John Andretti Helps Himself Into Field : Indy 500: Robby Gordon also qualifies for Foyt. Rahal is on the bubble today.

INDIANAPOLIS — John Andretti spent most of the week helping other drivers get their cars set up to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. He finally got a car of his own to drive from A.J. Foyt on Saturday.

Andretti, whose Uncle Mario will start on the front row and cousin Jeff on the sixth row, responded with four laps at a 221.746 m.p.h. average, the sixth-fastest time among the 33 qualifiers. As soon as Andretti pulled into the pits, Foyt sent Robby Gordon out and the rookie from Orange ran a steady 220.085, second fastest of the day, to make the May 30 race.

“Last Saturday (when Foyt retired) was a very sad day for me, and today is a good one,” Foyt said. “I’m so proud of these two boys.”

With rain predicted today for the final day of qualifying, Saturday became a day of bumping. Four qualified drivers, including Eddie Cheever, a front-row starter last year, were knocked from the field in a frenzy of activity late in the day when the track cooled.

If there is qualifying today, the man on the bubble is Bobby Rahal, the national Indy car champion, at 217.140. Rahal, the 1986 winner, has a backup car, but it was not running more than 217 on Friday.

When Hiro Matsushita and Willy T. Ribbs were having difficulty getting their Lola-Ford Cosworths up to the necessary speed, car owner Derrick Walker called on Andretti to sort them out.

“Last week we were confused on the setup,” Matsushita said after qualifying with an impressive 219.949. “I couldn’t judge if the car had push or was loose. John could judge the car and showed me the car would do 219. It built up my confidence.”

Ribbs, who was the first African-American to drive in the 500 when he made the field two years ago, qualified for his second race at 217.711.

“What John (Andretti) did was confirm a bad feeling in the car that I had. He came in, diagnosed it, suggested a way to cure it, for which I thank him.”

Foyt, who is Andretti’s godfather, called on him Friday to coach Gordon, who had brushed the wall on three occasions.

“Robby and John were both really under pressure,” Foyt said. “Robby after hitting that wall three times, and John not getting much time to prepare.

“Robby’s learned a lot and still has a lot to learn about this place. I’ve been here for 35 years, and it’s been that way for 35 years. That’s why it’s the old Brickyard.

“I’ve known John since he was born. I knew his daddy before that. John’s a race driver, and a driver needs to be here. There’s some guys here that shouldn’t be here, but they are because they got the sponsorships. John deserves to be here. So does Davy Jones, who came to this track as a rookie on our team. I’m proud of him, too.”

Gordon might have qualified sooner, but on his first attempt he ran out of fuel.

“Damn, I couldn’t believe it when Robby called in and said he was out of gas,” Foyt said. “I sure made sure he had enough the second time. I didn’t want to look like a complete idiot.”

Mark Smith, a rookie from McMinnville, Ore., driving Frank Arciero’s year-old Penske-Chevy, was bumped by veteran sports car driver Geoff Brabham but came back later to bump Cheever. Smith’s second speed, 217.150, could be in jeopardy if rains don’t materialize today.

Also bumped were Olivier Grouillard, a French Formula One driver, and Scott Pruett, a veteran of three Indy 500s.

Jones qualified after a three-year absence during which he drove Jaguars in sports car races in IMSA GTP competition.

“I’ve been gone so long there were times I didn’t know if I was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway or Six Flags,” said the driver from Lake Tahoe, Nev.

Among drivers hoping for an opportunity today are Cheever, Pruett, Rocky Moran, Didier Theys, John Paul Jr. and Dale Coyne’s two drivers, Eric Bachelart and Ross Bentley.

The average for the 33-car field is 219.563, far slower than last year’s record 223.479.

Tentative Indianapolis 500 Lineup

The tentative lineup for the Indianapolis 500 on May 30, listing the car number, driver, hometown or country, chassis-engine, and four-lap qualification average speed in m.p.h. Qualifying ends today:

FIRST ROW

No.Driver Home Car-Engine Speed 10. Arie Luyendyk Netherlands Lola-Ford Cosworth 223.967 6. Mario Andretti Nazareth, Pa. Lola-Ford Cosworth 223.414 9. Raul Boesel Brazil Lola-Ford Cosworth 222.379

SECOND ROW

No.Driver Home Car-Engine Speed 2. Scott Goodyear Canada Lola-Ford Cosworth 222.344 3. Al Unser Jr. Albuquerque Lola-Chevy 221.773 16. *Stefan Johansson Sweden Penske-Chevy 220.824

THIRD ROW

No.Driver Home Car-Engine Speed 12. Paul Tracy Canada Penske-Chevy 220.298 5. *Nigel Mansell England Lola-Ford Cosworth 220.255 4. Emerson Fittipaldi Brazil Penske-Chevy 220.150

FOURTH ROW

No.Driver Home Car-Engine Speed 40. Roberto Guerrero San Juan Capistrano Lola-Chevy 219.645 22. Scott Brayton Coldwater, Mich. Lola-Ford Cosworth 219.637 7. Danny Sullivan Aspen, Colo. Lola-Chevy 219.428

FIFTH ROW

No.Driver Home Car-Engine Speed 77. *Nelson Piquet Brazil Lola-Menard 217.949 11. Kevin Cogan Palos Verdes Estates Lola-Chevy 217.230 36. *Stephan Gregoire France Lola-Buick 220.851

SIXTH ROW

No.Driver Home Car-Engine Speed 21. Jeff Andretti Nazareth, Pa. Lola-Buick 220.572 8. Teo Fabi Italy Lola-Chevy 220.514 51. Gary Bettenhausen Monrovia, Ind. Lola-Menard 220.380

SEVENTH ROW

No.Driver Home Car-Engine Speed 18. Jimmy Vasser Discovery Bay, Calif. Lola-Chevy 218.967 91. Stan Fox Janesville, Wis. Lola-Buick 218.765 90. Lyn St. James Daytona Beach Lola-Ford Cosworth 218.042

EIGHTH ROW

No.Driver Home Car-Engine Speed 76. Tony Bettenhausen Indianapolis Penske-Chevy 218.034 80. Al Unser Sr. Albuquerque Lola-Chevy 217.453 1. Bobby Rahal Hilliard, Ohio Rahal-Hogan-Chevy 217.140

NINTH ROW

No.Driver Home Car-Engine Speed 25. John Andretti Indianapolis Lola-Ford Cosworth 221.746 41. *Robby Gordon Orange Lola-Ford Cosworth 220.085 15. Hiro Matsushita Japan Lola-Ford Cosworth 219.949

10TH ROW

No.Driver Home Car-Engine Speed 66. Dominic Dobson Truckee, Calif. Lola-Chevrolet A 218.776 50. Davy Jones Lake Tahoe, Nev. Lola-Chevy A 218.416 27. Geoff Brabham Australia Lola-Menard 217.800

11TH ROW

No.Driver Home Car-Engine Speed 75. Willy T. Ribbs San Jose Lola-Ford Cosworth 217.711 60. Jim Crawford Scotland Lola-Chevy C 217.612 25. *Mark Smith McMinnville, Ore. Penske-Chevy B 217.150

* Rookie. Field average--219.659 m.p.h. Record average--223.479 m.p.h., 1992