Double Opportunity Awaits Noel at Rose Bowl
Larry Noel, who won both the Super 1600 and Ultrastock races in a Mickey Thompson Off-Road Gran Prix on the same night at the Houston Astrodome earlier this season, will try for a similar double tonight in the Rose Bowl.
The last time anyone had won two main events in a Thompson stadium event was in 1984 at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., when Glenn Harris of Camarillo won the unlimited single-seater and Super 1600 races in the same Funco.
Noel, of Concord, Calif., drives a Volkswagen Corrado and leads the Ultrastock standings by 18 points over 1988 champion Jeff Elrod of San Jose after five of the 10 events. Noel is also fifth in the Super 1600 series.
In the Grand National sport truck class, Ivan Stewart holds a commanding lead over Danny Thompson, son of the late founder of the series. Thompson, who drives a Chevrolet, ended a four-year victory drought two weeks ago in Phoenix but is still 39 points behind Stewart, who has two victories in five races in his Cal Wells-prepared Toyota.
The Ironman, as Stewart is known for his endurance racing in the desert, will have a special incentive tonight. Sean Noel, 15, of North Grafton, Mass., will be at the Rose Bowl, with the help of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Nevada. Noel, who has Hodgkin’s disease, always dreamed of four-wheeling in the desert. On Sunday, he will go riding in Stewart’s desert truck in Las Vegas.
“I’m amazed and honored that Sean’s wish was to go riding with me,” Stewart said. “It’s not everyday that someone has the ability to touch a person in such a special way.”
The tense struggle for the sport truck Manufacturers Cup will pit the Toyotas of Stewart and Jeff Huber against the Jeep Comanches of Walker Evans and Harris, the Nissans of Roger Mears and Roger Mears Jr., the Chevrolet of Thompson and the Ford of Rod Millen.
Evans is the defending Rose Bowl champion after surviving a final-turn accident last year with Robby Gordon. That accident ended with Gordon’s Toyota literally shoving Evans’ Jeep across the finish line.
Gates will open at 4:30 p.m., with the first race at 6:30.