closed out first Day qualifying 57-year-old . Foyt opened the second Day session by qualifying for a record 35th consecutive indy Start. The four time Winner who ended saturdays session in frustration with a blown engine after three laps averaging above 226, slowed Down sunday but got into the lineup solidly at 222.798. A i had no practice this morning a he said after qualifying. A i went out and took two slow laps. I done to care if you re running 200 or 230, its hard to get it going at my age and just go out there and try to qualify with no practice ill Tell you. A the wind Down in three a in a not looking for excuses a i got in some pretty serious trouble the last two laps but i m glad to be in. Thirty five years straight i can to rides to 4th in Row Jerez Spain up a australian Ace Michael Doohan became the first rider since Italy a Giacomo Agostini in 1972 to win the first four 500cc races of the season when he coasted to Victory in sundays Spanish grand prix for motorcycles. Doohan Riding a Honda led the 28-Lap, 73.8-mile race from Start to finish As he powered to Victory Over reigning world Champion Wayne Rainey of the United states by More than 18 seconds. Britain a Niall Mackenzie finished third. Doohan averaged 93.802 Mph in covering the distance in 49 minutes 42.940 seconds. The 26-year-old Brisbane based rider in his fourth season on the circuit has opened up a sizeable margin in the standings. He has scored a maximum 80 Points and is Well ahead of americans Rainey 45doug Chandler 32 and Kevin Schwantz 32. In 1989, Doohan finished ninth then third in 1990, and second last year behind Rainey. Rainey Riding a Yamaha Rode a lonely race to Clinch his third successive second place this season finishing 10 seconds ahead of Mackenzie. The next race is the italian grand prix at nugello on May 24.Todd Bodine nabs second Lascar Victory Nazareth a. A Todd Bodine held off Bobby Labonte Over the final 26 laps of the Pontiac pacesetters 200 on saturday for his second career Lascar grand National Victory. This time nobody could Call it a Fluke. Last year Bodine won when Leader Davey Allison ran Low on fuel and fell off the Pace during a caution period sending Bodine into the Lead for the final Lap. Quot you bet it Felt different a Bodine said. A we had to earn this Bodine beat Labonte by .42 of a second and averaged 88.463 Mph in the Battle of Chevrolet on the 1-mile Tri Oval at Pennsylvania International raceway. He won $19,950. Mark Martin finished third in a Ford. Chuck Bown was fourth and Jimmy Hensley fifth. A spin by David Donohue on the 166th Lap set up the final 30 laps of Green Flag racing leaving Bodine and Labonte to Battle for the Lead. Robert Pressley who had been in the Hunt to that Point and led for 21 laps then had a partial break in his steering wheel Assembly. He fell out of Contention and wound up eighth. Labonte the defending series Champion led 13 laps before Bodine took Over for Good on Lap 175. He threatened several times but catch Bodine. A Todd and i were pretty equal there at the end a Labonte said. Martin had to come from two taps Down to get Back into Contention. He led for 35 laps in the Middle of the race but lost ground on a pit Stop. Bodine 28, of Harrisburg n.c., said he did no to think he needed the win to prove himself. After running eight races on the Busch grand National circuit in 1990, the younger brother of Winston cup Drivers Geoff and Brett Bodine finished seventh in the Points race last year. The Victory was Bodines third top-10 finish in 11 races this year
