Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 22, 1995 TAG: 9505230061
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS LENGTH: Medium
Nobody expected this, least of all Roger Penske, the most successful car owner in Indianapolis history.
In a dramatic final hour of the fourth and last day of time trials for next Sunday's race, two-time Indy winner Emerson Fittipaldi qualified and was then bumped out of the 33-car lineup. Defending champion Al Unser Jr. was unable to get in at all.
Penske, who has 11 poles, 10 victories and entries in each of the past 26 Indy races, was still confident at the start of Sunday that his drivers would qualify.
The elite Penske team was nearly immobilized with shock when Stefan Johansson of Sweden qualified with a four-lap, 10-mile average of 225.547 mph with just nine minutes remaining, knocking Fittipaldi's 224.907 effort out of the lineup, the last of only two bumps.
Penske's cars have won Indy, the world's richest and most prestigious race, six of the past 10 years, three of the past four and each of the past two. But Unser and Fittipaldi, the drivers who won for Penske the past two years will not be in the 79th running of the Indy classic unless their car owner can buy them rides from other teams.
On a warm, sunny Sunday, the Penske team chose to wait for the cooler temperatures and better track conditions of the final hour of the last of four days of time trials.
It didn't help.
Fittipaldi was upset Saturday when Penske raised the yellow flag, wiping out an attempt that would have been in the 225.5 range, putting him solidly in the fastest field in Indy history.
On Sunday, he managed only two laps over 225 on the run that made him the 33rd qualifier, filling the field and leaving him second behind Saturday qualifier Frank Freon (224.432) on the bump list with about 50 minutes remaining.
Minutes later, Davy Jones earned his fourth Indy start and knocked Freon, a rookie from France, out of the lineup with an average of 225.135 on his third and last try in that car.
Johansson and Marco Greco followed with attempts that were cut short when they didn't find enough speed. Unser then went out in one of the two 1995 Lolas that Penske borrowed earlier in the week from Rahal-Hogan Racing after finding his 1995 Penske-Mercedes cars were too slow.
Unser, who called off two slow qualifying efforts Saturday in the Lola, ran the full 10 laps but was far short of bumping his teammate, averaging 224.101 with a fast lap of 225.236.
Unser, whose family will not be represented in the race for the first time since 1962, drew a roar from the big crowd as he walked quickly, his hat pulled down over his face, toward the garage area.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB