And, What Is Ahead in the Future for Indy 500?

It’s May, 1999, and 64-year-old A.J. Foyt has just qualified his Nissan-powered Penske PC28 for the 83rd Indianapolis 500 at a record four-lap average of 253.335 m.p.h.

It is Foyt’s record 42nd consecutive race, but age doesn’t matter since drivers long ago ceased to do anything but aim the cars on the 2 1/2-mile oval. Racing is done by on-board computer.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway now has 400,000 seats, the grandstands circling the track both inside and out. Major sponsors have placed billboards around most of what used to be bare, white concrete walls lining the oval.

The 33 race starters will share a $15 million purse, with the winner of the 500-mile race taking home $5 million.

Don’t laugh. It’s all possible; some of it even likely.

As the 1990s approach, the catchwords in Indy-car racing are technology, aerodynamics, telemetry and corporate.

The cars have become more sleek, slick and quick than ever before. And many in the Indy-car community say it’s only the beginning.

“When you look at the increase in technology in the ‘80s, it’s pretty amazing to see where we have come to in just the last few years,” said 1983 Indianapolis winner Tom Sneva.

“But really, there’s no end in sight,” he said. “When you talk about technology, you’re talking about something that’s pretty much infinite. Whatever you can think of can eventually be done.”

If, as Sneva says, speed is the byproduct of advancing technology, then more speed is in Indy’s future.

Jim Hurtubise was the fast qualifer in 1960 with a four-lap record of 149.056. By the end of that decade, the record was 171.559, set by Joe Leonard In 1968.

The ‘70s saw the speeds accelerate even more, leaping to 202.156 by Sneva in 1978.

The ‘80s were notable for the improvements through ground effects aerodynamics, radial tires, safety through carbon fiber construction and the introduction of computers in monitoring a variety of on-board systems, including the electronics and fuel.

The inevitable and dramatic result of all that technology has been the biggest escalation of speed yet, with five-time pole-winner Rick Mears setting a four-lap Speedway record of 223.885 mph with a fast lap of 224.254 in qualifications this year.

Another inevitable product of the technological advancement of the ‘80s has been the addition of a new member to Indy-car teams--the engineer.

“Really, what we’re doing now is testing the limits of our abilities to make the car go fast,” said Nigel Bennett, a car designer and engineer for Penske Racing, easily the most successful team of the decade.

“Computers have cut the time it takes to design a car in half. That leaves more time for research, testing and refining the cars.”

“Basically,” Bnnett added. “the cars are going faster because they stick to the track better. In simple terms, we’ve taken the design of an airplane wing and turned it upside down. The lift that helps an airplane take off is instead used to push the car down on the track by creating downforce rather than lift.

“We’re attaining straightaway speeds over 230 m.p.h., and every airplane I know of can take off at 230 miles an hour.”

The sanctioning bodies--the U.S. Auto Club, which sanctions the Indy 500, and Championship Auto Racing Teams, which oversees the rest of the Indy-car series--have made periodic rule changes in an attempt to slow the cars down, or at least to keep them from going even faster.

Smaller aerodynamic wings; less air pressure, also known as boost, for the turbochargers and other changes have been almost momentary impediments for the teams.

“Sure, there are ways of slowing the cars down, but eventually the engineers and engine-builders find ways of overcoming the rules,” says Bobby Rahal, the 1986 Indy winner. “And it doesn’t take them very long, either.”

Foyt, the only driver to race at Indianapolis in four different decades, isn’t awed or frightened by change. “When I came here (1958), we were driving roadsters, the fast speeds were under 150 and a lot of guys either got killed or retired young,” Foyt said. “Now we’re driving these things over 200 and they’re good, stable, safe race cars. Hell, they’ll even be better 10 years from now and maybe I’ll be racing one.”