Wells' Team Finally Gets Ride Down Victory Lane

By MARTIN HENDERSON

Aug. 4, 2000 12 AM PT

The long wait is over.

After five years and 153 starts in the CART Championship Series, Cal Wells III’s dreams of victory finally became reality Sunday at Chicago Motor Speedway in the Target Grand Prix.

Wells, the owner of PPI Motorsports in Rancho Santa Margarita, and the driver who provided him with that victory, Cristiano da Matta, remembered the steep price of victory in their moment of glory.

Da Matta, a diminutive Brazilian, dedicated the victory to Jeff Krosnoff, a driver he never met, and Wells remembered the man whose life ended only 11 races into his first season.

“It has been a long road for us, which makes this victory all the more sweet,” said Wells, who watched da Matta hold off Michael Andretti Sunday for the victory. “This is a very special moment. Words cannot even begin to describe it.

“After we lost Jeff Krosnoff, the guy we all knew would be the future of this team and the engine program, we focused on building something that would honor his memory and what he, along with us, was trying to accomplish. Max [Papis] did a tremendous job stepping in and really helped keep this team and keep this program together and moving forward. For Jeff, success in this journey is the best tribute there is.”

Krosnoff was killed in a racing accident in Toronto in 1996, the darkest moment in the history of the fifth-year Toyota engine development racing program.

But this season, PPI has become one of the series’ more competitive teams. Da Matta’s victory moved him into fourth place in the series with 82 points, seven behind third-place Gil de Ferran with eight races remaining. Da Matta’s 82 points are 22 more than he and former teammate Scott Pruett combined for all last season. The highest any Wells’ driver has placed previously was 18th.

“The potential for success has been there, and finally everything is coming together to prove that we are a championship-caliber team,” Wells said. “We’ve got consistency on our side, and with one [win] in the books, the will to earn our next win has only gotten stronger. We will, as Jeff Krosnoff always said, ‘Stay hungry.’ ”

Though da Matta is not likely to forget being thrown in the air by his celebrating crew like some ragamuffin in a mosh pit, the 1998 Indy Lights champion’s most memorable moment came after the final pit stop, when he emerged in first place with a lapped car between himself and Andretti, and bolted to a lead of more than four seconds on the restart.

“[That’s] when I won the race, not when I took the checkered flag,” da Matta said. “I was able to go at almost qualifying pace, while those [contenders] were in traffic. That was the key to the race for me.

“It’s been almost two years since my last win, and it’s good to refresh in your mind what it is to win a race.”

SHOW HIM SOME CHAMPAGNE

Alex Gurney finally got to partake in a tradition his father, Dan, started more than 30 years ago at LeMans--spraying champagne from the victory podium. Gurney, of Newport Beach, took third at the Player’s Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres Canada.

Driving for All American Racers of Santa Ana, Gurney trailed winner Buddy Rice and second-place PPI driver Dan Wheldon of Newport Beach.

Rice, with 120 points, leads Wheldon by 17 points in the standings.

“I had been hoping for a real good result because I have had what I think was a lot of bad luck this year,” said Gurney, who is ninth in the standings with 39 points.

Rocky Moran Jr., of Coto de Caza, finished fifth for P-1 Racing of San Clemente. PPI driver Andrew Bordin, who started second, finished 15th after colliding with another car while leading. Bordin, with 91 points, is third in the standings, and Moran is fifth with 75 with four races remaining.

* Wells announced he is phasing out his PPI Toyota Atlantic team after four seasons. The program won the championship last season with driver Anthony Lazzaro, who Wells moved into PPI’s NASCAR Grand National entry.

“We won a championship within three years, which was my personal goal for the program, and we’ve contributed to our own growth and to the CART community as a key supporter of CART’s ladder system,” said Wells, who is moving his CART operation to the same facility that houses his NASCAR shop in Hickory, N.C.

“Ultimately, we needed to weigh the value of the program against the resources required to keep it going, in light of the fact that we’ve achieved everything we set out to do.

“I’m extremely proud of the accomplishments of this program.”

INDY LIGHTS

Indy Lights rookie Townsend Bell of Costa Mesa was a fortuitous second-place finisher in the Grand Prix in Chicago.

Bell, who drives for Dorricott Racing, was in fourth place when Casey Mears and Chris Menninga crashed while racing for second place with three laps remaining.

Matching his best finish, it is Bell’s third consecutive top four finish. Bell and Mears have 59 points and are tied for third place, trailing race winner Scott Dixon, who has 77 points, and Felipe Giaffone, with 65. Bell assumed the lead for rookie of the year honors for the first time. There are six races remaining.

If you have an item or idea for the motor racing report, you can fax us at (714)966-5663 or e-mail us at martin.henderson@latimes.com

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

ON TRACK

Orange County Speedway

Through July 30

Speedway motorcycles

1. Charlie Venegas, San Bernardino: 414

2. Brad Oxley, San Juan Capistrano: 287

3. Dukie Ermolenko, Cypress: 261

4. Bobby Schwartz, Costa Mesa: 249

5. Shawn McConnell, Brea: 245

6. Randy DiFrancesco, Bakersfield: 237

8. Chris Manchester, Upland: 227

7. Andy Northrup, Alta Loma: 213

9. Eddie Castro, Ojai: 179

10. Jim Estes, Winnetka: 175

Schedule

Saturday--Demolition Derby (speedway, sidecars); 12--Kids Night (speedway, sidecars, peewee 50s, Jr. speedway); 19--Harley-Davidson Night (speedway, sidecars, Harley races and show); 26--Dan Nay Night (championship speedway, peewee 50s, Jr. speedway).

Sept. 9--Freestyle Motorcycle Jumping (speedway); 16--Skirt Night (speedway, sidecars, peewee 50s, Jr. speedway); 23--North vs. South (speedway, sidecars), 30--Sidecar State Championship (speedway, sidecars).

Oct. 7--Farewell (speedway, sidecars); 14--Coors Light U.S. National Championship (speedway).

Irwindale Speedway

Through July 30

Super Late Model

1. Greg Voigt, Goleta: 494

2. Ben Walker, North Hills: 442

3. Tim Woods, Chino: 412

4. David Brandon, Palmdale: 408

5. Tommy Fry, Simi Valley: 402

6. Shawn Brink, Lancaster: 346

7. A.J. DiMarzo, Saugus: 322

8. Brian Kelley, Arleta: 318

9. Dan Holtz, Bakersfield: 284

10. Rod Johnson, Saugus: 278

Late Model

1. James Weston, Goleta: 626

2. Todd Burns, Riverside: 568

3. Tony Green, Oak Hills : 520

4. Steve Nickolai, Simi Valley: 508

5. David Hessing, Canyon Country: 500

6. Deryk Ward, Palm Springs: 490

7. Richard Hooper, Palmdale: 464

8. Guy Goldstein, Cathedral City: 408

9. Dan DiGiammarino, Highland: 338

10. Nick Conti, Palm Desert: 298

Grand American

1. Rip Michels, Mission Hills: 382

2. Dean Kuhn, Oceanside: 368

3. Robert Rice, Hawthorne: 282

4. John Watkinson, Canyon Country: 274

5. Henry Ford Jr., Alta Loma: 258

6. Tom Topping, Los Angeles: 250

7. Steve Luecht, Chula Vista: 232

8. Jimmy White, Covina: 228

9. Travis Thirkettle, Newhall: 226

10. David Andrews, Frazier Park: 218

Super Stock

1. Jeff Green, Long Beach: 526

2. T.K. Karvasek, North Hills: 458

3. Mike Price, San Pedro: 432

4. Yagel Berkovitz, Burbank: 422

5. Tom Siebuhr, Canyon Country: 402

6. Kevin Wood, Saugus: 374

7. Greg Benner, Whittier: 340

8. Don Rogers, Simi Valley: 282

9. Doug McComb, Thousand Oaks: 278

10. Henry Miles, Palmdale: 276

Mini Stocks

1. Bob Reed, Riverside: 200

2. Terry Limberopoulos, Bellflower: 184

3. Lee Ladd, Thousand Oaks: 172

4. Rod Bornhop, Orange: 166

5. Gil Gillis, Simi Valley: 150

6. Randy Colling, Santa Ana: 140

7. Greg Tucker, Ojai: 104

8. Danny Rowe, Lake Elizabeth: 100

9. Pat Ackley, Huntington Beach: 94

10. Guy Tripp, Saugus: 92

Schedule

SaturdayNASCAR Super Late Models Twin 50s, Grand American Modifieds, American Race Trucks, Mini Stocks; 12--NASCAR Late Models, Super Stocks, Mini Stocks, Spec Trucks, Legends Cars, Figure 8s; 19--NASCAR Winston West 250, Late Models; 26--NASCAR Super Late Models, Super Stocks, Grand American Modifieds, T.Q. Midgets, American Race Trucks.

Sept. 2--NASCAR Super Late Models Twin 50s, Super Stocks, Speed Trucks, Mini Stocks; 9--NASCAR Super Late Models, Late Models, Grand American Modifieds, Legends Cars; 16--NASCAR Late Models, Super Stocks, MSRA Pro 4 Modifieds, Mini Stock cars, Figure 8s, American Race Trucks; 23--USAC Midgets, Sprint Cars, CAM 360, T.Q. Midgets; 30--NASCAR Super Late Models 100, Grand American Modifieds, Mini Stocks, Legends Cars.

Oct. 7--NASCAR Southwest Series, Super Stocks, Legends Cars; 14--USAC SILVER CROWN CARS, Sprint Cars, Grand American Modifieds; 21--NASCAR Late Models 75, ARCA Trucks, Super Stocks 50, T.Q. Midgets, Mini Stocks 25, Supermodified; 28--NASCAR Super Late Models 100, USF3 VW FORMULA 3, Speed Trucks, Legends Cars.

Nov. 3--American Race Truck practice, qualifying; 4--American Race Trucks National Finals, Speed Trucks, MSRA Pro 4 Modifieds, Mini Stock cars, Legends Cars; 11--NASCAR Home Depot Winston West 300 season finale, Spec Trucks 100; 18--Speed Trucks 100, MSRA Pro 4 Modifieds, T.Q. Midgets, Legends Cars; 23--60th Annual Home Depot Turkey Night Grand Prix for USAC Midgets, and T.Q. Midgets.

Perris Auto Speedway

Through July 30

SCRA Sprint Cars

1. Richard Griffin, Silver City, N.M.: 1414

2. Rip Williams, Yorba Linda: 1210

3. Jeremy Sherman, Phoenix: 1084

4. Ricky Gaunt, Torrance: 1082

5. Cory Kruseman, Ventura: 963

6. Tony Jones, Corona: 959

7. Mike Kirby, Lomita: 954

8. Mike English, Norwalk: 934

9. Steve Ostling, Corona: 932