IROC Drivers Commuting to Portland

Alex Zanardi, in last place after two True Value International Race of Champions events, will start on the pole in today’s 50-lap race.

The race will start at 5 p.m., to accommodate Zanardi, Jimmy Vasser and Al Unser Jr., who will be in Portland, Ore., earlier to qualify for a CART race.

Zanardi, 1996 CART rookie of the year, practiced at California Speedway on Tuesday before heading for Portland.

“This place is really something,” he said. “It is beautiful. I think we will have a great race here.”

Asked if he would have trouble moving from a CART car on a road course to an IROC Firebird on a two-mile oval, the former Formula One driver said, “It is not a problem. For one thing, I have good cars in both places.”

The three CART drivers will go by helicopter from the Portland Raceway infield to the airport, then take a private jet to Ontario. They will then helicopter from Ontario to California Speedway.

After the IROC race, they will reverse the process.

Bobby Labonte will replace Robby Gordon, who suffered injuries in a crash Friday. Gordon was third in the IROC standings.

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David Green was coming all this way from North Carolina, and he had to bring along a backup car, so when he got to California Speedway he found a way to put it to good use.

Green, a Winston Cup rookie, merely added 100 pounds of ballast, knocked the spoiler up a tad and took the cold box off his engine, then qualified his backup car on the pole for today’s 200-mile Winston West race, the first event at the new track.

“We just wanted to get some extra laps on the track,” said Green, who turned a fast lap of 40.107 seconds, or 179.520 mph in his instant Winston West car, and wasn’t much faster in Winston Cup qualifying.

His 40.089-second, 179.600-mph lap was 34th fastest, and he’ll get another try today to make the field.

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The top five positions in the last four Winston Cup races: 16 Fords, three Chevrolets--all driven by Jeff Gordon--and Kyle Petty’s Pontiac, which finished fifth at Dover. . . . The Mighty Ducks will make their debut as a car sponsor this weekend for Ward Burton’s No. 22 Pontiac. Three Mighty Duck players--centers J.F. Jomphe and Steve Rucchin and defenseman Darren Van Impe--will serve as honorary crew members for Burton.