Now Here's a Guy Who Wants Some Rain on His Parade

By SHAV GLICK

Aug. 7, 1998 12 AM PT

It’s a rare occasion when a race driver hopes for rain on race day, but Tommy Kendall is hoping for it this weekend when NASCAR will use rain tires for the first time on its Winston Cup cars on the Watkins Glen (N.Y.) road course.

“From my own competitive viewpoint, I would love to see it rain,” said Kendall, America’s most talented unemployed race driver. “I have driven in a lot of Trans-Am races in the rain, and done quite well, so I think it’s a good idea that Goodyear has come out with a rain tire for the big Winston Cup cars.”

Kendall, who won a record 11 consecutive Trans-Am sedan races and his third straight series championship last year, only to find himself without a ride when car owner Jack Roush pulled his Fords out of the series, will drive the No. 46 Chevrolet owned by Felix Sabates at Watkins Glen.

The race, on an 11-turn, 2.45-mile road course, will be the first in NASCAR’s 50-year history to be run rain or shine. Goodyear engineers introduced a rain tire during qualifying for a non-points race last year at Suzuka, Japan. Tire performance, however, is not the only concern in the rain. Teams must also be ready with windshield wipers and tail lights.

During Kendall’s streak, he won in the rain at Elkhart Lake, Wis., and Mosport, Canada, and in 1995 he won in a heavy rain at Road Atlanta.

“It’s more treacherous, sure, and the conditions are not real predictable, but it can be exciting,” he said.

Other drivers are as enthusiastic.

“I just think it’s not the thing for us to do in Winston Cup,” said Dale Jarrett, third in points behind Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin. “We don’t race anywhere else in the rain. The weather may affect us there, but no more so than a lot of places we go and we wait it out.”

Martin feels the same way.

“I have a very negative opinion on racing in the rain,” he said. “I actually wish it would rain on qualifying and we’d qualify in the rain. I have a little bit of experience driving in the rain and most of the guys don’t.

“I don’t plan on starting in 30th position, but if you started 30th, you may as well pull over and quit because of the spray. To me that’s somehow not quite fair and it’s not quite what we’re trying to accomplish in NASCAR Winston Cup racing, which is parity.

“The big thing is visibility. In qualifying, you’ve only got one car on the track at a time, so there’s no problem driving it. But visibility is a big problem when you’ve got 43 cars around that track.”

Goodyear has no plans to develop a rain tire for oval track races.

This will be Kendall’s second Winston Cup race this year. At Sears Point, in the season’s only other road race, he failed to qualify Sabates’ No. 46 car, but filled in for Kevin Lepage in Joe Falk’s No. 91 car.

“We had to start 43rd because Lepage qualified the car, but I had a great race and led for a couple of laps,” Kendall said. “We gambled on track position on our last pit stop and didn’t take on new tires. It didn’t work out. We gradually slipped backwards and finished 16th.”

Kendall, whose new career as a TV commentator for ESPN-ABC is flourishing, says he still hopes to get a chance at a CART or Indy Racing League ride next year.

“What I really want is a chance to test one of them,” he said. “Everyone keeps saying that 6-4 is too tall, but I’m not all that much taller than Bobby Rahal or John Paul Jr. I just want a chance to test and prove to myself and to the owners if I can do it or not. It’s frustrating not to get an opportunity to at least give it a try.”

One reason for his inactivity, he said, is that he has been picky about accepting rides.

“I decided if I couldn’t do what I wanted, I’d just sit it out,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed the time off, even though it wasn’t my choice. But as you know, racing is like taking vitamins--you need to do it every day.”

DRAG RACING

Top-fuel driver Shelly Anderson, who suffered third- and second-degree burns in a crash at Sears Point Raceway two weeks ago, is undergoing skin-graft treatment at the Sherman Oaks Hospital and Health Center.

She received third-degree burns on both ankles and her left arm and second-degree burns on her left hand when her car slammed into the retaining wall at the end of the track and exploded into flames before skidding to a stop.

“Shelly’s going to be fine, but she’s got a long road of recovery ahead of her,” said Brad Anderson, her father and owner of the Parts America team.

The 1999 NHRA schedule retains the 22 events of this year’s series, although there are several date changes.

The season will still start and end at Pomona with the Chief Auto Parts Winternationals, Feb. 4-7, and the Winston Finals, Nov. 11-14.

CART CHAMP CARS

All American Racers will debut the 1998 Eagle chassis for PJ Jones and Alex Barron in Sunday’s Miller Lite 200 at Mid-Ohio. The last time an Eagle appeared in a CART race was the 1996 finale at Laguna Seca. Since then, AAR has campaigned a Reynard chassis with Toyota power. . . . Alex Zanardi is two-time defending champion on the 2.258-mile road course in Lexington, Ohio. . . . Greg Moore, winner of the U.S. 500 at Michigan, has been taken off probation by chief steward Wally Dallenbach, but Paul Tracy remains on.

LAST LAPS

The Pep Boys Indy Racing League will not return to New Hampshire International Speedway next year. Both the sanctioning body and the track said that lack of attendance prompted the end of the association after three years.

Sean Woodside of Saugus, who drives the Ray Claridge-owned Golden West Motorsports Pontiac, will collect $10,000 for winning the second leg of the Winston West series. Kevin Harvick of Bakersfield, who won three of five races, will receive $6,000 as runner-up.

Mark Tuttle has been elected to succeed Cary Agajanian as chairman of the board of the American Motorcyclist Assn.’s pro racing division. Agajanian will become vice chairman. . . . Charles Strang, former chief engineer for Kiekhaefer Corp., has been named national commissioner for NASCAR, succeeding the late Bunky Knudson.

A memorial for Skip Hudson, a pioneer sports car driver who won numerous road races, will be held Aug. 19 at 5 p.m. at Dan Gurney’s All American Racers headquarters, 2334 S. Broadway, Santa Ana. Hudson, 67, died June 27 of cancer at his home in Dana Point.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

This Week

NASCAR, WINSTON CUP

The Bud at the Glen

* Schedule: Today, first-round qualifying, 11 a.m. (ESPN2); Saturday, second-round qualifying, 7:45 a.m. (ESPN2, 5 p.m.); Sunday, race, 10 a.m. (ESPN).

* Track: Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y. (road course, 2.45 miles, 11 turns).

* Race distance: 220.5 miles, 90 laps.

* Defending champion: Jeff Gordon.

* Next race: DeVilbiss 400, Aug. 16, Brooklyn, Mich.

NASCAR, CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

Stevens Beil-Genuine Car Parts 200

* Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 10 a.m.; race, 1 p.m. (TNN).

* Track: Flemington Speedway, Flemington, N.J. (oval, 0.625 miles, 6 degrees banking in turns 1 and 2, 8 degrees in turns 3 and 4).

* Race distance: 200 miles, 125 laps.

* Defending champion: Ron Hornaday.

* Next race: Federated Auto Parts 250, Aug. 15, Nashville.

CHAMPIONSHIP AUTO RACING TEAMS