Motor Racing : Southland Has a Good Crop of Young Drivers

A couple of decades ago, Southern California was the breeding ground of racing champions.

The roll of Indianapolis 500 champions included Troy Ruttman from Ontario, Pat Flaherty and Jim Rathmann from Glendale, Sam Hanks from Alhambra, Rodger Ward from Highland Park, Parnelli Jones from Torrance and Johnnie Parsons from Van Nuys.

World Formula One champion Phil Hill was from Santa Monica, and among his driving cohorts were Dan Gurney of Riverside, Bob Bondurant of Los Angeles and Richie Ginther of Santa Monica.

In recent years, with a few exceptions such as Rick Mears of Bakersfield, Pancho Carter of Huntington Beach and Kevin Cogan of Redondo Beach, the ranks of championship drivers have not been loaded with Southern Californians.

The cycle may be coming around, however. A number of young prospective champions not yet 30--many of whom have already won lesser championships--appear on the verge of making their presence felt at the national major league level. Some to watch:

--SCOTT ATCHISON, 25, of Bakersfield, has won the Formula Ford and Bosch Super Vee championships and will get his chance this season to do some testing in an Indy car with Andy Kenopensky’s Machinists Union team.

Atchison, a protege of the Mears family since he had Rick’s former wife as a baby-sitter, will also drive the full American Racing Series for Bill Simpson.

Atchison’s Super Vee win was in a Simpson-owned car sponsored by the Machinists. The ARS is starting its third year as a proving ground for prospective Indy car drivers.

“My ultimate interest was, and still is, to drive Indy cars,” Atchison said. “Rick’s advice to me was to go to driver schools and then run Formula Fords and Super Vees before I tried Indy cars and that’s what I’ve done. Now I’m looking forward to the next step.”

--DAVID KUDRAVE, 21, of La Canada, finished second to Atchison in the Super Vee series and but for two unfortunate races he failed to finish might have won the championship.

Kudrave, a student at Glendale College, led more laps than Atchison, 140 to 98, and more miles, 241 to 117, and won three of the last five races. A poor early season prevented him from catching Atchison, who won four races. Kudrave was named most improved driver in the series after finishing sixth in 1986.

This season, Kudrave also plans to run the ARS series with Frank Arciero’s team.

--STEVE BREN, 27, of Newport Beach, won his second straight Super Vee race at Long Beach in the 1987 season opener but then backed off his racing program to open an auto dealership. With the agency open, Bren has told associates that he would like to return to racing.

In 1986 Bren took his rookie driver’s test at Indianapolis and lapped the track at 203.5 m.p.h.

“He’s talented, no doubt about it,” praised Gurney, the former driver and car builder. “The only question I might have about him is his dedication. If he has that, he’ll make it.”

Bren’s father, Don, chairman of the board of the Irvine Co., is a billionaire developer who is near the top of the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest people in the country.

--TOM KENDALL, 21, of La Canada, has won two straight International Motor Sports Assn. Camel GTU road racing championships and will be going for No. 3 this season. This year, however, the senior from UCLA will be in a different kind of car. Kendall, who drove Mazdas the last two years, is switching to a new Chevrolet Beretta and will make his debut with it at the Grand Prix of Miami next month.

--BART KENDALL, 22, Tom’s brother and a recent graduate of Stanford, may take his brother’s old ride in the Mazda. He will be in it for the 24 Hours of Daytona, Jan. 30-31.

--TOM NIELDS, 23, of Chatsworth, won the Westpro 2000 series last year, but is looking for a series to race, since the Formula Atlantic series has folded. Nields won two classes in the world go-kart enduro championships last week at Daytona Beach, Fla.

--DAVE SIMPSON, 27, of Torrance, won the American Racing Series finale at Laguna Seca, and plans to return to the same series this year as part of his father Bill’s team with Atchison as his teammate. Bill Simpson drove Indy cars in the 1970s before retiring to start his own safety equipment firm.

--BRAD NOFFSINGER, 27, of Huntington Beach, won his second straight California Racing Assn. sprint car championship and may continue to race in the Ascot Park-based series.

He also plans to race stock cars on the Winston West circuit and will be in Australia Feb. 28 with a group of American stock car drivers who will introduce NASCAR racing to the Aussies at Calder Park, near Melbourne.

ALL-AMERICANS--Six of the 12 members of the Auto Racing All-American team are expected to attend Saturday night’s 18th annual awards banquet of the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Assn. at the Spruce Goose Pavilion in Long Beach. On hand will be Indy 500 winner Al Unser, CART Indy car champion Bobby Rahal, drag racing’s Kenny Bernstein, road racer Chris Cord, Trans-Am winner Scott Pruett and American Speed Assn. stock car champion Butch Miller. World of Outlaws sprint car champion Steve Kinser and rallyist John Buffum are out of the country, although Buffum will be represented by his navigator, Tom Grimshaw. Also honored will be Bill France, founder of NASCAR; Wally Parks, founder of the National Hot Rod Assn.; Bob Petersen, pioneer publisher of racing magazines; and Chris Economaki, editor-publisher of National Speed Sport News. Former sports car champion and car builder Carroll Shelby, who will be 65 Monday, will be the keynote speaker.

INDY CARS--Johnny Rutherford, three-time Indianapolis 500 winner, has been signed to drive a Buick-Lola in this year’s Indy race for drag racing champion Kenny Bernstein’s King Protofab team. Rutherford, 49, was released by Alex Morales in November after three years with the Alex Foods team. The Bernstein deal is for the 500 only and Rutherford will drive a new Lola powered by a turbocharged Buick V6 engine.

IROC--Geoff Bodine, defending champion in the International Race of Champions, along with fellow stock car drivers Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott and IMSA Camel GTO champion Chris Cord, are the first of 12 drivers to be named for the four-race series to begin Feb. 12 at Daytona International Speedway. The second round will be June 11 at Riverside, followed by Aug. 6 at Michigan International Speedway and Aug. 13 at Watkins Glen, N.Y.

OLD-TIMERS--Former California Racing Assn. president Walt James and Indy car driver Cal Niday will head a group of Western Racing Assn. drivers who will participate in an exhibition of antique car racing Sunday at Willow Springs. Niday, 73, will be in an Offy midget. Racing will be on a three-eighths mile dirt oval. Anyone showing up in a car or truck from 1950 or earlier will be admitted free.

OFF-ROAD--There will be a new look to some driver-truck combinations when Mickey Thompson opens his eight-race stadium series Jan. 23 at Anaheim Stadium. Walker Evans is switching from Dodge to Jeep, with Al Arciero as a teammate, and former Jeep driver David Ashley, last year’s Coliseum winner, is moving to Ford. Defending champion Jeff Huber will remain with Mazda, along with team owner Glenn Harris and rally champion Rod Millen.