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Show ____ SLFim § The Salt Lake Tribune AUTO RACING Sunday, May 30, 1999 Indy 500’s Two Goals? Safety and Drama A Big Player At Indy 500 THE ASSOCIATEDPRESS INDIANAPOLIS — Arie’s on his final ride, Tony's doing the double and the Indy Racing plant. love to emulate Bobby Unser, who retired in 1981 after winning his keeping the action on the track and away from the nearly 400,000 fans. The event will be the first for to build internal combustion tem- productwill help preventengines from blowing up. At least, that's the intent of High Performance Coatings, whose president and CEO,Jeff Holm, has been trying to make high-speed racing safer and less heartbreaking for 20 years. Holm, whose company is headquartered in Salt City with branchesas far away as Australia and New Zealand, provides coatings for exhaust components to reduce underhood ambient tem- peratures, coatings to reduceoil temperatures on pistons and dry film coatings that reducefriction on piston skirts, engine bearings and valve springs. “You knowthoselittle puffs of blue smoke the TV cameras will homein on? Our purposeis to make sure there aren’t any of those race-ending, little blue puffs,” says Holm, a University of Virginia graduate in aeronautical engineering. Holm, anaircraft engineer for the U.S. Air Force for 13 years and whose internal engine experi- ence includes work on F-10s, F- 4s, A-10 Wart Hogs and F-20 Northrups, knew early in his life all aboutenginesgoing junk in the face of terrific heat buildup. Charles Arthur Holm, a Salt Lake banker,used to take his son to the old Fairgrounds Speedway on North Temple, where the open-wheeled super-modifieds would scream arounda one-third- the IRL since a wheeland suspen- sion parts flew into the grandstand in Concord, N.C., on May 1, killing three fans and injuring Jeff Holm, president and CEO ofSalt Lake City-based High Performance Coatings, is helping to sponsor driver Scott Goodyear in today's Indy 500. mon and the other drivers and those souped-up cars with the aerodynamic wings,” says Jeff Holm, whofigures he was 13 or 14 yearsold at the time. When he was old enough to drive, he was behind the wheelof a 1969 Chevelle in A Modified Production. He campaigned in the National Hot Rod Association, where speeds of 155 miles per hour and 10 secondsin the quar- ter-mile were “exhilarating.” Now, says Holm, pro stocks in production classes hit 200 mph at six seconds. ‘blessed."" His coatings were on the engine parts in Bill Elliott's NASCAR entry that did 212 at tal wreck, the cars will be fitted winning Indy entry in 1988 and on top fuel drag racer Eddie Hill's wheels and suspension parts out second bracket at over 300 mph. HPC's logo has been on 13 Indy 500 winners, 14 Daytona 500 win- ners and numerous NHRA world championshipcars. The motorsports industy has undergone massive change. “Most people don't realize an Indy racing car is on the envelope of comingoffthe track within a 3- wasinto thescientific end of the to 5-mile-per-hour range. It is necessary to provide a tremen- mechanical process. “We felt the key then wascylinder head and cam shaft development,” he says. From cars, he graduated to jet says Holm. At the same time, engines are prone to frying at any second. “Our coatings have minimized the loss of many of these Even then, in his early 20s, he dous down force on these cars,” aircraft. Then back to race cars. $250,000 engines.” “Aircraft and race cars Today, his heart will be in the cockpit with Scott Goodyear, a two-time Indy runner-up, for whom Holm provides sponsorship dollars in addition to the engine coatings. But there could be any one of a couple of dozen drivers . they have someofthe samecharacteristics like aerodynamics and metallurgy, for instance,” says Holm. In 1982, he branched out on his own, aiming to revolutionize the exhaust industry by introducing space-age coatings to prolong the life of critical engine components, while increasing productivity and efficiency. Holm says he has been tice runs leading up the race. CONCORD, N.C. — NASCAR's All are winners from othercir- cuits who are gradually raising longest race features a clash between Winston Cup racing’s new breed and thesport's established stars. As usual, today’s Coca-Cola 600 beensaid in 1994 about Jeff Gor- best adjust to the changing track Gordon got his first Winston Cup victory at the 600 in 1994, will be determined by who can and handling conditions of a race that begins in daylight and finish- es well after dark, some 42 hours later. But the 400-lap, 600-mile event at Lowe's Motor Speedway at Charlotte has a reputation for producing new winners, and this year's 43-carfield includes severil newcomers who could contend, their comfort level in Winston Cup racing. The same could have don or in 1995 about Bobby Labonte. and Labonte got career triumph No. 1 at the race the following year. Gordon has won 44 races and three series driving titles since then; Labonte has followed morevictories and has become a consistent fixture among the points leaders. “I have a good feel about things, especially since we're rac- fly in after racing in the Indy 500 earlier in the day. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Elliott ing at Charlotte,” said Labonte the 600 pole-sitter and the third- Sadler, and Mike Skinner also Tethering wheels could add to the danger for drivers because the tires might rebound into the open cockpit during a crash. But Leo Mehl, executive director of the IRL,believes the new safety place driver in the 1999 driver standings. ery speed record at Indy going I walked intothis place, it almost scared me seeing the cars going into LeftTom (ei turn one flat out,” said Luyendyk, who won the fastest 500 everin 1990 with an average speed of 185.981 mph. “To becomepart of Indianapolis history is pretty neat for me.” Another fan favorite is Tony Stewart, the 1997 IRL champion, who has virtually abandoned the struggling 4-year-old open-wheel circuit for a full-time job in NAS- CAR's Winston Cup series. But Stewart grew up in nearby Columbus, Ind., and made sure that part of his deal with owner Joe Gibbs was that the former football coach would allow him to race at Indy each year. The second-generation Champ car star won for the first time since the 1998 season-opener in Homestead, Fla., outdueling sec ond-year driver Helio Castro-Ne. vesover the final 34 laps of Satur day's Motorola 300. “Twas driving the hardest I've ever driven, right on the edge, the emotional Andretti said A crowd closeto 40,000 roared its approval as Andretti’s SwiftFord raced across the finish line at Gateway International Racewayjust 0.329-seconds — about 1% car-lengths — ahead of Cas- tro-Neves. Andretti, the leading active driver in the CART FedEx Championship Series with 38 victories, took the lead for the final time with a lightning pit stop on lap 190 of the 236-lap event He wentinto the pits in fifth place, took only fuel and drove back onto the 1.27-mile oval in first place. system will be better for every- one. “When you analyze the crashes and see the loose stuff running out on the racetrack, the more we can keep attached to the race car, who will bring HPC to Victory Cirele. “Our hopeis that 33 cars are running at the end,” he says. “We don't like little puffs of blue smoke.” Racing teammate and the runaway leader for the sport's top rookie honors. Stewart already has one pole and four top-10 fin- ishes in 11 races, placing him sev- enth in the points. But Stewart's ability to win today could dependonhis ability to work his way up from the rear of the 43-car field. He's likely to start there as a penaltyfornotat- tending the pre-race drivers’ meeting because he 30 plans to drive in the Indianapolis 500 ear lier today. the fans are going to be,’ Mehl said. Like most of the drivers, Luyendyk shruggedoff the added danger. “It's inherent in our business that the driveris alwaysin jeopardy,” Luyendyksaid. “I don’t want to get hit in the head. I've been in crashes where I woke up 30 minutes later. But, you haveto do everything you can to protect the fans. They're the No. 1 priority.” Although everyone is talking inasteride aboutthe safety of fans, once the green flag waves, the action on the track will probably produce one of the most compelling races in years. “T really believe there are 15 guys out here who could win the race, including me,” said defend- ing champion Eddie Cheever, who Ask your doctor aboutthispill will start 16th, one spot better thanlast year. If he does win, Cheever will be thefirst driver to win consecutive Indy 500s since Al Unser Sr. in 1970-71 Cheever, however, is the only top contender using the Nissan Infiniti engine, which has never if you haven't had a Vision Yet It's time you had one! Labonte is getting pressured this year by Stewart, his Joe Gibbs Look Where (ieee wVAlCwNaS Oo MADISON, Ill. — Michael An dretti still knows howto win. broadcaster or something else that will keep me around.” Luyendyk, at 45theoldest driv: his Charlotte triumph with six including Tony Stewart, who will have strong cars that have performed consistently well in prac- of the crowd. ‘I'm glad the IRL has addressed this situation so quickly, but I’m goingto be sure to not be the first one totest it,” said Billy Boat, whowill start fromthe outside of the front row. one.” the better off the driver as well as Coca-Cola 600 Could Unveil a New Superstar THE ASSOCIATED PRESS with cables designed to keep winoneof them, this wouldbe the ing away. I'll be working as a “I'mnotsad, becauseI’m not go- into his 15th and final start. “You know, I felt so small when In aneffort to avoid anotherfa- “But I would say that if 1 could only guarantee that I was going to the Indy 500 in 1990 and 1997. “The story of this race needsto be about racing, not tragedy,” said Arie Luyendyk, a two-time the cockpit following the checkered flag Thereare a lot of races tha’ are important to me that stil want totry to win in my lifetime the 28-year-old Stewart said ANDRETTI WINS MOTOROLA 300 eightothers. Daytona, and on Bobby Rahal’s car that wasthefirst into the four- third Indy 500. “I'm enjoyingall ofthis,” said the Flying Dutchman, who won er in the lineup, ownsnearly ev Indy winner whowill retire from mile oval every Saturday night. “I was fascinated by Dick Si- Luyendyk, meanwhile, would ©1990 Merck B.Co.. Ine. Al nights remerved 989079(2)-PRP peratures of nearly 1,800 degrees as powerplants churn at a sustained 12,000 revolutions per minute. 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