INDY 500 QUALIFYING : Four Spots Left to Fill on Final Day of Trials

Today is “bump day” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but first things first. Before a faster qualifier bumps anybody from the starting lineup for the May 26 Indianapolis 500, the 33-car field has to be filled in time trials.

Four spots remain after rookies Buddy Lazier and Hiro Matsushita, veteran Roberto Guerrero and 1983 winner Tom Sneva stole the spotlight on a Saturday that was perfect for qualifying: cool, overcast, with light winds.

Sneva, who didn’t even run a practice lap until Saturday morning in his Lola-Buick, is the slowest of the first 29 qualifiers at 213.189 m.p.h.

He joins new teammates Gary Bettenhausen and Kevin Cogan in the tentative lineup.

“We only had four or five laps in the car before qualifying,” said Sneva, who has started 17 consecutive Indy 500s. “We just wanted to get it in. We had to back off the throttle in a few places.

“The team talked about (2)11 or (2)12 (m.p.h.) to make the race, so it’s all a big guess.”

Johnny Parsons, Dominic Dobson and Randy Lewis all guessed it would take more speed and aborted morning qualifying attempts after three laps, with Parsons at 212.625, Dobson 212.717 and Lewis 211.324.

Other non-qualified drivers practicing Saturday included two-time winner Gordon Johncock, Pancho Carter, Salt Walther and Didier Theys, as well as rookie Willy T. Ribbs.

The son of Bob Lazier, who finished 19th in the 1981 Indianapolis 500, Buddy Lazier became the second-fastest first-year qualifier at 218.692 m.p.h. and earned $20,000 as the day’s fastest.

Matsushita, 30, born in Kobe, Japan, and living in San Clemente, is the first Japanese driver in the Indy 500. He qualified a third car for owner Dick Simon at 218.351 m.p.h.

Partial Indy 500 Lineup

No.Driver (Home), Car-Engine Speed FIRST ROW 3.Rick Mears (Bakersfield), Penske-Chevy 224.113 14.A.J. Foyt (Houston), Lola-Chevy 222.443 6.Mario Andretti (Nazareth, Pa.), Lola-Chevy 221.818 SECOND ROW 18.Bobby Rahal (Dublin, Ohio), Lola-Chevy 221.401 10.Michael Andretti (Nazareth, Pa.), Lola-Chevy 220.943 2.Al Unser Jr. (Albuquerque, N.M.), Lola-Chevy 219.823 THIRD ROW 4.John Andretti (Indianapolis), Lola-Chevy 219.059 26.Jim Crawford (Scotland), Lola-Buick 218.947 20.Danny Sullivan (Vail, Colo.), Lola-Alfa Romeo 218.343 FOURTH ROW 8.Eddie Cheever (Vail, Colo.), Lola-Chevy 218.122 86.*Jeff Andretti (Nazareth, Pa.), Lola-Cosworth 217.632 52.Scott Goodyear (Canada), Lola-Judd 216.751 FIFTH ROW 51.Gary Bettenhausen (Monrovia, Ind.), Lola-Judd 224.468 1.Arie Luyendyk (Netherlands), Lola-Chevy 223.881 5.Emerson Fittipaldi (Brazil), Penske-Chevy 223.064 SIXTH ROW 9.Kevin Cogan (Palos Verdes Estates), Lola-Buick 222.844 91.Stan Fox (Janesville, Wis.), Lola-Buick 219.501 50.*Mike Groff (Northridge), Lola-Cosworth 219.015 SEVENTH ROW 22.Scott Brayton (Coldwater, Mich.), Lola-Chevy 218.627 16.Tony Lee Bettenhausen (Indianapolis), ’90 Penske-Chevy 218.188 48.Bernard Jourdain (Mexico), ’90 Lola-Buick 216.683 EIGHTH ROW 22.Geoff Brabham (Australia), Truesports-Judd 214.859 71.*Buddy Laier (Vail, Colo.), ’90 Lola-Cosworth 218.692 7.*Hiro Matsushita (Japan), Lola-Buick 218.351 NINTH ROW 93.John Paul Jr. (West Palm Beach, Fla.), ’90 Lola-Buick 217.952 23.Tero Palmroth (Finland), ’90 Lola-Cosworth 215.648 19.Scott Pruett (Dublin, Ohio), Truesports-Judd 214.814 TENTH ROW 40.Roberto Guerrero (San Juan Capistrano), Lola-Alfa-Romeo 214.027 59.Tom Sneva (Paradise Valley, Ariz.), ’90 Lola-Buick 213.189

*--Rookie.

Average speed of field--219.027 (33-car record, 217.437, 1990)