Americans Might Break Fast and Go a la CART

What is happening to CART?

It has only two recognizable American drivers--1991 champion Michael Andretti and 1996 champion Jimmy Vasser--and both are looking for rides.

Vasser has been dropped by Chip Ganassi’s Target team and Andretti has openly acknowledged he is considering a move (can Mario believe this!) to the rival Indy Racing League. Mario, Michael’s father, has been the most outspoken critic of the IRL.

If both left CART, an admittedly unlikely scenario as both are being pursued by other teams, it would leave backup driver Memo Gidley as the only American in the series.

What makes Andretti’s proposed defection most puzzling is that the 37-year-old second-generation driver is leading CART in points. After 13 of 20 races, Andretti has a 125-106 lead over Brazilian Gil de Ferran.

As usual, it all comes down to money.

Estimates of Andretti’s pay this year is around $6 million, making him by far the highest-paid CART driver. He has a two-year option that is alleged to kick in at $8 million next year, but Carl Haas, major-domo of the Newman-Haas team, is reluctant to renew for two years. He has offered his driver a one-year pact, which Andretti has apparently rejected.

One reason for Haas’ reluctance to commit for two years is that his team sponsorship contract with Kmart has only one year remaining and it is unlikely it will be renewed after 2001.

Within CART, Andretti is talking to Chip Ganassi, who will have two openings next year after dropping Vasser and returning Juan Montoya to Frank Williams’ Formula One program, and to Bruce McCaw of PacWest, who could enhance his chances if he landed a Honda engine contract.

The big surprise, however, is the IRL connection. Reports are that owners of Northern Light, the series sponsor, would finance Andretti’s move to Tony George’s all-oval series, in much the manner that George has bankrolled Al Unser Jr.’s defection to the IRL this year.

Vasser, winless since the season finale in 1998, will make it official today that he and Ganassi have parted company. The announcement will be made at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wis., where CART will race Sunday in the Motorola 220.

“Chip said he wants to make a change, and he thinks the change would be good for both the team and me,” said Vasser, 34. “I tend to agree. We have a lot of history together and maybe things have gotten a little stale. It should be an amicable divorce. The timing gives me the opportunity to see what options are available for next season.”

Vasser won the first of Ganassi’s four consecutive CART championships in 1996.

WINSTON WEST

Steve Portenga won the inaugural Winston West race at Irwindale Speedway last year in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. He’s bringing the same car to Irwindale for the Home Depot 250 on Saturday night.

“That Roto Rooter Chevy hasn’t run since last year’s race, but we tested down there a couple of weeks ago and we feel it’s one of our best pieces,” said the 30-year-old driver who recently moved to Bakersfield from Oakdale, Calif., to help further his NASCAR racing career.

“Bakersfield is kind of the Winston West version of the Mooresville-Charlotte hub for Winston Cup cars,” he said.

Portenga, who also won the inaugural L.A. Street Race two years ago, is third in Winston West points with four races remaining--two of them at Irwindale. He has 1,149 points to 1,343 for Brendan Gaughan of Las Vegas and 1,171 for Kevin Richards of Spokane, Wash.

“First place is a little out of range, but we can get second with some solid finishes. I’d like to run one more year in Winston West and then move on to Busch Grand National or the Craftsman trucks. The ultimate goal, ever since I began racing 16 years ago, has been Winston Cup.”

Portenga has an impressive resume. At 21 he was the youngest late model champion at Silver State Raceway in Carson City, Nev. The following season he was Southwest Tour rookie of the year, then won the series championship in 1994 and 1998. The only other two-time Southwest champion is Ron Hornaday Jr., now with Dale Earnhardt’s team.

“Going to Irwindale is always a great treat. It is a beautiful facility, the finest we race at. It’s like a super speedway and short track all bunched into one.

“When I won there the first time, I looked up at the stands and it looked like Daytona, there was such a packed house.

“Then I have a personal reason to like Irwindale. Pat Patterson [Irwindale vice president] is there and he helped me tremendously in ’98 when we started out as teammates. When he hurt his wrist, he turned his efforts to helping me and we won the Southwest Tour. In fact, he was my spotter at the L.A. race. That was a really important one for us. Our sponsor was Exxon Super Flo, and the big favorite was Valvoline, with Mark Martin. When we beat him, it kept our sponsorship the rest of the year.”

THREE EARNHARDTS

Just when Earnhardt fans were getting used to seeing the Big E and the Little E in the same Winston Cup race, along comes Middle E.

Kerry Earnhardt, eldest son of Dale and half-brother of Dale Jr., will try to qualify for his first Winston Cup race in Sunday’s Pepsi 400 at Michigan Speedway. If all three make it, it will be the first time a father and his two sons have competed against one another in the modern NASCAR era, post-1975.

“This is a chance to do something no one has done since Maurice and Richard Petty did a long time ago--to race against their father [Lee],” Kerry said. “My lifelong dream has been Winston Cup racing. My style and Dad’s style differ, but I try to take what I can from his experience.”

Dale Earnhardt credited longtime friend and fellow competitor Dave Marcis for getting Kerry his chance. He will drive Marcis’ No. 71 Realtree Chevrolet.

“Dave made this possible,” Dale said. “Kerry tested at Michigan after winning [an ARCA race] in Pocono in June and ran times fast enough to make the top 25 in qualifying. I talked with Dave and told him what we would like to do. He thought about it and eventually said yes.”

Said Marcis: “I’ll be there calling the shots. During the race I’ll be in the pits and during practice I’ll have my hands on wrenches making the car as good as we can get it. We’ve always enjoyed a close relationship--Dale, Richard Childress Racing and myself. This is another instance of that.”

CHP 11-99 HONOREES

Carroll Shelby and Bob Petersen, two icons of motor racing, were honored Saturday night by the CHP 11-99 Foundation at the Petersen Automotive Museum. The event was a fund-raiser for the foundation, which provides assistance to ill, injured or slain California Highway Patrol officers and their families. The 11-99 Foundation borrows its name from the CHP radio code 11-99 that signals “officer requires emergency help.”

Shelby, who went from a bib overall-wearing sports car driver to one of the world’s most renowned race car builders and team managers, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his work with the CHP 11-99 Foundation. Petersen, who founded Hot Rod magazine in 1948 and built a publishing empire before founding the museum that bears his name, received the Commissioner’s Award for his support of the foundation.

Guests included Indy 500 winners Danny Sullivan and Parnelli Jones, who celebrated his 67th birthday.

LAST LAPS

Perris Auto Speedway will be dark Saturday night to accommodate the Farmers Fair and Expo. The scheduled SCRA sprint car race has been moved to Sunday, Sept. 3, one night after the SCRA races at Ventura Raceway. . . . Harley Davidsons--700-pound, street-legal “hogs”--will race Saturday night on the tiny bullring at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. The speedway and sidecar regulars will also be on the program.

Ricky Carmichael of Kawasaki, Travis Pastrana of Suzuki and Ryan Hughes of Honda have been named to represent the USA in Motocross des Nations competition, Sept. 10, in St. Jean D’Angely, France. The U.S. dominated the event, winning 13 in a row from 1981 to 1993, but has won only once since, in 1996.

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This Week’s Races

WINSTON CUP, Pepsi 400

* When: Today, first-round qualifying, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN2); Saturday, second-round qualifying, 7:45 a.m.; Sunday, race (ESPN, 10 a.m.)

* Where: Michigan Speedway (D-shaped oval, 2 miles, 18-degree banking in turns), Brooklyn, Mich.

* Race distance: 400 miles, 200 laps.

* Last year: Bobby Labonte earned his third career victory at Michigan Speedway, beating Jeff Gordon by .865 seconds.

* Last race: Steve Park, who started 18th, drove to a five-length victory over Mark Martin at Global Crossing in Watkins Glen, N.Y. Gordon finished 23rd, ending a record run of six consecutive victories on road courses.

* Next race: goracing.com 500, Aug. 26, Bristol, Tenn.

BUSCH GRAND NATIONAL, NAPAOnline.com 250

* When: Today, second-round qualifying, 7:15 a.m.; Saturday, race (ESPN, 9 a.m.).

* Where: Michigan Speedway (D-shaped oval, 2 miles, 18-degree banking in turns), Brooklyn, Mich.

* Race distance: 250 miles, 125 laps.

* Last year: Dale Earnhardt Jr. pulled away from Jeff Gordon for a decisive victory. Earnhardt led 68 of 100 laps.

* Last race: Ron Hornaday kept Jeff Purvis at bay and won the Kroger 200 in Clermont, Ind. Hornaday, who won for the second time, is a two-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion.

* Next race: Food City 250, Aug. 25, Bristol, Tenn.

CART, Texaco Havoline 200

* When: Today, first-round qualifying, noon; Saturday, second-round qualifying, 11 a.m. (ESPN2, 2 p.m., tape); Sunday, race (Channel 7, 1 p.m.)

* Where: Road America (permanent road course, 4.048 miles, 14 turns), Elkhart Lake, Wis.

* Race distance: 202.4 miles, 50 laps.

* Last year: Broken gearbox ended Juan Montoya’s run and helped Christian Fittipaldi to first series victory.

* Last race: Penske Racing teammates Helio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran finished 1-2 in Miller Lite 200 in Lexington, Ohio.

* Next race: Molson Indy, Sept. 3, Vancouver, Canada.

NHRA, Colonel’s Truck Nationals

* When: Today, first-round qualifying, 10:45 a.m.; Saturday, second-round qualifying, 8:15 a.m.; Sunday, final eliminations, 7 a.m. (TNN, 4:30 p.m., tape).

* Where: Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd, Minn.

* Last year: John Force won for the eighth time, defeating Whit Bazemore in the Funny Car finals. Larry Dixon, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Craig Treble also were winners in their respective categories.

* Last event: Force earned his seventh victory and moved back into the Funny Car points lead at the FRAM Autolite Nationals in Sonoma, Calif. Doug Kalitta won the Top Fuel division for the third consecutive year, and Kurt Johnson took the Pro Stock category.

* Next race: U.S. Nationals, Sept. 4, Clermont, Ind.