Speedway Racing Anniversary Moves From Zero to 30
Speedway racing, which showcases alcohol-burning, brakeless motorcycles that accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, will begin its 30th season at Costa Mesa Speedway with a mixed bag of racers Saturday night at the Orange County Fairgrounds, on the smallest speedway oval in the world.
National champion Mike Faria, who stunned speedway society when he defeated world champions Greg Hancock and Billy Hamill at last year’s U.S. Nationals and then repeated in last month’s Coors Light Spring Classic, has moved to Reno and will ride only occasionally at Costa Mesa.
Faria plans to do most of his racing on Northern California tracks in Auburn and Dixon.
On the other hand, three veteran riders who campaigned last year in the British Speedway League--1992 national champion Chris Manchester of Mammoth Lakes, Josh Larsen of Monrovia and Charles Ermolenko of Cypress--plan to ride the weekly Saturday night programs at Costa Mesa, the only speedway track operating in Southern California this year.
Two-time national champion Bobby Schwartz of Costa Mesa will be a regular at his home track all season, but will miss Saturday night’s opener to attend the Greg Hancock Testimonial the same night in Coventry, England. Larsen and Hamill also will be in Coventry, where Hancock will be honored for 10 years of racing in the British League.
Hancock and Hamill are riding for Coventry this year on loan from the Cradley Heath Heathens, whose stadium has been demolished. With young Brian Andersen of Denmark, Coventry is a strong favorite to win British team honors.
Hancock, who came home to Balboa Island to win the U.S. championship in 1995, will open defense of his world title next month in Prague, Czech Republic. Hamill, the 1996 world champion from Monrovia, will be the only other American rider in the world event, although former world and national champion Sam Ermolenko of Cypress and Ronnie Correy of Fullerton are both riding in Europe.
Among the Costa Mesa regulars expected to ride Saturday night are 1987 champion Brad Oxley of San Juan Capistrano, Charlie Venegas of Riverside, Shawn McConnell of Brea and Rob Pfetzing of La Habra.
Also on the weekly program will be two-man Mission Yamaha sidecar team racing.
NHRA
Joe Gibbs, who has always been accustomed to winning, is sitting on top of the drag racing world these days.
For the first time since he became owner of a two-car, two-class National Hot Rod Assn. team in 1995, both of his drivers are in first place at the same time in Winston point standings. Going into this weekend’s Fram Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, Cory McClenathan leads in top fuel and Cruz Pedregon in funny car.
“As an owner, this is very gratifying to see both teams enjoying success,” said Gibbs, who learned about success while coaching the Washington Redskins to three Super Bowl championships. “They have worked hard to get to where they’re at.”
McClenathan, who has been runner-up three times without winning a Winston championship, vaulted into the lead after five of 23 events when he won at Phoenix and Houston. At Phoenix, he set a top-speed record of 322.92 mph, breaking his own mark set last year.
Asked how it felt to be the “King of Speed,” McClenathan said, “I don’t even consider that tag for myself; that’s something that Kenny Bernstein’s going to have forever. He’s the King of Speed and that’s the way it is. We love holding the record and we love going 320, but it would be funny to hear someone besides Kenny called that. He’ll always be the King of Speed.”
Bernstein was the first to better 300 mph in a dragster, breaking through the barrier with a 301.70-mph run in 1992 at Gainesville, Fla.
McClenathan did, however, praise Gibbs’ part in his team’s success.
“Joe’s the coach,” the Anaheim driver said. “He’s a great motivator who has shown me how to win, what a first-rate team is, and how important it is to have everyone on the team at the top of their game and on the same page.”
Pedregon, who won a funny car crown in 1992 as a rookie driver for Larry Minor, failed to win an event last year and started 1998 by failing to qualify for the Winternationals at Pomona before coming back to win two of the last three national events at Gainesville and Rockingham, N.C.
“Getting Wes Cerny to tune our Pontiac Firebird was the No. 1 goal of mine and Joe Gibbs,” said Pedregon of his new crew chief. Cerny, with Dale Armstrong, was credited with helping Bernstein be first to top 300 mph. “That was absolutely essential if we wanted to compete for the championship and go after John Force [winner of the last five funny car titles]. The guy we had to hire was Wes Cerny. Thanks to Joe Gibbs, he’s here.”
FORMULA ONE
It’s amazing what a win by Ferrari can do to what had been an otherwise boring season. Having two McLarens far out in front, with Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard apparently deciding between them who would win, wasn’t very satisfying. It wasn’t bad that a McLaren-Mercedes won, but it was how they did it that was unsatisfactory.
Then along came Argentina with Michael Schumacher leading the way in his red Ferrari with the Prancing Horse of Modena dancing on all those flags being waved by Ferrari enthusiasts. And on the podium with the German champion was surprising Eddie Irvine in third place in the other Ferrari.
Watching the red beast streaking through the tight corners, the engine of the new F300 bellowing its position at the front of the field, it was enough to make Ferrari fans dream of earlier eras, of the days when the Maestro, Juan Manuel Fangio, Niki Lauda, Phil Hill and Jody Scheckter brought world championships to the Italian marque. It was magic.
Schumacher had told anyone who would listen that Ferrari would soon be challenging the McLarens, but Hakkinen and Coulthard had looked so dominating in Australia and Brazil that few listened.
“I must admit the Ferrari’s performance was excellent,” Hakkinen admitted after losing to Schumacher.
The next Formula One is the San Marino Grand Prix on the Circuit Enzo e Dino Ferrari course April 26 at Imola, Italy.
INDIANAPOLIS 500
Seventy-five cars, with 36 drivers listed, have been entered for the 82nd Indianapolis 500. Defending champion Arie Luyendyk and 1996 winner Buddy Lazier head the entries. Opening day for practice is May 10, with pole day May 16. The race, part of the Pep Boys Indy Racing League season, is May 24. Team Menard, with defending IRL champion Tony Stewart, entered eight cars.
LAST LAPS
Bill Auberlen, who has dominated GT3 sports car racing with BMW teammate Boris Said, will move up to the faster GT2 class next weekend in the Nevada Grand Prix at Las Vegas. The Redondo Beach driver will start in the GT3 car to maintain the points lead he shares with Said after winning the Daytona 24-Hour and Sebring 12-Hour races, then switch to the GT2 for the 3 hour 45 minute race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 26.
CART, which already owns the Indy Lights racing program in addition to running its own FedEx championship car series, has purchased control of another support series, the KOOL/Toyota Atlantic.
Supersport motorcycle champion Jason Pridmore of Ventura, who has had more bad luck than good this year, plans to return to racing this weekend for the Honda Challenge of Laguna Seca. Pridmore has been sidelined since he suffered a cracked wrist and broken collarbone in a crash on the first lap of the Daytona 200 on March 8. That came two days after he had won the 750cc Supersport race only to have the Suzuki he rode for HyperCycle disqualified for having illegal engine parts. Also on the Honda Challenge program is an AMA national Superbike championship race featuring Kawasaki’s Doug Chandler, Suzuki’s Mat Mladin and Ducati’s Anthony Gobert.
Three officers from Dover Downs Entertainment Inc. have been named to the Grand Prix Assn. of Long Beach board of directors. Denis McGlynn, Eugene W. Weaver and Timothy R. Horne will replace Neil Matlins, John R. McQueen III and James Sullivan, who resigned from the GPALB board. It was recently announced that the Long Beach association would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Dover, a combination horse racing-auto racing track in Delaware.