Mears Leads a Penske Qualifying Sweep With Record Lap at Phoenix

The Roger Penske dynamic duo of Rick Mears and Danny Sullivan opened 1989 the way they ended 1988, in front.

Mears, despite 102-degree heat that sucked power from engines and turned the track into a slippery skid-pad, ran a record lap of 166.536 m.p.h. Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway to take the pole for today’s Autoworks 200, opening event of the Championship Auto Racing Team Indy car season.

Sullivan, who will start alongside his Penske teammate on the front row with a 163.964 lap, won the pole in the final five races last year. Both were driving their boss’ latest creation, a Penske PC-18, with a turbocharged Ilmor Chevrolet V-8 engine.

Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi, expected to be the Penskes’ chief challenger in a PC-18 purchased from Penske by Pat Patrick, saw his hopes dashed during morning practice. He spun between the first and second turns and smacked the wall with such force that it knocked the car out of this and any future race.

Hometown favorite Tom Sneva, who lives in nearby Paradise Valley, also hit the wall in the second turn during a post-qualifying session and was airlifted to Good Samaritan Hospital with possible head injuries.