MOTOR RACING / SHAV GLICK : It’s a $1-Million Spin Through Honolulu

6A $1-million winner-take-all race for drivers from all forms of automobile racing will be run on the streets of Honolulu on Jan. 24.

The Hawaiian Super Gran Prix, a 100-mile race on a 1.5-mile circuit around Aloha Stadium, will match 16 drivers from Formula One, Indy cars, NASCAR, sports cars and sprint cars in identical Shelby Can-Am race cars.

Michael and Mario Andretti, Al Unser Jr. and Hiro Matsushita of Indy cars; Bill Elliott and Kyle Petty from NASCAR; Michael Shumacher, Martin Brundle, Eric Comas and Riccardo Patrese from Formula One; Derek Warwick and Juan Fangio II from road racing sports cars and Steve Kinser, the World of Outlaws sprint car champion, have accepted invitations, according to Bill Marcel, former president of the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group and chief operating officer of the Hawaiian race.

All will receive $35,000 appearance money, according to Marcel.

Others invited to fill the field include Formula One champions Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, stock car drivers Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin, Indy car driver Emerson Fittipaldi and road racer Ukyo Katayama.

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears declined an invitation because he wanted more time for his injured wrist to heal before the 1993 season.

“The Shelby Can-Am cars were chosen because none of the drivers are familiar with them, and we wanted everyone to start out even,” said Derek Daly, former Formula One and Indy car driver who is in charge of car preparation and race-course design. “They put out about 255 horsepower and should reach a top speed of 140 m.p.h. on the course.

“Everyone’s first concern was safety, and after wringing them out at Willow Springs last week, I am confident that the structure and design of the Shelby Can-Am makes them a very well-built race car. They have run in competition for two years, and there have been no serious injuries involving them.”

The International Race of Champions also brings together diverse groups of drivers in identically prepared cars, but there is one major difference between IROC and the Hawaiian Gran Prix. In IROC, all cars are set up as near the same as possible by one crew, so that drivers have no input in the car’s handling. For the Hawaiian race, each driver can bring two mechanics or engineers with him to set the car up anyway he likes.

Roy Tokujo, a Hawaiian businessman involved in tourism; and Bob Kashler, a Californian who has raised funds for racing enterprises, are behind the race. Japanese financiers also are involved, which accounts for the presence of Matsushita and perhaps Katayama in the field.

“The governor (John Waihee) has been after Mr. Tokujo to bring some international flavor to Hawaiian tourism, and the race is his answer,” Marcel said. “It will be televised to 30 countries, including the United States on a pay-per-view basis.”

The Sports Car Club of America will be the sanctioning body.

Motor Racing Notes

POWERBOATS--Unlimited hydroplane racing comes to Mission Bay in San Diego this weekend with newly crowned champion Chip Hanauer and Miss Budweiser heavily favored to win their seventh race of the season in the Budweiser Cup. Qualifying and practice are Friday and Saturday with three heats and a championship final Sunday.

STOCK CARS--Ron Hornaday Jr.’s second-place finish to Dan Press in last week’s NASCAR Southwest Tour race at Saugus Speedway extended Hornaday’s points lead to 45 over 1990 champion Doug George, 2,043 to 1,998. Defending champion Rick Carelli, who finished 21st at Saugus after breaking a spindle, is next at 1,936. Four races remain. . . . Grand American modifieds take the spotlight Saturday night at Saugus in a Winston Racing Series program. . . . Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino will have NASCAR sportsman and a train race Saturday night. . . . A 150-lap mini-stock enduro and a hobby stock points are scheduled for Sunday at Bakersfield Speedway in Oildale. . . . California dirt cars will conclude their season Saturday night at Santa Maria Speedway, although Larry Lord of Riverside clinched his second consecutive title by winning last week’s main event. . . . Cajon Raceway in El Cajon will feature street and modified stocks Saturday night. . . . Street stocks and IMCA modifieds will run Friday night at Ventura Raceway.

SPRINT CARS--Wingless California Racing Assn. cars return to Bakersfield Speedway in Oildale Saturday night, with defending champion Ron Shuman back from winning A.J. Foyt’s Hoosier Hundred, a USAC Silver Crown race, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. . . . Winged cars of the World of Outlaws will end their West Coast swing with the 39th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico tonight, Friday and Saturday nights.

SPORTS CARS--More than 300 drivers are expected for the Sports Car Club of America’s 15th annual Pacific Coast Road Racing Championships this weekend at Sears Point Raceway, north of San Francisco. The Saturday and Sunday races will crown champions in 33 classes, and proceeds will benefit the Leukemia Society of America.

MOTORCYCLES--Highland’s Jeff Emig won the 125cc class on a Yamaha to lead the U.S. team to its 12th consecutive victory in the Motocross des Nations in Australia. The U.S. team, which also included Billy Liles and Mike LaRocco, beat Belgium by three points. . . . The American Motorcyclist Assn. will hold its professional awards banquet Nov. 21 at the Doubletree Hotel in San Pedro. . . . The California speedway sidecar championships will share top billing with a 25-lap endurance race Friday night at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Teen-ager Chris Manchester will be favored in the long-distance (most speedway races are four laps) event because he was won the last two.

MIDGETS--Sleepy Tripp, who won his 150th United States Auto Club main event on Sleepy Tripp Night at Ventura two weeks ago, will return to action in a western regional race Saturday night at Silver State Raceway in Carson City.

AWARDS--Emerson Fittipaldi, winner of three of the last four Indy car races, edged NASCAR driver Darrell Waltrip in third-quarter balloting for American driver of the year. They were followed by Juan Fangio, Al Unser Jr., Michael Andretti and Steve Kinser.