INDIANAPOLIS 500 : Luyendyk, Brayton Revved to Lead Qualifying Charge

Now Al Unser Jr. knows how the rest of the field felt last year when the Penskes held such a horsepower advantage at the Indianapolis Speedway.

This year it’s the Buicks, or the Menards as owner John Menard insists they be called.

Arie Luyendyk and Scott Brayton, in matching Lolas powered by turbocharged V-6 engines--highly modified versions of the Buick stock block--built by Menard here in Indianapolis, are overwhelming favorites to win the pole when four-lap qualifying begins today for the May 28 Indianapolis 500.

They have been at the top of the speed report every day since the track opened last Saturday.

The only questions remaining seem to be:

--Will predicted thunderstorms stay away?

--Will Luyendyk or Brayton win the pole?

--Will only one, or both, break the qualifying records of 232.618 m.p.h. for one lap and 232.482 for four, set by Roberto Guerrero in 1992, also in a Buick-powered car.

Both have consistently bettered Guerrero’s speeds, Luyendyk running 234.913 on Friday and Brayton 234.656 on Thursday. Luyendyk will qualify in the fifth spot and Brayton in the 13th.

“The only difference between the two cars is the color,” said Larry Curry, director of racing for Team Menard, whose owner runs a chain of Midwestern lumber-hardware stores.

Only one other driver, Michael Andretti in a Lola-Ford Cosworth, bettered 233 during the week. He ran 233.724 Friday, but said, “I needed a tow (drafting help) to do it.”

Said Luyendyk, the 1990 winner who was on the pole two years ago in a Lola-Ford: “We don’t care who’s on the pole as long as it’s one of us.”

Brayton, also a good qualifier who sat next to Pancho Carter in the front row in 1985, has put in close to 2,000 miles testing for Team Menard this year.

“The weather makes qualifying such a crapshoot,” Brayton said. “It’s going to be like a high-stakes poker game.”

The stakes for the fastest driver include the $100,000 PPG pole award, a $35,000 custom van and a starting position on the inside of the front row two weeks from Sunday.

“We’re definitely on the other side of the fence from last year,” said Unser, who sat on the pole and won his second 500.

The Penskes, who had two-thirds of the front row with Emerson Fittipaldi on the outside, paid the penalty for their success. The 209-cubic inch Ilmor Mercedes-Benz stock-block-based engine built by Roger Penske specifically for last year’s 500 lost its oomph when the race-sanctioning U.S. Auto Club cut its turbocharger boost to 52 inches and then to 48.

Now using the same conventional Mercedes-Benz dual overhead cam engine as some other teams, the Penske drivers have had difficulty finding speed. With only two hours’ practice this morning before time trials begin, Unser ranks 25th at 227.261 and Fittipaldi 32nd at 224.753.

“We’ve never been invited to the back-row party, so maybe it’ll be an experience,” laughed Dan Luginbuhl, a Penske team official.

USAC, however, did not reduce the Buick’s boost, so the Menards are in with 55 inches, as opposed to the 45 allowed the Ford-Cosworth, Ilmor-Mercedes and Honda V-8s, all strictly racing engines.

“I really feel that if the Buicks had done better in last year’s race, they would have lost the advantage they have this year, just like we did,” Unser said.

Although Buicks have seldom done well for 500 miles, their qualifying record is impressive--Carter and Guerrero on the pole and Gary Bettenhausen the fastest qualifier in 1991 but not on the pole because he qualified late.