Big Rain Forestalls Indy 500 Harsh Weather Gives Troubled Racing Classic Another Problem

In the old days, fans basked in the sun, drank beer and watched drivers like Al Unser Jr., Bobby Rahal and Michael Andretti battle it out at the Indianapolis 500.

On Sunday, fans huddled under umbrellas and overhangs in a downpour, waiting for Billy Boat, Jack “The Racing Dentist” Miller and the other unknowns to take the track.

They didn’t and the Indy 500 was postponed a day - fitting for a race that’s had problems all month.

“It’s a bummer. I’m used to it, but it’s her first time,” Jeff Conaway said, nodding at his 10-year-old daughter, Ashley, who was crying. “It’s not a good way to start.”

Speedway officials will try to run the race again Monday, but a delay was the last thing the Indy 500 needed. It’s already lost big-name drivers from Championship Auto Racing Teams. Now, Arie Luyendyk is the most recognizable name at Indy.

The cars aren’t going as fast, either. Speeds are down 20 mph because of new engines, whose reliability is still in question. “Indy Lite” has turned off some fans, and crowds were down even before it rained.

“Every year it’s gotten worse,” Eli Levi said, looking around at the empty seats in the stands and the vast patches of grass in an infield that’s usually packed.

And the crowd isn’t likely to grow magically overnight. If anything, it’s going to be even smaller Monday. Many fans come from out of town, making it hard for them to stick around and get home in time for work Tuesday.

Bridgestone/Firestone brought in 500 guests for the race, and only half are staying the extra day, said Trevor Hoskins, a senior vice president.

ABC Sports will broadcast the entire race today, keeping the same schedule it had planned for Sunday. But there will be some stiff competition. At 12:30 p.m., NBC will air Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference final series between the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat.

“You’ve got Tiger (Woods) and golf (Sunday on CBS) or you’ve got Michael and the Bulls, so it’s always tough,” said Bob Goodrich, an ABC producer. “We just hope that all the people that want to watch the race will stick with us.”

Levi could stick with the race, but he won’t.

“I ain’t coming out,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m flat burned out of this place.”

No matter how many times speedway officials say Indy is still the greatest race in the world, it just doesn’t have the same feel.

Sure, people milled about the concourses, eating popcorn and corn dogs and drinking beer. They tossed footballs and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs in the muddy Snake Pit in turn four, traditionally the rowdiest spot in the speedway.

Bands marched down pit road and F-16 fighter jets and a Stealth bomber roared overhead as part of the pre-race festivities. And Jim Nabors was ready to do his annual rendition of “Back Home Again in Indiana,” before the rain really came.

But plenty of seats were available on the grassy infield hills, which people usually stake out at dawn. There was no waiting at the souvenir shops, and lines at the food stands were short.

And at Gasoline Alley, where fans usually gather to cheer their favorite drivers as they walk to the track, there was silence. One fan even mistook a driver for a member of the pit crew.

“Until they get the names back, it won’t be the same,” said Bud Hoffpauir, who works on Billy Roe’s fueling crew.

The top drivers have sided with CART in its split with speedway president Tony George’s new Indy Racing League. CART boycotted Indy last year after George reserved all but eight spots for IRL drivers, and there’s no sign it’ll be back anytime soon.

While the IRL opened the door for some drivers who couldn’t afford to compete against CART’s big money, the Indy 500 just isn’t as exciting anymore, Jim Filibowicc said.

“Cars are slower. It’s not the same as it used to be,” said Filibowicc, who’s been coming to the race for 15 years. “It’s the IRL, it’s not the old Indy.”

Coca Cola 600 goes to Gordon

Rain turned NASCAR’s longest race into two short ones. Bobby Labonte won the first half. Jeff Gordon captured the one that counted.

Gordon won the Coca-Cola 600 at Concord, N.C., on Sunday night by pulling away in the closing stage of a race that was held up by a lengthy rain delay just before the midway point. The event was scheduled for 400 laps on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s 1-1/2-mile trioval but was called after 333.

Gordon’s series-leading fifth victory of 1997 came after he overcame an early pit-stop miscue that dropped him to 38th in the 42-car field.

He wound up about eight car-lengths ahead of Rusty Wallace and kept alive his bid to win the Winston Million, a $1 million bonus that goes to any driver who can win three of the four biggest races on the Winston Cup circuit in a single year. Gordon, who captured the season-opening Daytona 500, can collect the bonus from series sponsor R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. by winning the Mountain Southern Dew 500 on Aug. 31 in Darlington, S.C.

The 37th running of NASCAR’s longest race started nearly one-half hour late because of rain, and it was halted for more than 2-1/2 hours on lap 195 by another thunderstorm.

Injuries in pits

The pits turned out to be the most hazardous stretch of Charlotte Motor Speedway for crew members working in the early stages of the Coca-Cola 600.

Charles Hylton, a tire changer for Mark Martin, was taken to a local hospital for X-rays a quarter of the way through the race after having his foot run over on pit road. The culprit - the Ford of Roush Racing teammate Jeff Burton.

X-rays on Hylton were negative and he returned to the track.

Honors for Waltrip

Darrell Waltrip was honored prior to the Coca-Cola 600, which was the 700th start of his career.

Waltrip is currently fourth on the career list of Winston Cup starts, trailing Bobby Allison by 17 races. Richard Petty is the leader with 1,177 starts.

Waltrip is tied with Allison for the career victory lead at Charlotte Motor Speedway with six, but Waltrip hasn’t won here since 1989.

xxxx