INDIANAPOLIS 500 / UPDATE : Smith on the Bubble as Field Gets Filled

Qualifying resumes today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to fill the seven remaining berths for the Indy 500 on May 30.

Mark Smith will not be among the candidates, but he might be the most nervous driver on the premises. The rookie from McMinnville, Ore., driving for Frank Arciero of Anaheim, is the slowest among the 26 drivers who qualified last week and his speed of 214.356 m.p.h. might not stand up once the 33-car field is filled and the bumping begins.

The slowest car in the field, regardless of its position, can be bumped out if another car qualifies faster. If a car is bumped, it may not be re-qualified, but the driver may try again in a different car.

If he does make the race, Smith will be the answer to an Indy trivia question: Who is the only Smith to have run in the 500? In 76 races, there have been eight Joneses, four Andrettis, four Unsers and three Bettenhausens--but no Smiths.

“I’ve been coming here with my dad since I was very young,” said Smith, 26. “When I was 11 or 12, I met Rick Mears downtown at the Hyatt Hotel and asked him how to get started in racing. I was hooked even back then.”

Smith’s father, Delford, owns the Evergreen Air Museum in McMinnville, where the Spruce Goose has been relocated from Long Beach.

“My dad has been my biggest inspiration,” said Smith, a graduate of the University of Oregon. “He started from zero as an orphan and through hard work and dedication, made himself what he is. I feel fortunate to have grown up in an environment like that. It has helped make me a stronger person.”

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Among the non-qualified drivers are Eddie Cheever, who started from the front row last year; Robby Gordon of Orange, third-place finisher in the opening Indy car race at Australia and A.J. Foyt’s protege; Davy Jones, Didier Theys, Geoff Brabham, John Paul Jr., Dominic Dobson, Hiro Matsushita, Buddy Lazier, Rocky Moran and Willy T. Ribbs.

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Robbie Buhl, who has visited the infield hospital twice in the last eight days and spent one night at Methodist Hospital as a result of two crashes, will be back in the hospital next Tuesday. On that occasion, however, it will be to visit patients at Riley Memorial Children’s Hospital as part of a “Racing for Kids” program. . . . Teo Fabi has set a record for practice laps completed with 939--nearly five complete races.