MOTOR RACING : Mears’ Thinking: If Indy Isn’t Broken, Don’t Fix It

Tony George, flexing his muscles as president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has announced a tentative plan to change rules for the Indianapolis 500. He would like to replace the turbocharged engines used this year with normally aspirated engines similar to those used in Formula One.

If the United States Auto Club, which is the formal sanctioning body for Indy--but not for the rest of the Championship Auto Racing Teams’ Indy car season--goes along with George’s proposal, the change could be made as early as 1993. If CART chose not to go along with the change and elected to keep its cars as they are today, it could be a first step toward the 500 becoming part of a worldwide oval series under the same leadership as the Formula One road-racing circuit.

Jean-Marie Balestre of France, president of Federation du Sport Automobile, motor racing’s world body, was a guest of George’s last Sunday and acknowledged that the two have been talking about such a possibility.

CART, which was formed when a group of car owners headed by Roger Penske and Pat Patrick broke from USAC in 1978, could find itself in a compromising position if such a situation arose. Racing lives by sponsorship and there is not an Indy car sponsor alive who would not want to have his car at Indianapolis for what even Balestre has called “the most important race in the world.”

Rick Mears, who won his fourth Indianapolis 500 last Sunday, does not think much of the idea. He prefers the status quo.

“If the idea is to help the little teams save money and create more entries, I don’t see it doing much good,” Mears said by phone from New York. “New rules won’t bring the costs down, they’ll send them up, building and buying new equipment.

“We just had one of the most competitive races in history, starting with pole day qualifying and going straight through until the end of an extremely close race, and I think that’s due to the rules remaining stable as long as they have. I keep hearing about how there might not be enough cars for some races, but I think people should look at quality, rather than quantity. We have the best quality, with more potential winners, than ever before.

“If we had 100 cars at Indy, there still would be only 33 (in) the race, and how would all the others go home and tell their sponsor that they weren’t in the race? It’s not just a numbers game. I see 1991 as being the best season I’ve been involved with in 14 years. Why the sudden idea we need change?

“One reason I stayed with Indy cars when I had a chance to go to Formula One some time ago was that I like different challenges, and our series has more variety than any other. We have big ovals at Indy and Michigan, small ovals like Phoenix and Milwaukee, artificial circuits like Long Beach and Denver, an airport like Cleveland and permanent road courses like Laguna Seca and Elkhart Lake. As far as I’m concerned, that’s perfect.”

If Mears could make any changes, it would be more time between Indy and Sunday’s Miller 200 at Milwaukee.

“My schedule (as the winner) has been pretty hectic since last Sunday afternoon, but the ones I feel sorry for are the crews,” Mears said. “They have been at the Speedway for nearly a month, pulling out all the stops, and now they have to take their cars apart and get them ready for Milwaukee. I think it would be nice if they had a little break.”

Mears’ schedule has included an early appearance Monday on “Good Morning, America,” followed by a photo session back at the Speedway and a hastily arranged flight to New York that afternoon by his sponsor, Marlboro.

“We’d been in Indianapolis a month and to try and pack everything up to get going so quickly was quite a panic,” he said. “Chris (Mears’ wife) and I didn’t have time to sit down and quietly enjoy what we’d accomplished until Tuesday night.”

Milwaukee has a special meaning for Mears, however. It was there, in 1978, that he won his first Indy car race.

“Anyone’s first win is always one to remember, but I remember at the time I didn’t appreciate it,” he said. “During the race, I had been looking forward to a shootout with Big Al (Unser) and when he ran out of fuel I felt cheated at not having the opportunity to get by him on the race track.

“Later I was talking to A.J. (Foyt) and I told him about my feelings and he said, ‘Kid, take them any way you can get them. Before you’re through, you’ll probably find yourself losing as many that way as you win.’ You know, he was right.”

But for 2.04 seconds, Mears could be a six-time Indy 500 winner. He lost by 0.16 seconds to Gordon Johncock in the closest two-car finish in 75 years and by 1.88 seconds to Bobby Rahal and Kevin Cogan in the closest three-car finish ever.

If Indy does become part of a world series, there is a precedent for it. From 1950 to 1960, Indy was on the Formula One schedule and such drivers as Johnnie Parsons, Troy Ruttman, Bill Vukovich, Sam Hanks and Rodger Ward are listed as Grand Prix winners.

Racing Notes

INDY AFTERMATH--For followers of the Indy 500, Rich Taylor has produced a book, “INDY: Seventy-five Years of Racing’s Greatest Spectacle” (St. Martin’s Press, $39.95) that chronicles every race from Ray Harroun’s rear-view mirror success in 1911 to Arie Luyendyk’s 1990 triumph. Little is written about individual races except for complete statistical charts, but remarkable photographs and essays on trends in Indy car chassis and engine designs and personalities such as Eddie Rickenbacker, Louie Meyer, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and Rick Mears make the book a 500 fan’s delight.

Jeff Andretti became the third member of his family to be selected rookie of the year, joining father Mario (1965) and brother Michael (1984). He also was the third honoree represented by Orange County publicist Hank Ives, who worked with Josele Garza and David Psachie’s team in 1981, Michael Andretti with Maury Kraines’ Kraco team and Jeff with Bruce Leven’s Bayside Motorsports.

Roger Penske--who owns the car Mears drove--received the Jigger Award from the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Assn. for the month’s biggest goof after calling off a qualifying run by Emerson Fittipaldi that would have put Fittipaldi in the front row for the 500. Fittipaldi qualified later in the fifth row.

STOCK CARS--Lance Hooper of Palmdale will be after his fourth consecutive sportsman victory Saturday night at Saugus Speedway in the NASCAR Winston Racing Series. . . . Other Saturday night sportsman races are scheduled at Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino, Cajon Speedway in El Cajon and Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield. . . . Dirt cars will run Saturday night at Santa Maria Speedway. . . . Street stocks will run Friday night at Ventura Raceway.

MIDGETS--The United States Auto Club’s western regional series will be at Bakersfield Speedway in Oildale for a 30-lap main event Saturday night.

MOTORCYCLES--The final race of the National Speedway American TV series Friday night at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa will find Kenny McIntyre and Les Ketchum facing the New Zealand team of Craig Dempster and Peter Lewis in the 1,000cc sidecar finals. . . . The Coors/Kawasaki motocross series will resume Saturday at Ventura Raceway.