Editor’s Note: In a nod to our 90 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 15, 30 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.
15 Years Ago — 2010
News: Michael Schumacher and his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg will drive upgraded cars in the next race.
“The start of the European season is the first opportunity to make significant changes to the car, and the Spanish Grand Prix will see the first step in our development program for the MGP WOl ,” team boss Hoss Brawn said. “In addition to a major aerodynamic and bodywork package, we have made changes to the wheelbase of the car, which will help the overall handling and weight distribution.
“Michael will use a different chassis for Barcelona as we take the opportunity of having the cars back at the factory after the fly· away races to repair some damage to his original chassis. He will switch to our first chassis, which was previously used during the preseason tests.”
Schwnacher is optimistic.
“We have worked on general improvements to the car, as well as specific developments in down force and efficiency,” He said, “and I am confident that we have room to make further progress in the future. Our step forward m Barcelona will be bigger than you can make at each race during the fly aways, but it would not be realistic to expect us to suddenly be competingright at the front.”
Rosberg has outqualified and finished better than Schumacher in the past four races. and a teammate has never done that before in Schwnacher’s F-1 career.
“Of course, I would not mind having had better results so far,” he admitted. “However. the good news is that after three years away, I am feeling extremely motivated. So 1 am clearly ready to take this challenge.”
Winners: Though it had been nearly five years since Steve Kinser raced at Jackson Speedway, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion certainly didn’t forget the fast way around the historic half-mile on Saturday night.
Kinser extended his string of top-five finishes in WoO competition to seven-straight races by winning for the third time at the historic fairgrounds oval.
Kinser used a strong restart on the 18th lap to get under Joey Saldana in turns one and two and won a drag race down the back straightaway aboard the Bass Pro Shops Maxim, taking the lead as the pair hit turn three.
For the 20-time series champion it was his second win of the season to bring his amazing career total to 554 triumphs. He also moved into second in the series standings as he chases his record 21st title.
“It was good,” said Kinser. “We had a good race car all night. We didn’t get the start we wanted early, but we had a strong restart and got to the bottom and ran the bottom really good. I just had a good car all night really.”
A couple of caution flags on the white-flag lap led to consecutive green·white-checkered finishes.
By World of Outlaws rules, a race must end with two-consecutive green-flag laps. Officially the race wound up being 26 laps once the final checkered flag waved, with Kinser leading the final nine circuits.
“I thought l was all right, we just didn’t know how much fuel we were using,” he explained when asked about the pair of green-white-checkered finishes. “Everyone had been using about a gallon a lap, so that last time I wasn’t sure where we were at on fuel. Nobody ran out. so I guess we were OK. We got the win, so you can’t complain about that.”
30 Years Ago — 1995
News: It got fast in a hurry at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the month of May officially began Saturday. Veteran teammates Arie Luyendyk and Scott Brayton wasted little time in elevating the speed standard and set high expectations toward this weekend’s race for the pole.
Luyendyk took advantage of near-perfect late-afternoon conditions to lay down the second-fastest unofficial lap ever turned at IMS, 233.281 mph, in one of John Menard’s new Lola Menard V6-engined machines in Glidden Paint livery.
The only faster lap ever turned at IMS was Jim Crawford’s 233.433 on May 3, 1992, also using a V-6 Buick for power. It was, however, the fastest-ever for a first day of practice-by 3.6 mph. Crawford had the previous fast first-day lap at 229.609, also in 1992.
Brayton, also in a new Lola/Menard with Quaker State sponsorship, was just a tick behind Luyendyk at 232.408. Brayton has driven in 13 Indianapolis 500s, the most of any driver entered in this year’s race.
Little is known of the Menard V-6, which began its life as a Buick. The Wisconsin home-improvement magnate took over development of the engine when Buick gave up and has financed several sophisticated changes designed to improve the engine’s durability.
Luyendyk, the 1990 winner who has no regular ride for the Indy car series, said the speed was not unexpected.
“We tested here fairly well about 3 weeks ago,” he said. “We did 232 that day and it was really windy. It was cooler, but I think the conditions (Saturday) were a little bit better.”
Winners: Dale Earnhardt uses pressure as a weapon, and in Sunday’s Save Mart 300 at Sears Point Raceway his grip on the pressure points of the NASCAR Winston Cup field was made of iron.
The seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion, seeking a record-breaking eighth title this year, slipped his black GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlo past the Valvoline Ford of Mark Martin with just two laps to go to take his first road course victory.
Earnhardt was relentless, riding inches from Martin’s rear deck during the final nine green-flag laps. Finally, with two laps to go, Martin’s Ford hit a patch of grease in the carousel turn, and Earnhardt had his chance.
“I was there, but I didn’t have enough to catch him (Martin),” Earnhardt said. “But he got in some oil in the carousel and so did I, but not as much.
“I could see the stretch of oil in the carousel, and I’d smelled it before, in turns three, four and five. It was rear-end or transmission oil. And I saw smoke. That was the first I saw of it. I went out and crossed it. I was under him before he hit it, and he went in and slid.”
Martin, after his second consecutive victory after taking the Winston Select 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway a week prior, wound up second, followed by Jeff Gordon, who had been tied with Earnhardt for the points lead coming into Sunday’s race.
“Dale did a super job,” Martin said. “He was in the right position at the end, and I hit the grease and he didn’t. I’m glad we at least finished second instead of spinning off the track. That would really have broken my heart.”
60 Years Ago— 1965
News: The National Stock Car Racing’s Commission, a body of NASCAR officials, Monday announced that Bud Moore’s protest against Junior Johnson’s victory in Saturday’s “Rebel 300” at Darlington Raceway
had been disallowed. NASCAR’s Bill France presided over the hearing and announced the decision.
The decision was based on testimony from track stewards and officials present. Key testimony came from Dick Wall, the flagman controlling the pit lane exit to the track. Wall said that Johnson remained at the end of the pit lane, his engine running, until he was flagged back on the track, in his proper position at the rear or the line of cars circling the speedway under the caution nag.
The commission did find that Johnson did go one pit beyond his own, but that this pit was not assigned to any driver, was empty and not being used. Intent or the ground rule regarding overshooting one’s pit is to prevent a driver from stopping in an assigned pit and blocking a space belonging to another driver.
A protest by Johnson’s mechanic, contending that Darel Dieringer passed a car under the caution flag, was disallowed. The commission found that although Dieringer was observed to pass under the caution, he was waved back into his proper position and was running in his legal place when the green nag reappeared.
Winners: Lanky Jim Hall or Texas, racked his second big sports car win in as many weeks here Sunday when he pushed his Chevy powered Chaparral to an almost ridiculous win in the U.S. Road Racing championship before a crowd of 18,000 fans.
Hall, winner of last week’s Riverside race, took home the lion’s share of the $10,000 purse, averaging 94.622 mph for the 151.68 mile contest over the nine-tum Laguna Seca course.
At the drop of the flag, Hall came off the line in good shape roaring to a good lead before the first lap of the 1.9-mile track. Monterey’s Don Wester at the wheel of his Ford-Genie tucked in behind with Walt Hansgen in third.
On the third lap Hansgen blasted by Wester and set out after Hall.
At 13 laps they were wheel-to-wheel, but the pace was too much for the Mecom Lola machine and Hansgen parked it. for the day when a fan belt parted.
From here on in Hall set a pace that gave him a three-lap cushion on the field.
Charlie Hayes made a long pit stop on the 53rd lap which cost him fourth place. Late race excitement was provided by Dave Ridenour, who lost third place to Paul Reinhart’s Genie
Chevy, regaining the spot on the next to last lap.
Under two-liter honors and fifth overall went to Gerry Bruihl in a Lotus 23B.
