They’re Losing the Numbers Game at Brickyard

INDIANAPOLIS — For years, the final day of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 was known as Bump Day. It was the day when a driver not in the race could attempt to put together four laps faster than the 33rd slowest qualifier, and if he did, it knocked the slower car out of the race.

This year, today should be known as Fill Day.

Instead of bumping, one of the most dramatic events of the month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there will be a scramble to fill the traditional 33-car starting field for next Sunday’s 88th annual 500. Only 26 cars are currently qualified and there is a question of whether there are seven more ready.

The problem, as usual, is money. The Indy Racing League, sanctioning body for the 500, mandated an engine change for this race, from 3.5 liters to 3 liters. This meant that there are no older engines available, so anyone desiring to qualify must lease a new one from Honda, Toyota or Chevrolet for between $150,000 and $200,000.

It used to be that by just getting in the race, a team could pay its bills and make a few bucks. Last year the 33rd qualifier earned only $140,000, so that doesn’t work today.

On Saturday’s final practice day, only six non-qualified drivers took laps. They were 1996 winner Buddy Lazier, Marty Roth, Richie Hearn, P.J. Jones, Jeff Simmons and Robby McGehee.

The most stunning of Bump Day incidents occurred in 1995 when Al Unser Jr., the defending champion from Roger Penske’s all-winning racing empire, failed to get up to qualifying speed on the final day. And his Penske teammate, two-time 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, was the 33rd qualifier until he was bumped from the field at 5:48 p.m. -- too late to make a final desperation attempt.

The Penske team, accustomed to coming in and running for the pole every year, found itself in a jumble of mistakes when faced with the prospect of scratching for a berth at the rear. The first sign of concern came when the new Penske chassis failed to get up to speed in practice, a concern so dramatic that Penske scuttled his own cars and obtained two Lolas from the Rahal-Hogan team.

Then came the Penske comedy of errors.

Fittipaldi was on a qualifying run in the 225 mph range when his crew threw the yellow flag, ending the attempt. It turned out later that it would have put him easily in the field. When weather conditions slowed qualifying runs, he never again approached that speed. On his second attempt, his crew accepted a 224.907. It was 5:09 p.m., plenty of time for a third run if it had been waved off.

He was the man on the bubble.

Meanwhile, Unser was having problems. On his third attempt, he took a 224.101 speed, nowhere close enough to qualify.

When Stefan Johansson began his attempt at 5:48, it set up a classic David vs. Goliath scenario. Johansson’s team was here on a shoestring, a raveled one at that, and Fittipaldi was in the powerful Marlboro Penske livery. Few, if anyone, expected that the Swedish driver could match Fittipaldi’s speed.

His first lap was 224.826, then when his second lap was 225.737, the booming voice of Tom Carnegie came over the public address system, “Listen to this, it’s a 225.”

The crowd, realizing the significance, erupted into a wild cheer -- not so much anti-Fittipaldi, but a cheer for the little guy. Johansson brought his Team Alumax car home at 225.547 mph. The Penskes were gone.

It was historic, the first time an Unser would not be in a 500 field since 1962.

“We didn’t come prepared,” Unser said. “We got blowed off.”

Penske rejected a number of offers from other teams to take their spot in the race.

“We’re not going to buy our way into the race,” he said. “We didn’t execute very well. We lost on a level playing field.”

The frustrations of Fittipaldi and Unser were not the first for former winners on Bump Day.

In 1965, Rodger Ward returned to the Speedway with the most impressive six-year record in history -- two victories, two seconds, a third and a fourth. But in the No. 2 Moog St. Louis Special, a new Watson rear-engine car, he kept coming up short of a qualifying speed.

Late on the final Sunday, Ward went out for his third attempt. He needed to beat the 153.774 by Bill Cheesebourg. His first two laps were above the cutoff, but with no more attempts left, his speed slipped and he took the green flag at 153.623.

It was the first time a former winner failed to qualify.

Billy Boat knows how it feels to be on both sides of the bubble. In 2000, he crashed his car in the final morning practice and thought his chance of getting in the race was over. Later, A. J. Foyt gave him a ride in his team’s backup car. Boat qualified at a slow 192.105 and was bumped by Lyn St. James.

Then Foyt rolled out a second car, one that had never turned a wheel on the track. Boat was in line at 5:57 when Dan Drinan started his attempt, too late for Boat to get the green flag if Drinan did his four laps. But Drinan stalled after the first lap and at 5:59, Boat pulled off pit lane.

The gun signaling the end of qualification sounded as Boat was in the short chute between Turns 3 and 4 on his final warmup lap. He went on to average 218.872 and sent Jack Miller to the sidelines.

Things were different the next year.

Boat was the first to qualify on Bump Day, posting a 221.528 speed. At 5:07, Boat was on the bubble, sitting in his garage nervously watching the monitor as the cars lined up for a shot at his speed.

One by one they came -- Jimmy Kite, Didier Andre, Shigeaki Hattori, Memo Gidley, Richie Hearn, Roberto Guerrero, Kite again, Felipe Giaffone, Andre again, Hattori again, Casey Mears and Gidley again as the 6 p.m. gun went off.

“I felt like I was sitting there taking bullets,” Boat said. “Every time somebody went out and clicked off a 221, it was like someone punching you in the stomach. You never know if they’re going to click off that next fastest lap.”

Sort of like Stefan Johansson in 1995, but not today.

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Top Practice Runs

The fastest speeds turned in Saturday during practice for the Indianapolis 500:

*--* Driver Car MPH QUALIFIED DRIVERS 1. Adrian Fernandez G Force-Honda 218.495 2. Kosuke Matsuura G Force-Honda 218.300 3. Sam Hornish Jr. Dallara-Toyota 218.096 4. Tony Kanaan Dallara-Honda 218.066 5. Dan Wheldon Dallara-Honda 217.916 6. Helio Castroneves Dallara-Toyota 217.224 7. Dario Franchitti Dallara-Honda 216.289 8. Alex Barron Dallara-Chevrolet 216.062 9. Robby Gordon Dallara-Chevrolet 215.751 10. Ed Carpenter Dallara-Chevrolet 215.703 NON-QUALIFIED DRIVERS 1. Buddy Lazier Dallara-Chevrolet 214.414 2. Marty Roth Dallara-Toyota 213.097 3. Richie Hearn G Force-Toyota 212.617 4. Jeff Simmons Dallara-Toyota 209.820 5. P.J. Jones Dallara-Chevrolet 208.342.

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