Bob Jennings

Friday May 11, 2001 top speeds - "500" practice

In year's past, the final day of practice before the start of qualifications for the "Indianapolis 500" was the third most important day of the of the racing season, behind "500" race day and "500" pole day. It was the final opportunity for racing teams to get their act together, become competitive and make optimum preparations for the following day's pole position qualifying for the "Indianapolis 500," which for many years was the second biggest racing day in the world. As years pass, having more than 200,000 people at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for "500" pole day seems like a long time ago. In the years prior to 1977, which was the final "monster" "500" pole day, in terms of huge "200K" crowds for the opening day of qualifications, the Friday before was all important because it generated  expectations for the next day. It was the first defining moment for who had what heading into that year's "Indianapolis 500." Even when cars turned quick laps earlier in the week, if they weren't running fast on "Practice Friday," there was an air of uncertainty heading into pole day. 

After rain interrupted "500" pole day for several years beginning in 1978, and the crowds began to fall off, fans still turned out for "Practice Friday" at the Speedway in huge numbers. "Practice Friday" was a big day during the 1980's. In the days of the old "snake pit" in turn one and turn four, the youth of Indianapolis showed up for an afternoon of sunshine (if it was shining in Indianapolis) drinking, drugs, even sex, under Indiana skies. I remember during the final years of the "snake pit," when I walked by I always wondered how I'd feel if I saw my daughter in the area if I had children of course.  

The attraction for the young and wild was strong as if it was the first unofficial day of summer. I swear there were "Practice Fridays" when close to 100,000 fans came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the entrances to the track on 16th Street and 30th Street were lined with bumper to bumper cars, waiting to get in. 

For those people, like myself, who actually come to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to watch the frantic struggle for competitive superiority, "Practice Friday" represented something entirely different. It was the day when teams became serious about qualifying for the "500." In the modern era of wings and ground effects, it became a time for supreme bravado as drivers and engineers trimmed their cars as much as they dared, sacrificing the reassurance of down force going through the corners in favor of reducing drag and increasing speed on the straightaways. That means the front and rear wing angles on the car is reduced in relation to how brave the driver is going into turns one and three and how long he can hold his breath. 

My most vivid "Practice Friday" memory occurred on May 12, 1961. It was s beautiful May afternoon as my buddy Dave Willmuth (hey Dave if you're still with us and you read this get in touch) and I walked home from school at Carmel Junior High. I was excited. The previous Sunday I went to the Speedway for practice for the first time. I watched my hero Tony Bettenhausen sorting out his 1960 model Autolite Dealers Association Epperly chassis number 5 with a laydown Offy engine. The Autolite car was owned by Lindsey Hopkins. It was a beauty, obviously the fastest car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 1961, dazzling in white and day glow red. As the week before qualifications progressed, Bettenhausen was running two mph faster than any one else. Two days earlier, on Wednesday May 10, the 44 year old "Tinley Park Express" had a practice lap at 149.25 mph, just a tick off the official Indianapolis Motor Speedway one lap record of 149.601 mph set by Jim Hurtibise in qualifications for the 1960 "500." 

Tony Bettenhausen was a strong favorite to win pole position the next day and a good bet to become the first driver to turn the elusive one minute 150 mph lap. This was to be the sixth time I attended the "Indianapolis 500" and it was shaping up as the very best of the six.

Dave and I were walking up the hill on First Avenue, at the south edge of the old Carmel city limits, about a block from the Carmel Methodist Church, when we saw Steve Schern approaching. I can still remember the exact words Steve said. "Hey guess what, Bettenhausen was killed." Steve's words hit me like a shot to the head.  

Bettenhausen was killed instantly about 1:00 PM when the race car he was driving climbed the outer wall at the south end of the main straightaway and tore through the safety fencing atop the concrete. Miraculously the car stayed out of the empty seats on the other side of the wall. Ironically, Tony was driving Paul Russo's car, the Stearly Motor Freight Special, when he crashed. Russo was having trouble getting the car, an A.J. Watson roadster that Rodger Ward drove to victory in the 1959 "500," up to speed and he asked Bettenhausen to check things out.     

What had been a beautiful May Friday full of anticipation and magic a few moments earlier turned into one of the two darkest racing moments I ever experienced. Tony Bettenhausen was gone and with him the focus of my boyhood racing attention. 

As I write this, other "Practice Friday" memories come to mind, images and experiences forever etched in my consciousness. Often there were dramatic moments like in 1991 when Mark Dismore savagely crashed at  the pit entrance. Considering the ferocity of the crash, it's a miracle Dismore survived, let alone ever raced again. Earlier in the same afternoon, Rick Mears hit the wall in turn one and walked away. The Penske team brought the backup Marlboro Penske - Chevrolet out and the following day Mears won the sixth "Indianapolis 500" pole position of his career on the way to his fourth "500" victory.    

In May 1965, five drivers were on top of the speed charts during the two weeks of practice leading to the opening of "500" qualifications. They were A.J. Foyt, coming off his second "Indianapolis 500" and most successful racing season the previous year, 1963 "500" winner Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney, rookie "Mario Andretti and the "Flying Scot" Jim Clark. Foyt had been slightly faster but I still had strong hopes that Clark would duplicate his "500" pole winning run from the previous year.

I was nearing the end of my senior year at Carmel High School and each day that week, at 3:30 PM when we got out of school, a group of us would rush to the Speedway to watch the developing speed battle. On that particular "Practice Friday" the track was crowded with cars trying to prepare for qualifying the following day. I was nervous because I didn't want Clark to experience any problems that would hinder what I was sure would be his path to "500" victory. So each time Clark took his dark green Lotus Powered by Ford number 82 (my all time favorite race car), with the yellow racing stripe, on to the track I crossed my fingers.

Clark was on the track as the 6 PM closing time approached. I was up high in the Tower Terrace seats directly behind the Team Lotus crew, who was timing car 82. All of the sudden there was a flurry of chaos up in turn four and the yellow lights immediately flashed on. I spent several anxious moments watching for Clark's green Lotus - Ford and when I spotted the Scotsman coming to the pits I let out a huge sigh of relief. The crash destroyed Bobby Unser's brand new four wheel drive Novi. I don't recall exactly who the other driver was that was involved in the crash. It might've been Ebb Rose.

The six days of practice leading to "Indianapolis 500" qualifications in May 2001 were relatively peaceful. With the exception of rain shutting down the Indianapolis Motor Speedway three hours early on Monday May 7 and a shower that closed the track for an hour on "Practice Friday," Mother Nature  cooperated most of the week with sunny skies and warm temperatures. It had also been a relatively safe week. Cory Witherill, Casey Mears, Arie Luyendyk, Airton Dare, Jim Guthrie, Helio Castroneves (twice), Jeret Schroeder, Brandon Erwin (twice), Stan Wattles, Shigeaki Hattori, Davy Hamilton and Eliseo Salazar all experienced crashes or spins during the six practice days but no one was seriously injured.   

By the time I arrived at the Speedway at 5:30 PM on Friday May 11, things were winding down in a relatively casual manner. This "Practice Friday" had a different feel. As was the case throughout the previous five days, there was a disappointing crowd on hand, which baffled me considering all the story lines. Based on quotes from some of the competitors including Tony Stewart and Michael Andretti, the near consensus favorite to take the pole on Saturday was Greg Ray and it  didn't seem like any one was trying to beat the Team Menard driver.

I didn't even see Tony Stewart on the track during the final thirty minutes of practice. Both Andretti and Sam Hornish were having problems with their Panther Racing prepared Dallaras and neither was able to reach 223 mph during the entire six day period. Al Unser Jr. surpassed 222 mph on Friday, but it was apparent the Galles team was in trouble. I had already prepared myself for a mediocre (at best) qualifying run the next day for Little Al. 

As I wrote previously, it seemed like "500" practice in May 2001 was more about personalities like non Indy Racing League regulars Roger Penske, Tony Stewart, Michael Andretti and Arie Luyendyk than who was fastest. Perhaps that explains why there seemed to be so little interest in what was going on at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was as if everything was about race day.

I read last May that Tony George was considering limiting TV coverage from the Speedway this May because he was disappointed in the turn out from practice for the 85th "Indianapolis 500." Looking at the list of programs covering the 86th "500," I see that there won't be any TV during practice. Hopefully that will make this year's "Practice Friday" a bigger draw than it's was last year.

top speeds - "500" practice for pre-qualifying period