Injured Sharp Will Miss Indy 500

Scott Sharp will miss the Indianapolis 500 because of a head injury sustained in a crash in practice.

The 29-year-old racer from Danville, Calif., was knocked unconscious when he slammed into the wall Friday during practice for the May 25 race. He quickly regained consciousness, but was hospitalized overnight.

Sharp was back at the speedway on Saturday, hoping to be cleared to drive by early this week. But a subsequent CAT Scan revealed a small brain contusion.

“We’re just hoping that Scotty will be back for Texas (on June 7),” team owner A.J. Foyt said Monday. “For his health and everybody concerned … we elected to stick with the doctors because they know best.”

Foyt said the injury is healing but added, “It takes a while for the brain to mend itself, and it’s just not worth taking … chances.”

Sharp’s fast lap of 217.402 mph, run shortly before his crash, makes him the third-fastest since practice began May 6. Only pole-winner Arie Luyendyk and Tony Stewart, who took the middle of the front row, have been faster.

Sharp, who also bruised his right knee in a crash earlier last week, had started three consecutive Indy 500s. His best finish was 10th last May, and that gave him a share of the first Indy Racing League championship. He is sixth in the IRL standings for the 1996-97 season, thanks in large part to a victory last August at Loudon, N.H.

Luyendyk fastest again

Luyendyk’s preparations for racing in the Indianapolis 500 look much the same as his preparations for qualifying.

The 1990 Indy winner, who will start from the pole in the May 25 race, was again the quickest driver on the track Monday as practice resumed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In fact, his Aurora-powered G Force has been fastest each day since practice opened May 6.

Luyendyk, who won his second Indy pole Saturday with a four-lap average of 218.263 mph, led the 18 drivers who made it onto the 2-1/2-mile oval with a lap of 217.103. The closest anyone could come to that was 216.092 by Treadway Racing teammate Scott Goodyear in the cool, calm final moments of the session.

With the sun out and temperatures in the low 60s, only a stiff wind most of the day made conditions less than ideal for drivers still hoping to qualify.

Miller beer returns to Indy

A familiar corporate name is back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after a one-year absence.

Miller Brewing Co. products are now available at the Brickyard after being banished a year ago, a well-publicized side-effect of the split between the Speedway and Championship Auto Racing Teams Inc.

Miller’s Lite brand also is a secondary sponsor on pole-sitter Luyendyk’s car.

Sponsorship sources say Miller’s deal may have been as low as $50,000.