Editor’s Note: In a nod to our 91 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 20, 40 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.
20 Years Ago — 2006
News: Mario Andretti has experienced many opening days at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indianapolis 500, but Sunday’s festivities were very special for the 66-year-old racing legend.
Andretti, who retired from racing after the 1994 season, got to watch his son, Michael, and grandson, Marco, on the race course Sunday. Michael Andretti retired as a driver after the 2000 Indy 500 and is a highly successful team owner in the Indy Racing League. The 44-year-old Andretti is coming out of retirement to run in this year’s 500-Mile Race.
Marco Andretti is a 19-year-old rookie in the IRL who is preparing for his first Indy 500.
When the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened for practice on Sunday, Mario, Michael and Marco all took the track with Mario in the same car he drove in the 1967 Indy 500.
“The car just ran beautiful and as (track announcer Tom Carnegie) said, it didn’t stop so that’s a good omen,” Mario said. “It was very emotional for us in a very positive way.It’s something you can never plan for but it’s happening and it just happened that I was able to share this day with both Michael and Marco. This is the beginning of something very exciting for them this month.”
Mario has raced against his son and is a key supporter of his grandson’s career, which includes a victory in the Indy Pro Series race before last year’s United States Grand Prix Formula One race at Indianapolis.
If both Michael and Marco Andretti make the fleld for the Indy 500, it will mark only the fourth time in the history of the race that a father/son com- bination has competed against each other. Mario competed. against his son, Michael, and also raced against his other son, Jeff, in the 500. Four- time winner AI Unser has raced against his son, two-time winner Al Unser Jr.
Winners: Denny Hamlin wouldn’t dare ruin the perfect night for the sea of red blanketing the stands at Richmond Int’l Raceway.
“The last thing I want to do is wreck Dale, Jr.,” Hamlin said. “I have a decent fan base now. I don’t want to kill it.”
From the moment Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s red Chevrolet took the lead with 45 laps remaining in Saturday night’s Crown Royal 400, the crowd roared to life and the Budweiser began flowing. All that stood in the way was Hamlin, and even he, an adrenaline-charged hometown boy trying to win for his own legion of fans, couldn’t overtake Earnhardt.
After Earnhardt won for the first time in 28 races and for the third time at Richmond, he treated the crowd to a spectacular burnout along the frontstretch that consumed the stands in smoke and melted one of his tires. It was all in celebration for a team trying to rebound from missing last season’s Chase for the Nextel Cup.
“I think we are there,” said Earnhardt, who climbed from eighth to sixth in the points. “We keep taking our shots, but we’re pretty competitive. Everything is working really great. I couldn’t ask for any position on this team to be any better.”
Hamlin, who had led 19 laps, found himself in second on a restart with six laps to go. He quickly made an inside move, but Earnhardt squeezed Hamlin even Iower as Earnhardt guarded the two higher grooves and powered away two laps later. He beat Hamlin to the stripe by .572 seconds.
Earnhardt admitted he was stunned Hamlin faded with the win on the line. He was even expecting a bump or two.
”I was like, ‘Wow! This is going to be a lot easier than I expected,'” Earnhardt said.
Hamlin, who was nursing a 19-stitch gash on his left hand, mustered all he could.
”I was definitely going to be more physical if I had a little better run,” Hamlin said. “This is by far the biggest race of my career. “I saw all the cheers when me and Dale Jr. were side by side there with a few laps to go. I’m sure most of the cheers were for him, but all I could do was imagine they were for me.”
40 Years Ago — 1986
News: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. enjoyed a “most successful” tire testing program at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the Pocono 500-Mile Race.
That was the assessment of the not-very-secret tests, April24-25, as given by tire engineers to Dave Hederich, Goodyear racing publicist.
“We got a lot of valuable information,” said Hederich, “especially from Rick Mears.”
Mears, the 1979-84 winner was driving a Penske March/Cosworth in the tests.
Hederich said that there was absolutely no foundation to reports that Goodyear was “in trouble” with its tires for the Indianapolis 500, or that the tests were merely an
excuse for giving the Roger Penske team some extra practice time for its new Penske/Chevy.
He said that the engineers learned what they needed to in testing their radial tire for Pocono. The company hopes to test further in June at the Pocono track, he said, and, if all goes well, the radials will be used in the Pocono 500.
There is no chance, however, that the radials will be us- ed in either the Indianapolis or Michigan 500s this year.
Winners: Bill Elliott, somewhat dejected but managing a smile, sat on the steps of his truck as Bobby Allison held off Dale Earnhardt and streaked under the checkered flag to win the Winston 500 Sunday afternoon.
“When it ain’t your day, it. ain’t your day,” Elliott, who led 118 of the 175 laps he completed, said. The engine in his Ford Thunderbird blew, with him leading the race, 15 laps from the finish.
“I think Bobby and Dale were probably holding back a little and maybe saving something for the finish,” Elliott said. “We ran well and everything went well in the pits. It was just a matter of the engine not lasting.”
While Elliott and his Coors Ford dominated as long as he lasted, he was not able to pull away from the field as he did so often last season. His biggest lead was eight seconds prior to one of nine cautions which waved for 42 laps .
Allison’s Miller American Buick was almost always able to close the margin on Elliott after the two had run a few laps after a caution. Allison led 38 of the 188 laps. He took the lead for the final time with six laps to go, passing Buddy Baker, who finished third.
Earnhardt, who was in front 18 laps, also got around Baker and set the stage for a last-lap showdown between he and Allison. Going into turn three, Earnhardt took the lower groove and go alongside the leader. The rear of his Chevrolet broke loose and coming off turn four, Allison jumped several car lengths in front. He was two car lengths ahead at the finish line.
Bobby Hillin, Allison’s teammate with Stavola Brothers Racing was fourth in a Buick and Phil Parsons, in an Oldsmobile, rounded out the top five.
Eleven of the 23 cars running at the finish were in the lead lap. Morgan Shepherd was sixth, Richard Petty seventh, Rick Wilson eighth, Ron Bouchard ninth and Greg Sacks 10th.
Allison averaged 157.698 miles per hour. He won $77,905. It was the first time in Victory Circle for the Alabama driver since the World 600 in 1984. That was 55 races ago. Allison, at 48, becomes the oldest driver to win a major NASCSAR race.
60 Years Ago— 1966
News: Ford’s controversial single overhead cam high-performance engine will be tested on a stock car track with veteran Ford factory driver Fred Lorenzen at the wheel.
The test is to be made at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a high-banked 1.5-mile speedway which will host a 600-mile NASCAR Grand National on May 22.
It was reported by the Associated Press that the speedway had leased the track to Ford for $1. Asked about the test runs, Speedway General Manager Richard Howard said he would have no comment on the tests.
A Ford Motor Co. spokesman said Tuesday that the tests were not a means of ironing out the squabble over the engine that has resulted in Ford withdrawing from stock car racing.
“We are running down there Wednesday as part of our regular test program — on our own,” the Ford spokesman said. He continued, “The engine is a 4,000-pound car, not a ‘weighted’ version such as the revised racing rules call for. After all, we have to learn things about this engine too,” he reported.
Howard sent invitations to ACCUS president Tom Binford, all U.S. ACCUS members, including NASCAR president Bill France, asking they be present. All of the major track promoters have been invited and Ford executives are expected.
Winners: Richard Petty piloted his 1965 Plymouth to victory lane Saturday night in the third running of the Tidewater 250 NASCAR Grand National race at Langley Field Speedway.
Petty captured the front-running position for the first time in the 74th lap, when second fastest qualifier and leader John Sears had to pit because of a broken spindle.
Until Sears came up with his problems, he was outrunning the field in his 1964 Ford. Petty opened as much as a three-lap lead over the field, but with 18 laps to go was forced to stave off a charging James Hylton in a 1963 Plymouth.
Hylton, one lap back at the time, tried to pass Petty, but Richard wasn’t going to let anyone get by him as for three laps the two raced side by side around Langley’s four-tenths of a mile oval.
Petty eventually backed off and Hylton moved to the same lap. There wasn’t enough time left for him to close Petty’s three-quarter-lap lead.
Neil Castles finished third with Tom Pistone and John Wynn completing the top five.
