GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH : Al Unser Jr. Is Out to Have Another Grand Ol’ Time : Auto racing: He seeks fourth victory in a row in the race at Long Beach today, but Michael Andretti wins the pole.

Is there anyone in Long Beach who can win in an Indy car besides an Unser or an Andretti?

Not if you go by the winner’s trophy of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Since promoter Chris Pook dumped Formula One in favor of CART/PPG Cup cars eight years ago, the only names engraved on the trophy are Mario Andretti, who won in 1984, 1985 and 1987, Michael Andretti in 1986 and Al Unser Jr. in 1988, 1989 and 1990.

The results of Saturday’s qualifying indicate little change may be in prospect today when 26 cars take the flag for the 17th annual Long Beach street race.

Michael Andretti wrested the pole from Unser with what he called “pretty much a perfect lap.” He averaged 90.671 m.p.h. just moments after Unser apparently clinched the No. 1 position with a 90.157 lap. Unser tried again after Andretti’s effort, but fell short of making it his third consecutive Long Beach pole.

“I apexed (the corners) just right and got on the power at just the right time,” Andretti said. “I knew it would take a lap like that to get the pole. I almost screwed up, because on the last turn I actually grazed the wall. I was using every inch.”

It was Andretti’s first time on the pole at Long Beach, but his second this the season. He was quickest last month in Australia.

“I’m a little disappointed, but still happy to be starting on the front row,” Unser said.

Unser has led 148 of the 185 laps in the past three years, winning from the pole in both 1989 and 1990. He also finished second in 1986 and 1987.

Is there some secret, some racing clue not yet known to the others, that Unser and the Galles-Kraco team has found to continue their domination of the race through the narrow streets along Long Beach’s shore?

No, says Unser, who went on from Long Beach to win the PPG Cup driving championship last year over his longtime second-generation pal, Michael Andretti.

“I don’t know of anything we do any different from anyone else,” Unser said. “It’s just as tough to win here as it is anywhere else. The only secret we have is the hard work the Galles-Kraco crew puts in.”

There must be something in the way Unser approaches running through a tunnel of cement barriers, however. Twelve of his 15 Indy car victories have come on temporary street circuits--three in Long Beach, two each in Toronto, Miami and the New Jersey Meadowlands and single victories in Cleveland, Denver and Vancouver.

Long Beach is a distinctive circuit, even among street courses, wiggling its way through 11 turns in 1.67 miles, including a jaunt through the underground garage of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The nearest thing to a straightaway is a curving stretch of three-quarters of a mile down Shoreline Drive where speeds reach about 175 m.p.h.

“There’s no place you can relax at Long Beach,” Unser said. “It is so demanding, you have to be at your best every spot on the course. Even when you’re running free out in front, you can’t relax for an instant or one of those cement barriers will bite you.”

If Unser can win his fourth consecutive race today, he will become the first Indy car driver to accomplish that feat since his teammate, Bobby Rahal, won at Laguna Seca from 1984 through 1987.

“It’s no different from any other race,” Unser said when asked if he feels any added pressure. “It’s a new season, a new race, and I’ll be driving a brand new car, a ’91 Lola. The pressure is not in keeping the streak going, but in winning to rack up some points for the championship.

“Those wins the last three years here were very satisfying, but they don’t pay any points for 1991.”

Rahal, who has not won a race since Maury Kraines, owner of his Kraco team, joined forces with Rick Galles to form the Galles-Kraco team in 1989, might be the most frustrated driver in CART. A two-time national champion with the Truesports team in 1985 and 1987, Rahal finished second in five races last season and was second again in this year’s opener in Australia.

Rahal won races in eight consecutive years, the longest streak for any Indy car driver, before being shut out last season.

“Speaking as a team driver, I have to say we have been very successful,” Rahal said. “We won the championship, we nearly won the Indy 500 and we had 21 top-five finishes (12 by Unser, nine by Rahal). On the other hand, from an individual standpoint, I must say I’m looking for something better this year.”

One of Rahal’s runner-up spots was at Indianapolis, where he finished 10 seconds behind Arie Luyendyk in quest of his second 500 victory.

Emerson Fittipaldi, who once retired from Formula One as a two-time champion only to return to racing two years later with Indy cars, can relate to Long Beach the way Rahal does to 1990. Fittipaldi has finished second twice, third once and fifth once.

“I am enthusiastic that I can beat Little Al this year,” Fittipaldi said. “Last year, I drove the whole race right behind him. I kept looking for an opportunity to get ahead, especially in lapped traffic, but he never gave me a chance. I put a lot of pressure on Junior, but he drove a beautiful race.

“I especially want to win here because I raced my first Indy car race in Long Beach in 1984. Before that, I drove in several Formula One races. I remember 1980, when I started 24th and finished third.

“Long Beach has always had a special place in my heart because I was there the day in Monaco in 1974 when some travel agent named Chris Pook showed up at a driver’s meeting and showed us some drawings he had for a race through the streets of a city in America. He said it would become Monte Carlo West.

“I remember telling my fellow drivers, ‘This guy must be crazy. No way that race will ever happen.’ Now look. He did it, and everyone is copying him. Street races are popping up everywhere, but before Pook, there were none. That alone makes Long Beach special.”

The Andretti family has been expanded to four--almost one-sixth of the 26-car starting field--with the addition of Mario’s youngest son, Jeff, who is driving a Cosworth-powered Lola for the Bayside Motorsports team of Seattle. It is his first full-season Indy car ride and he opened impressively with a seventh in Australia.

He joins father Mario, brother Michael and cousin John, whose victory in Australia in Jim Hall’s Lola-Chevy was his first in Indy cars.

Today’s program starts at 10:30 a.m. with a 45-lap race for Firestone Indy Lights. The Indy car Grand Prix, 95 laps (158.65 miles), will start at 1 p.m. Formula Toyota Atlantic cars will race at 3:30 p.m.

Wheel Thrills

GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH

Grand Prix racing returns to the streets of Long Beach today for the 17th consecutive year, the eighth year in a row featuring Indy cars, among the fastest machines on wheels.

EVENT: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach TIME: 1 p.m. COURSE: 1.67 miles on city streets of Long Beach. The start and finish line are on Shoreline Drive. The cars race for 95 laps for a total of 158.65 miles. PURSE: 1,100,000 (winner receives minimum of $120,000).

PAST WINNERS (INDY CARS) 1984: Mario Andretti 1985: Mario Andretti 1986: Michael Andretti 1987: Mario Andretti 1988: Al Unser Jr. 1989: Al Unser Jr. 1990: Al Unser Jr.

THE LANGUAGE OF FLAGS Every driver must pay close attention to the signals he receives via flags from the flagman. Here’s what these flags tell him.

GREEN: START YELLOW: Caution, slow and hold position. BLACK: Pull into the pit for consultation RED: Stop WHITE: Entering last lap BLUE WITH A YELLOW DIAGONAL STRIPE: Move over, car passing YELLOW WITH TWO VERTICAL RED SLASHES: Oil on track CHECKERED: The race is finished

THE CARS * Indy cars weigh at least 1,550 pounds, and most are powered by turbo-charged Chevrolet, Alfa Romeo, Judd, Cosworth or Buick V-6 engines. They generate up to 800 horsepower and can achieve speeds of 240 m.p.h. in two seconds, 0-100 m.p.h. in 4.5 seconds. * Because of their aerodynamic features, they can stay on the ground at speeds higher that those needed for 747 jets to take off. * The cars, about 15 feet 4 inches long and 78.5 inches wide, can cost about $300,000 for a rolling chassis, which has a suspension and steering system but no engine, which can run another $110,000. Engines are usually rebuilt after an event at a cost of up to $20,000. Each team begins the season with six to 10 engines per car. * A major difference between Indy cars and other racing cars is that they are powered by methanol, a clean-burning, high-octane fuel with the advantage that water can be used as a fire-fighting agent. * Indy cars have a fuel capacity of 40 gallons; the tank is located behind the driver and in front of the engine and is made of a heavy duty rubberized nylon material that is designed to be virtually puncture-proof. The cars get about 1.8 miles to the gallon. * The tires, manufactured by Goodyear, weigh from 18 to 28 pounds apiece, have no tread and cost about $600 to $800 for a set of four. Average life of a tire: 110 miles.

PIT STOPS

* Drivers will try to stop in the pits no more than twice during the race. Each crew consists of a maximum of six members over the wall, other than the driver, servicing the car. Ideally, the crew will try to refuel and change all four tires in less than 15 seconds. Depending on what’s happening in the race, the second pit stop could possibly be no more than a “splash and go,” in which fuel is taken on but the tires are not changed, cutting time in the pit about in half.

RACE DAY ATTENDANCE 1984: INDY CARS INTRODUCED