400 replies to this topic

[Risil]

First of all, let us admire the chilled-out and somewhat Rockwell-esque aesthetic of that programme cover.
 
OK! That felt good. As round 3 of the championship, Indy came early in 1989, or perhaps more accurately 1989 came late. It’s much too early to talk about points tables but as the CART championship crosses Indiana state lines, it’s been a competitive two races! Or maybe meta-competitive, as Phoenix was dominated by Penske (specifically Rick Mears) and at Long Beach the whole story was Lolas belonging to Andretti pere et fils and Unser (fils only). Surely Lola and Penske will come together eventually? Yes, probably. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Emerson Fittipaldi finally has a 1989-spec Penske (unless he crashes it again), the Buicks are at the track they were sorta designed for, and who knows, Teo Fabi may have a trouble-free run in the March-Porsche.

What’s new at Indy this year? The track has been repaved for the first time in 12 years, and should yield more grip and fewer bumps to the competitors. The resurfacing job includes the pitlane and the flatter bit below the white line on the inside of the corners known as the apron, which is now a viable racing line for brave drivers with well-ordered chassis. Car-wise, the field is more Penskified than ever with no fewer than four brand-new Penske PC-18s (the now-usual Penske trio of Mears, Sullivan and Unser, plus Emerson Fittipaldi racing for frenemy Pat Patrick). March have put all their eggs in Derrick Walker’s Porsche basket, although there’s a smattering of older chassis – none of which qualified very well – and the rest, as Bobby Unser might have said, is Lolas. As for the engines, unless the powerful stock-derived Buick V6 can spring a surprise (and keep running for 200 laps) it’ll probably be one of those Chevrolet-branded Ilmors in Victory Lane.
 
And who's on pole? Rick Mears, of course! Last year's winner set new one-lap and four-lap records in the process and as normal is the favourite to notch up another victory (his fourth, if you're keeping retro-score). He leads an all-Penske front row (I feel we've heard that before), with part-timer Al Unser in the middle and full-timer Emerson Fittipaldi (second place last year) on the outside. Dunfermline's second-greatest American export and 1988 front-runner Jim Crawford qualified Kenny Bernstein's Lola-Buick fourth. Times and starting placements below:

1. Rick Mears 223.885, Penske (Penske-Chevy)
2. Al Unser 223.471, Penske (Penske-Chevy)
3. Emerson Fittipaldi 222.329, Patrick (Penske-Chevy)
4. Jim Crawford 221.450, King (Lola-Buick)
5. Mario Andretti 220.486, Newman-Haas (Lola-Chevy)
6. Scott Brayton 220.459, Dick Simon (Lola-Buick)
7. Bobby Rahal 219.530, Kraco (Lola-Cosworth)
8. Al Unser, Jr 219.642, Galles (Lola-Chevy)
9. Raul Boesel 218.228, Doug Shierson (Lola-Judd)
10. A.J. Foyt 217.136, Foyt (Lola-Cosworth)
11. Randy Lewis 216.494, Teamkar (Lola Cosworth)
12. John Andretti 215.611, Vince Granatelli (Lola-Buick)
13. Teo Fabi 215.564, Porsche Motorsports (March-Porsche)
14. Gary Bettenhausen 215.230, D.B. Mann (Lola-Buick)
15. Arie Luyendyk 214.883, Dick Simon (Lola-Cosworth)
 
Michael Andretti starts down the order in 21st after a technical snafu meant his Pole Day car was disqualified for underweightedness. Tom Sneva and Danny Sullivan both picked up enough speed after Pole Day to trouble the top 10, but owing to rules they will line up 22nd and 26th. ‘73 and ‘82 winner Gordon Johncock will start his Buick-powered Hemelgarn entry from 23rd in one of those star-studded middle orders that Indy frequently throws up.
 
So, 8 winners take the start. Would’ve been 9 but sprint car ace Rich Vogler bumped Johnny Rutherford at 5.45 and JR blew his engine up trying to get back into the show. What can you say? They got their money’s worth from Bump Day back then.

Let’s get this going at 5.30pm GMT so, you know, we can fit it all in before bedtime. Here's the video:

[FLB]

[paulb]

Love the program cover!

Looking forward to watching this. Thanks, Risil.

[FLB]

And let's not forget that the 1989 Indy 500 also gave us this momentous thing (this is the computer game simulation I've played the most in my life)...

 

[ANF]

Here's a full sim race:



And the 479 kB download if you want to try it out: https://www.myabando...e-simulation-oe

[FLB]

Here's a full sim race:



And the 479 kB download if you want to try it out: https://www.myabando...e-simulation-oe

I've kept an old 486 DLC-330 from 1993 alive (with Windows 3.1 and no Internet cabability) for one purpose only:

 

 

To play that game the good ol' fashion way...

Edited by FLB, 07 February 2021 - 00:10.

[red stick]

Sadly, I'll likely be missing this. Work day at our new Audubon sanctuary.

[red stick]

But will be rooting for Little Al, just like I did the first time!

[Risil]

Sadly, I'll likely be missing this. Work day at our new Audubon sanctuary.

 

Sorry to hear that, but sounds like a good use of a Sunday to me!
 

[red stick]

Sorry to hear that, but sounds like a good use of a Sunday to me!
 

No doubt.  Thus far my retirement has been centered on a series of conservation related activities.  As planned!

 

But I hate to miss this race.  I recall being on my feet at the end yelling at the TV screen.  Much like 1982.  And 1991.  And 2006.  What a finish!

[B Squared]

But will be rooting for Little Al, just like I did the first time!

Michelle, my girlfriend at the time, was a big Emerson fan - we didn't talk for a week after this race.    We've remained great friends.

 

As sideways as Fittipaldi was, Boesel could have been the winner without Emerson's great save

Edited by B Squared, 07 February 2021 - 15:42.

[GlenWatkins]

Al Sr. will be trying to make it win number 5

Edited by GlenWatkins, 07 February 2021 - 15:40.

[Risil]

5 mins to Delta Force!

[rghojai]

Psyched, primed and ready

[PayasYouRace]

Me too.

[GlenWatkins]

Locked in and ready to race!  Paul Page is our presenter!

[GlenWatkins]

Excited to watch in 1080p

[rghojai]

And we're off like a prom dress.

[Risil]

Go!

[GlenWatkins]

Bring on the Action!!  

[Risil]

George Robson! Do I remember correctly that he was a Geordie?

 

Edit: Wiki says yes. Wonder if he was related to the soccer coach Sir Bobby.

[paulb]

Love the old footage

[PayasYouRace]

Here we go.

 

I'm enjoying this intro montage.

[GlenWatkins]

[Risil]

What a crowd!

[GlenWatkins]

year of planning and a lifetime of preparation

[FLB]

Does anybody without a Chevy have a shot?

[Risil]

Those are some very nice eighties CGI graphics

[PayasYouRace]

Bit of a nod to Frankenheimer's Grand Prix there with the split screens.

[paulb]

Lets go #73!

[FLB]

No rain!

[paulb]

Background fans rule

[Risil]

Does anybody without a Chevy have a shot?

Crawford had a shot in the Buick in 1988 so I don't see why you could rule out the stock blocks. Judd and Cosworth? Depends who drops out and how much green flag running there is, right?

[PayasYouRace]

I'd have thought they were using radial tyres a lot further back than 1988 at Indy.

[Risil]

I'd have thought they were using radial tyres a lot further back than 1988 at Indy.

They introduced radial tyres to superspeedway racing at Michigan in 1986(?) and it was such a disaster that they cancelled and came back later with the old style of Goodyear.

[Risil]

Scott Brayton!

[rghojai]

My Emmo Vice

[FLB]

I'd have thought they were using radial tyres a lot further back than 1988 at Indy.

Not after this...

 

https://www.latimes....7071-story.html

[Risil]

Accomplished show horse jumper!

[rghojai]

Rahal's moustache was so unkempt

[Risil]

Teo Fabi being menaced by spaghetti. Top video clips here.

[GlenWatkins]

Teo sporting an 80s combover

[paulb]

No stereotypes in these mini bios.

[Risil]

Marco!!!

[Risil]

No stereotypes in these mini bios.

I think my favourite was Randy Lewis MBA inspecting a glass of wine

[GlenWatkins]

kevin cogan has not aged well

[FLB]

John Jones was the first Canadian to race in F3000.

[PayasYouRace]

They introduced radial tyres to superspeedway racing at Michigan in 1986(?) and it was such a disaster that they cancelled and came back later with the old style of Goodyear.

 

 

Not after this...

 

https://www.latimes....7071-story.html

 

But weren't radial tyres commonplace by the mid-1970s?

[Risil]

"They try to stay isolated till the last possible second"

[rghojai]

No low-profile guys ended up emerging, doing much w. their careers.