INDIANAPOLIS 500 DAILY REPORT : Starters Toward Rear of the Field Will Look Like a Used Car Lot

Most of the starters up front in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 are in state-of-the-art 1992 model cars, but where did the equipment come from that is filling up the rear of the field?

Dominic Dobson’s 1991 Lola-Chevy was driven by Al Unser Jr. for the Galles-Kraco team last year at Indianapolis. Stan Fox has the last 1991 Lola built, but it was never run until Fox drove it for Jonathan Byrd this month at Indy.

The Lola-Chevy Lyn St. James will drive was the backup car last year for Scott Brayton, her teammate with car owner Dick Simon. Scott Goodyear also qualified a former backup car for Brayton. It was the first Lola built in 1991 in Cambridgeshire, England.

Five cars were qualified for last year’s 500 by other drivers--Buddy Lazier’s car for this year by Danny Sullivan a year ago, Philippe Gache’s by Brayton, Jeff Andretti’s by A.J. Foyt on the front row and Jimmy Vasser’s by Bobby Rahal.

With a female driver in the 10th row, the usual starting command, “Gentlemen, start your engines,” will need to be changed.

When Janet Guthrie became the first female starter in 1977, the late Tony Hulman said: “In company with the first lady ever to qualify at Indianapolis, gentlemen, start your engines.”

In the next two years, with Guthrie again in the field, Mrs. Mary Hulman made the command: “Lady and gentlemen, start your engines.”

Lyn St. James has asked Speedway officials this year to change the command to “Drivers, start your engines.”

Louie Meyer, the first driver to win three 500s (1928, 1933 and 1936), will turn 88 in August. He was reminiscing with friends when the name of two-time winner Gordon Johncock came up.

“I used to like that kid,” Meyer said.

Johncock is approaching 56.

Tero Palmroth didn’t qualify for this year’s 500, but the Finnish driver did collect a check for $1,000 from PPG for coming the closest among drivers to predict the pole speed. Palmroth predicted 232.416 m.p.h. Roberto Guerrero did 232.482.