Carter wins Indy legends event.

The path to the Indianapolis 500 included stops at American short tracks such as Devil's Bowl Speedway, Ascot Park and Williams Grove Speedway for many racers. Pancho Carter dug out a few tricks learned at such speedways Sunday afternoon to capture the inaugural Firestone Heroes of Indy at Texas Motor Speedway.

Carter rocketed from eighth starting position and took the lead at the end of the first lap utilizing bold, outside groove passes. Once in front, the former United States Auto Club midget and sprint car champion led all 25 laps around the quarter-mile asphalt oval to post a 1.15-second victory.

The Firestone Heroes of Indy pitted 10 Indianapolis 500 greats against each other driving Thunder Roadsters that resembled the famed Indy 500 roadster.

"I had to take some chances at the start to have a shot at winning," said Carter. "I determined ahead of time that I would go for any holes that opened up in front of me. Maybe everybody moved over for me, but there was room between the other cars and the wall so I decided to go for it."

Seventh-starter Tom Sneva made a quick charge to the front also, moving past Lloyd Ruby for second by the third lap. However, Sneva's strong challenges to Carter fell short despite a few pushes with his front bumper.

"I had a lot of fun," said the first driver to top 200 mph at the Brickyard. "It was a ball. Everybody was beating and banging on one another. We put on a pretty good show for the fans. I was a little loose and I had to be real careful getting in the corners. I just needed a few more laps."

Johnny Rutherford recovered from a lap 17 incident to take the show position. A total of five caution flags slowed the action. Parnelli Jones, the 1963 Indy 500 winner, was spun out three times during the race by competitors.

The Firestone Heroes of Indy included a Saturday night dinner featuring "Mom" Unser's chili, a long-time Indianapolis 500 highlight.

FIRESTONE HEROES OF INDY RESULT

Race Finish:
1. # 3 Pancho Carter 25 laps
2. # 5 Tom Sneva 25 laps
3. # 4 Johnny Rutherford 25 laps
4. #20 Gordon Johncock 25 laps
5. #18 Lloyd Ruby 25 laps
6. #14 Jim McElreath 25 laps
7. # 2 Bill Vukovich II 25 laps
8. #30 Arie Luyendyk 25 laps
9. #98 Parnelli Jones 25 laps10. #15 Scott Goodyear 17 laps - Mechanical

Lap Leaders: 1-25 Carter