"Boston Louis" Seymour, owner of a USAC Silver Crown car and one of the great sprint car owners of the �70s and �80s, died early Friday morning after a summer-long illness. His cars were driven by Billy Cassella during the �70s, then by Sheldon Kinser, Bentley Warren, Eddie Leavitt, Ken Schrader and Rich Vogler, among others. Mr. Seymour, of Marlboro, Mass., was tied for eighth in USAC Silver Crown victories with six and won the championship in 1976 with Cassella aboard. He was also the first three-time entrant winner of the Tony Hulman Classic at Terre Haute, Ind., with George Snider (1971), Bruce Walkup (1972) and Leavitt (1980). Visitation is 4-8 p.m. Sunday and 4-8 p.m. Monday at John Rowe Funeral Home in Marlboro. Burial will be Tuesday morning. He is survived by his wife, Ellie, racing sons Bobby and Mike, three daughters and a number of grandchildren.
Billy Pauch captured the Stoops Freightliner/USAC sprint car 30-lap feature Friday night at Williams Grove (Pa.) Speedway, followed by Lance DeWease, Tony Elliott, Bill Rose and Terry Pletch. Brian Tyler, the series point leader, finished 12th and Doug Kalitta, who was second in points, finished 16th. Fast qualifier Dave Darland was one of nine drivers who flipped during the night, his coming while leading on Lap 19. Brad Marvel, who also flipped, was hospitalized with back pain.
Shelby Pro Series driver Sherif Fothy was taken to University Medical Center Friday, examined and released after an accident during practice. USAC Formula Ford 2000 drivers Ollie Besinger and Cory Witherill were examined and released from the LVMS first-aid station after an accident this morning.
IRL morning practice notes:
#5 Arie Luyendyk is fastest of the session at 226.757 miles per hour, followed by #21 Roberto Guerrero (224.598), #10 Mike Groff (224.252) and #4 Richie Hearn (224.039), all reaching 224-plus for the first time.
MIKE GROFF: "This morning was a continuation of what we learned yesterday. We were definitely down on the charts when we got here, but that was to be expected because we did not test here. We made some changes overnight and have continued to chip away at it. This is just my second race with this team and things are now starting to jell. For qualifying, the only thing we know is that it'll be hotter. But you have to guess at what that'll do to the race track. Everybody out here will make a couple of guesses this afternoon and a couple of gambles. It's pretty appropriate being here in Las Vegas that you have to do that."
Stan Wattles drew on his experience as a glider pilot Friday when he drove his McCormack Motorsports entry at more than 200 miles per hour for the first time. He said turbulence created by other cars was similar to the prop-wash from glider tow planes. He logged about 250 solo miles in 1991 and 1992 over the skies of Connecticut and hopes to complete license requirements "when I get some free time. I used to �box' the prop-wash and then come down through it. It shook the glider all over the place, and this is very similar in feel, when you get around another car. It's pretty exciting. It makes for some moments sometimes. At least up in the air behind the tow plane. I didn't have any rocks smacking off my visor and helmet. But it's pretty wild and a lot of fun."
At a press conference this morning in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Media Center, world cycling champion and Tour de France winner Greg LeMond and Miller Brothers Racing announced that LeMond has joined team owner John Miller and Indy Lights/Toyota Atlantic bound Steve Knapp on the newly expanded 1997 Miller Brothers Racing Team. LeMond will drive in the team's Indy Lights effort. "It's an honor to be on this team," LeMond said this morning. "When I retired from bike racing two years ago, the closest thing I found to that is car racing. Don't look for me to be where Steve is right now. Give me time. I've only had about 16 days in the car." From Steve Knapp: "Being matched up with Greg is incredible. We ran at Blackback (Farms, Rockford, Ill.) last year and he wasn't far off my speed then." LeMond then said: "There's a little more horsepower here than the Tour de France. I'd like to do anything in car racing. I'd love to be driving Indy cars but that's a far-off dream...maybe someday." About similarities between the Tour de France and auto racing, LeMond said, "In the Tour de France, you're doing 40-50 miles per hour in a group of about 60 guys going downhill. I think the similarities are learning the course and knowing it well and knowing your tactics."
A spokesman for the #96 A.F. Motorsports entry said before Noon that the car was too badly damaged by the crash during practice to repair this weekend and is out.
IRL Qualification Notes:
ARIE LUYENDYK: "It went good. The car is much the same as this morning. It had a little hiccup coming out of (Turn) 4. The track is nice to drive on. Yesterday was a perfect day to be out here. It's going to be a long race. It's fun. The track felt a little more slippery today with the heat." (About the fast lap): "Smooth as possible and not turn the wheel too much and flat-foot all the way around. We have a real good aerodynamic package on the car. I knew how fast everyone had done so I knew what I had to shoot for. It's a new track to everyone. The only one used to the sand here is Robby Gordon (from off-road racing). He'll be good in the first two laps. If you get up too high in the groove, it will bite you. Every lap will be different." (About passing): "Anywhere...inside...outside...through the middle of two cars. I don't think there's any particular groove. There're many grooves." (Regarding stress on cars): "These cars are pretty strong. I don't think we'll have any problems here. The track is smooth...not like Michigan." (About races speeds): "Tough to know...mid-(2)20s. It depends on traffic and it depends on how fast you want to go."
JOHNNY O'CONNELL: "We were the first to qualify in Orlando so it's great to do the same here. We have a terrific race car. It handled beautifully. I feel we were faster than we showed. Las Vegas is a fun town, a gorgeous track, fast. Any race we run here will be great."
BUDDY LAZIER: "I wish we had more time to practice. I'm a bit frustrated now, breaking the upright in the same place two times. You can't afford to lose that kind of time to 2 � hours. There's no room for mechanical errors. This course is great. It's designed well and will work really well with the new formulas next year. Today's track was different from yesterday...track temperature, sun, wind...much different than yesterday. I started to feel it wiggle when I went into the turn. Every driver wants to slow down and save everyone money. But you can't do that in a turn. By the time I got out (of the throttle) and shut it down, the tire was in the air and it came down and broke the upright (in practice)." (About upright problems): "This may be a trend. We'll see tomorrow if a lot more go."
JOHN PAUL, Jr.: "Very satisfied with today. We did a motor change. 219 is about where we should be. We're just trying to get the points toward the championship. We're looking forward to �97. It's a blast driving around this track...lots of fun."
DAVEY HAMILTON: "Definitely happy. Third quickest behind Arie and Hearn. A.J. (Foyt) sent me a great car. Tomorrow we'll tell. 300-mile race...anytime it feels good to be up front. It doesn't necessarily mean you're going to win. There're lots of passing aspects on this track...three wide. It should be a very exciting day tomorrow. I'm proud to be one of the first here."
JOHNNY PARSONS: "My best lap was not the best with the sun heating up the track. The car feels good, though. I'm happy to be in the top 20. I look at this as a long race, an enduro 300. We're ready. I love this track. Of course, I always love the high-speed tracks. I'm excited to be at the inaugural race."
ROBERTO GUERRERO: "In the a.m. we did okay. The track is very smooth, very fast."
TONY STEWART: "Second is better than 12th. We'll take it. We've been behind the eight-ball all day. Some teams have 100 laps on the track. We have maybe 40 laps if we're lucky. No practice time makes it difficult but we know what works. That helped in qualifying today. A two-car team is an advantage. We share information and help each other out. We changed setups this morning and shouldn't have. This is the last race for the Menard (engine) so this is a big race for us. This track is unreal. Next year, when completed, when we come back, it'll be great."
STAN WATTLES: "We're happy with qualifying. The heat affects downforce and is hard on drivers as well. This is an awesome track, an incredible facility."
J.C. CARBONELL: "I'm happy to be here, happy to be with IRL. The car was geared too long. Looking better tomorrow. First time on 1.5-mile oval. Like to drive fast. The track is biggest in USA (that he's run)...a beautiful track."
EDDIE CHEEVER: "It was just an engine failure. Unfortunately, we took the green. Well, we're just glad to be here. We're still working on a new team. It's coming together. Tomorrow's race will be very long."
ROBBIE BUHL: "The car handled great. It was faster than it showed. We have a great group of guys." (About the track): "It's a beautiful race track, a fun town. The track lends itself for great racing for both NASCAR and IRL. I don't think the guys are locked into the groove on the track yet, so that should make it exciting for the drivers and the fans tomorrow."
SCOTT SHARP: "Yesterday afternoon, we slowed down a little bit. And also this morning. Then in qualifying, we ran a 222. I think we're in pretty good shape for tomorrow for the race. Since testing, the track has been pretty consistent. There's a little more rubber being laid down, which helps out. There are three or four grooves out there and I think you'll see a lot of passing out there tomorrow."
MICHELE ALBORETO: "I don't think the run as very good. We have popoff valve problems. It was open during my qualifying run. We had good speed yesterday, so I as very confident until today. I'm very pleased to be here in Las Vegas after 15 years ago in F-1. This facility is fantastic."
BUZZ CALKINS: "We are kind of disappointed right now. We're lacking mechanical grip on the car so you're trying to get the drag out of it. It's been an uphill battle so far. These two qualifying laps were the first time I've been able to get the car faster since we had the problem with the grip. But we're looking onward and forward to tomorrow."
AFFONSO GIAFFONE: "I'm very happy to be here. The facility is very beautiful. We want to bring the car home safely tomorrow and survive the race. We hope to do well and look forward to the future."
ELISEO SALAZAR: (NOTE: He touched the wall on the warmup lap): "I'm not very happy. We had made some changes this morning and the car got a little bit loose. I'm disappointed with my run. This morning, I only had about 17 minutes of green time, so it was hard to qualify. We need to concentrate on the race. I really like this track. The grip is very good."
MARK DISMORE: "We were a lot faster than our speed today during qualifying. I had popoff valve seat problems. I kept hearing it hissing in my ear during the second qualifying lap. It really screwed us. After I saw the checkered flag, I radioed into the pits and told them what to do to help Tony (Stewart) out on his qualifying run, so he knew what to look for out there. That's what our team is all about."
ROBBY GORDON: (before the end of qualifying): "We worked real hard on our setups the last couple of days. We were ninth earlier and now we're on the provisional pole, although I suspect Arie will go about 224 and beat me. The most important thing now is the practice session this afternoon. We're going to change the engine and put the full tanks in and work on race setups. (About qualifying): "I did a 223 this morning by myself out there, so I was sure we could do that again for qualifying. And we did. We're just getting comfortable on the track." (After the pole was decided): "I've run a lot of desert races and a little dirt doesn't bother me. I got a little push from the sand yesterday but today it seems a lot better and as there's more rubber being laid down, it'll keep getting better. The whole IRL group has been real open-armed with us. They've been really cooperative. I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow. I'll put my IRL rookie stripes on the car this afternoon for the race tomorrow."
JOHNNY UNSER: "We lost four miles an hour somewhere since this morning. I was flat-out all the way around. I don't really know what happened." (About the race): "If you're running good, the track width will give you a lot of places to pass during the race."
TYCE CARLSON: "We didn't have any practice today so our qualifying run as our first practice. I was really pleased. This is probably the smoothest race track I've been on in my life. The track is awesome."
TONY STEWART: (additional): "I just go out and run a comfortable pace during the race. It's been the small things that have taken us out of it before, so we just want to go out and be consistent." (About running NASCAR and IRL in �97): "To be honest, I want to do both series. For me personally, I'd love to go back and forth between them and I'll do it until someone tells me I can't."
MARCO GRECO: "The car was good today in comparison to the rest of the weekend. We've had a lot of problems with the turbo and with the engine and have missed a lot of laps for that reason. I think this car will be good for the race because I don't think this'll be a very fast race due to the dirt."
RICHIE HEARN: "We've been chasing a few little things this weekend, but nothing major. We didn't get quite enough time in the morning session so we had to make a couple of guesses. We really didn't guess quite right. But we feel good for Sunday to go 300 miles in this race car."
BRAD MURPHEY: (about the run): "Not fast enough. The track was fine. We made some changes...when you know there's more in the car, there's not much to smile about."
Delco Electronics Corporation and Galles Racing International jointly announced today that they will field a team in the Indy Racing League starting in 1997 with Davy Jones as a full-time driver. The announcement was made in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Media Center.
GARY DICKINSON (Delco Electronics President and CEO): "The decision to move the Delco Electronics-sponsored car to the IRL was carefully thought out by both Galles Racing International and Delco Electronics. Our company has its roots in Indiana and so does the sport of Indy racing."
JAMIE GALLES (Galles Racing International Vice President): "We're very excited to announce that Davy Jones will be our driver in the IRL next year. We've selected a G-Force chassis with an Oldsmobile engine. We have Roush (Racing) as our exclusive engine builder, and we are enthusiastic about being associated with a first class operation like the IRL. We look forward to running many races and championships in the future."
RICK GALLES (team owner): "It's great to be here. We're really proud to announce that we will be running the whole IRL series next year. As of today, we're not only going to compete in the IRL, we'll be supporting it 100%. We see the IRL principles as key concepts in our plan. We think the IRL will fit a lot of our sponsor needs. I really like the way this series is developing. There are some very good teams out there in the IRL right now, and some great opportunities. We'll be running Davy as our primary driver and are looking for another driver to complement him so we can run a two-car team all year."
DAVY JONES: "We're very excited to be on board with Galles and Delco. I'm disappointed because we're not running here, and we missed New Hampshire too. In Indianapolis this year, we were certainly treated well and greeted with open arms. We're very happy to be back in the IRL. I can't wait to get back to Indy next year. This year we have a lot of work to do developmentally on the whole package, but we certainly have the knowledge and expertise to be competitive in the series. If you look at how I did at LeMans one year (2nd) and then came back to win it the next year, I'm hoping we can do the same at Indy in �97."
TONY GEORGE (Indianapolis Motor Speedway President and IRL founder): "All of the announcements from Delco are very exciting to hear, and the announcement from Team Galles that they will be running with us next year makes us very happy. We're glad to have Davy here."
Delco Electronics also announced today that it is expanding its motorsports technology program to supply engine controllers for the Oldsmobile Division of the General Motors' Indy Racing League program. The IRL engine controllers will link to Oldsmobile Aurora V8 engines and electronically manage criterial engine control functions, such as fuel injection and spark timing. They will get their IRL racing start at the Walt Disney World 200 in January 1997. Dickinson said, "This additional motorsports application gives Delco Electronics a broader playing field on which to demonstrate its technology and capability." The engine controllers for motorsports and production vehicle use are marketed under the name "Decise."
Sean Elliott of the San Antonio Spurs will be a guest of Johnny O'Connell and the Treadway Racing team for Sunday's Las Vegas 500k. The NBA All-Star met O'Connell at the Bondurant School in Chandler, Ariz., and was a student of O'Connell at the school.
Arie Luyendyk's pole position was worth $10,000, the amount of the newly instituted PPG Pole Award on the Indy Racing League circuit. Richie Hearn claimed the first PPG Pole Award at the True Value 200 at Loudon, N.H.
Chuck Gurney led all 100 laps today to capture the 100-miler USAC Silver Crown race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. Gurney was followed by Jimmy Sills, Robby Flock, Kevin Thomas and Cary Faas. In the 25-mile USAC midget feature today at Springield, Brian Gerster led all but one lap to take the victory, followed by Kenny Irwin Jr., Andy Michner, Tracy Hines and Randy Koch. The USAC sprint car race scheduled for today at Tri-Cities Speedway in Franklin, Pa., was rained out.
Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier and stuntman Evel Knievel participated today in the unveiling of a new sponsor on the Hemelgarn Racing machine that Lazier will drive in Sunday's Las Vegas 500k. The car features an image of The Stimulator, an all-natural revolutionary drug-free product which relieves a variety of musculo-skeletal aches and pains. Knievel, another of the celebrity athlete users/endorsers, has accepted an assignment with Hemelgarn Racing for Race Day. Knievel will be in Lazier's pit.
At 3:20 p.m. during the Shelby Pro Series race, Rod Mathis in the #30 hit the wall in Turn 4. Mathis, a retired Las Vegas Metro Police Officer, was transported by helicopter to University Medical Center. Dr. Dale Carrison, LVMS Medical Director, said Mathis was in critical condition with multiple injuries.
Final IRL practice notes:
26 of the 28 starters participated in the session. Only #27 Jim Guthrie and #16 Johnny Parsons did not run.
ARIE LUYENDYK: "At the end we filled it up with fuel...a little push, but we're quite happy. We scrubbed in the tires and tried not to do too many laps."
MICHEL JOURDAIN JR. "We didn't have a good qualifying effort because we were only running on seven cylinders. But the car is very good now...and true...on full tanks. We weren't trying to go really fast, just fast. We were running on full tanks. The track gets less and less dirt as time goes on and there are two or three lines out there. It's pretty comfortable. We are completely ready for tomorrow."
RICHIE HEARN: "Moreso than the heat, the wind will be the big question tomorrow. The combination of the wind and the traffic makes the air swirl and can really upset the car. If it's windy around race time tomorrow, I'll make more changes than I'm planning right now."
AFFONSO GIAFFONE: "I finally went flat-out this session � one lap � and still didn't get the car to the brink. I'm still builiding up my confidence because I just haven't had enough laps. The car still has a pretty good push in it and we'll take some more of that out. Tomorrow, my goal is survival."
