Indy 500 Notebook

New Nissan Infiniti engines couldn't finish 500-mile race

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Posted: Sunday May 30, 1999 07:44 PM

Cheever (center) was one of three drivers using a Nissan engine. AP

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Eddie Cheever chose a different engine and got different results in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

The defending Indy 500 champion was running third on the 139th lap when smoke started spewing from the back of his car and he stopped on the backstretch.

The Nissan Infiniti engine, which has never powered a winning car in the Indy Racing League, had failed.

"When it went, it just went," Cheever said of the Nissan engine, which was used by only three of the 33 drivers in the field. None of the three finished the race.

"The engine is incredibly strong," said Cheever, the only top contender using it. "We still need to work on its reliability."

Thirty of the 33 drivers used Oldsmobile Aurora engines.

Rookie Jeret Schroeder and veteran Roberto Guerrero -- the other two drivers using the Infiniti -- suffered the same fate as Cheever. Both cars left the track smoking.

New traditions

War heros, Jay Leno and Billy Graham headlined the spectacle portion of the pre-race festivities.

Dozens of servicemen who earned the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest distinction for military valor, spun an honorary lap around the Speedway.

Hot rod and motorcycle buff Jay Leno also took a ride on the famed track -- in the driver's seat of the 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo pace car.

The "Tonight Show" host drove the pace lap to start the race. Someone else replaced him for caution situations during the race.

"It was just like driving down the L.A. expressway," Leno said.

The biggest pre-race thrill happened well above the grandstands when a B-2 Stealth bomber buzzed the observation tower. The bat-shaped jet drew roars and wows from the crowd and racing teams.

Evangelist Billy Graham, who will lead one of his famed crusades in Indianapolis next weekend, offered the pre-race prayer.

"May each driver and team not only be at the peak of the skill, but may each be at their moral and spiritual best," Graham said. "Give everyone a sense of fair play and good sportsmanship and protect them from injury."

Maybe next year for Ward

Jeff Ward was just six seconds behind winner Kenny Brack, but the strong finish may be easily forgotten.

"We'll get this race one day," Ward said, who is making progress.

Sunday's second-place finish was his best in three times, following a third as the rookie of the year in 1997 and 13th last year. "I wanted this one bad," Ward said.

Slip sliding

Steve Knapp just could not get to the pits soon enough. He crashed just seven laps before a planned pit stop to fix handling problems with his car.

The 35-year-old driver's car slid sideways and slammed into a wall in Turn 2.

"The car was a little bit loose and he was trying to drive through it to get to the pit stop," team owner Bob Hancher said.

Knapp was last year's rookie of the year, finishing third.

 

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