Another Way to Keep Track of McGwire

Mark McGwire won’t be here this weekend for NASCAR’s tripleheader at California Speedway, but one of his cars will.

The St. Louis Cardinal slugger and five other major league baseball players are partners in the Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by veteran Bobby Hillin, who is entered in Sunday’s Busch Grand National race, the Kenwood Home & Audio 300.

Race fans at Friday’s Busch qualifying and Sunday’s race will be kept up to date on McGwire’s pursuit of Roger Maris’ home run record of 61 by checking the rear decklid and lower quarter-panels of the car. The number of McGwire’s homers will be prominently displayed and changed each time he hits another one.

Other partners include third baseman Gary Gaetti--McGwire’s teammate--and former Cardinal catcher Danny Sheaffer; pitchers Andy Benes of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Pete Schourek of the Houston Astros; and first baseman Hal Morris of the Kansas City Royals.

It was Gaetti who led the move to become NASCAR car owners.

“When Bobby [Hillin] first introduced us to the world of stock car racing, I knew right away that just being a fan wasn’t going to be enough,” Gaetti said. “By the time he asked me to become a partner in Hillin Racing, I was eager and willing to sign on the dotted line.

“We talked about doing this for several years, but until this season the timing was never right. After I signed with the Clean Shower team, the [other] guys jumped in feet first.”

In 1986, Hillin became the youngest driver in the modern era to win in Winston Cup on a superspeedway when he won the Talladega 500 at age 22. It was his only Cup win and in recent years he has concentrated on the Busch series. He has two wins and six top-five finishes in 41 Busch starts.

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Ken Schrader, who won the only two Winston West races at California Speedway, has elected to skip this one, leaving the race wide open among season regulars such as point leader Sean Woodside of Saugus, Kevin Harvick of Bakersfield and defending series champion Butch Gilliland of Anaheim.

Today’s qualifying for the California 200 Winston West race will not be open to the public. The race is Saturday, after the No Fear Challenge 200 for Craftsman Trucks.

Making it a homecoming of sorts will be Lance Hooper, the 1996 Winston West champion from Palmdale, who moved to North Carolina to pursue a Winston Cup career. Hooper will drive a Pontiac owned by Richard Jackson of Denver, N.C., and will also be in the Busch Grand National race in a Jackson-owned Pontiac sponsored by World Championship Wrestling.

“I’ve never even seen the Fontana track, but I guess you could still call it my home track,” said Hooper, who left Palmdale in December 1996 before California Speedway was completed. “I drove all over Southern California and have a lot of friends here, so I hope playing at home will be an advantage, the way it is in other sports.

“I have raced at Daytona, Talladega, Michigan, Texas, Atlanta, Charlotte and Las Vegas, so I’m hoping that my superspeedway experience will give me another advantage over many of my Winston West competitors.”

In 1996, Hooper became the first rookie to win the Winston West title while driving for Ray Claridge’s Golden West team. This will be his first Winston West race since then.

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The Winston West will have something of a Far East flavor when Keiichi Tsuchiya of Japan and Dean Wanless of Australia try to qualify. It will be Tsuchiya’s first Winston West race, although he finished 11th in the NASCAR Thunder Special in November at Suzuka City, Japan.

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NASCAR Tripleheader

WHAT: NASCAR Winston West, Craftsman Trucks and Busch Grand National races at California Speedway, Fontana

WHEN: Today through Sunday

SCHEDULE

* Today: Winston West practice, 1:30 p.m., qualifying, 5 p.m.

* Friday: Winston West practice, 9:30 a.m.; Craftsman Truck practice, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.; Busch Grand National practice, 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Craftsman Truck qualifying, 3:30 p.m., followed by Busch Grand National qualifying.

* Saturday: Busch Grand National practice, 8:30 a.m.; No Fear Challenge 200 (100 laps) for Craftsman Trucks, followed by Winston West race.

* Sunday: Kenwood Home and Car Audio 300 (150 laps) for Busch Grand National cars, 1 p.m.

TICKETS: Today--no public sale. Friday--reserved $15, general admission $10. Saturday--reserved $40, general admission $30. Sunday--reserved $45, general admission $35. Recreational vehicles for weekends, $50 to $150.