After Crashes Mar Practice, Carburetion Day Uneventful

After 30 crashes of one sort or another caused primarily by cold weather conditions--20 during a week of practice and 10 on two qualifying days--the 33 qualified cars for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 took advantage of a warm day Thursday and ran 754 laps on Carburetion Day without a single mishap.

Most took only a few laps to check for leaks. Speed was not important, but CART champion Juan Montoya lapped the 2.5-mile rectangular oval at 218.257 mph before he and teammate Jimmy Vasser left for Nazareth, Pa., where they will drive Saturday in the CART Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix.

“This day is more for the fans in the stands than it is for the drivers,” former winner Eddie Cheever said. “If you haven’t got your race set up yet, I doubt like hell that you will find it on Carburetion Day.”

All 33 cars were on the track.

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Mario Andretti has been the Indy Racing League’s most persistent critic, so it must have come as a shock to him when his youngest son, Jeff, announced that he had signed to drive for Derrick Walker’s IRL team as a teammate of Sarah Fisher through 2002.

“My dad wasn’t too happy with the idea, but he knew that when opportunities arise, you had better grab it,” said the younger Andretti, who has not driven an open-wheel car since 1993. Jeff was Indy 500 rookie of the year in 1991, but in 1992 his feet were severely damaged in the 500 while driving for A. J. Foyt. After spending three weeks hospitalized, he underwent extensive rehabilitation and was able to qualify for the 1993 race.

Since then, he has driven from time to time in the Indy Lights, North American Touring Car and NASCAR Craftsman Truck series.

Andretti will begin his campaign July 15 at Atlanta.

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Hideshi Matsuda, who suffered a mild concussion and a broken wrist and knee in an accident during qualifying Sunday, remains in good condition in Methodist Hospital. The Japanese driver is expected to be released before the 500.

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The Panther Racing team, with Scott Goodyear driving and San Diego Charger quarterback Jim Harbaugh on the crew, won the Coors Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge in a showdown against the Treadway Racing team of Robby McGehee.