Chandler’s Racing Comeback Ends After 4 Laps

Former Indianapolis driver Michael Chandler’s return to racing after a four-year absence lasted barely four laps Saturday before he became entangled in a four-car crash during the American Racing Series 100-mile race at Phoenix International Raceway.

Chandler, making his first start since suffering serious head injuries in an accident before the 1984 Indianapolis 500, started sixth in the 18-car field and had just taken the lead when he and pole-sitter Jeff Andretti collided at the start-finish line, and their cars slid as one along the outside retaining wall for several hundred yards.

Neither driver was injured, but both $85,000 Wildcat-March racing cars were demolished.

The incident occured on a restart following a yellow caution flag that was brought out after a first-lap spin by Brian Ongais, whose father, Danny, was twice the fastest qualifier for Indy car races here.

Chandler, in third position at the time, accelerated ahead of Andretti and Paul Tracy of Canada on the restart. After the nose of his car got in front, Chandler pulled into the high line occupied by Andretti and the two cars crashed into one another.

Comments from the two drivers tell different stories of how it happened.

Chandler: “I anticipated the restart and surged ahead of Jeff. I was laughing to myself at how I’d caught them sleeping when Jeff turned in on me. He hit me in the rear and put me into the wall.”

Andretti: “Chandler drove right over the front of me. He had his nose in front, but not far enough. He thought he was clear but when he cut in, he just drove me into the wall.”

Andretti, youngest son of Indy car veteran Mario Andretti, also blamed pace car driver Johnny Rutherford for triggering the accident.

“When we came down to take the green (flag), we were all out of shape,” Andretti said. “We came down too slow and it caused chaos in the rear. Everybody was jumpy and we were going so slow in the front that it let Chandler get the jump on us, but that doesn’t explain why he had to do that to me.”

Two other cars, driven by Steve Barclay of Orange and Tommy Byrne of Ireland, were also knocked out of the race in the front-straightaway melee caused when Chandler and Andretti started their wild slide along the wall.

The race was stopped for 20 minutes as safety crews cleaned up the debris sprayed by the damaged cars.

Tracy, who miraculously escaped being hit when he was sandwiched between Chandler and Andretti on the restart, went on to win the race ahead of Calvin Fish of Chicago and Wally Dallenbach Jr. of Basalt, Colo.