U.S. Grand Prix Returning This Fall

Formula One opens its 2000 season this weekend in Australia with a renewed interest in the United States because of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s place on the schedule Sept. 24. Tony George has committed close to $100 million to hosting the first U.S. Grand Prix since 1991.

Interest deteriorated in recent years with no American drivers or teams involved. There still are none, but the effort being made by George to satisfy F1 czar Bernie Eccelstone has caused at least a ripple of excitement.

George not only built a 13-turn, 2.53-mile track inside the confines of the Speedway’s 2.5-mile rectangular oval, he also built 36 garages with 12 upstairs suites exclusively for F1; a new pagoda tower; and a 400-seat press building that will have 40 television booths for mostly foreign use.

The season is expected to develop into a battle between McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen, champion the last two seasons, and Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher, who won in 1994 and 1995. Schumacher was injured last season and Hakkinen won a tense battle with Eddie Irvine, Schumacher’s teammate.

Irvine has switched to the Jaguar team managed by Jackie Stewart, and Rubens Barrichello will be driving the other Ferrari this year.

The only F1 driver familiar with Indianapolis is Jacques Villeneuve, the French-Canadian who won the Indy 500 in 1995 and the Formula One championship in 1997 in a Williams-Renault. He now drives for the Honda-powered British American Racing team.

Qualifying for this weekend’s season opener at Melbourne will be shown live today at 6 p.m. on Speedvision, with the race at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

In Europe, the preseason spotlight has not been on Hakkinen and Schumacher as much as on Jenson Button, a 20-year-old rookie from England.

Button, whose biggest claim to fame is finishing third last year in British F3, has replaced two-time CART champion Alex Zanardi on Frank Williams’ BMW team.

“It’s an amazing feeling, being part of the BMW Williams F1 team,” Button told British writers after being tabbed by Williams.

He had better be good, and in a hurry. Williams has a reputation as Formula One’s toughest taskmaster. He fired Damon Hill after Hill had won the F1 championship in 1996. He gave up on Zanardi and his estimated $6-million contract after only one season. And he has Juan Montoya farmed out to Chip Ganassi’s CART team for a couple of years but presumably will bring him back to his F1 team.

“There were some problems at the beginning of the relationship that drove both parties apart,” Zanardi said of his Williams experience. “At one point, the whole thing broke down and we lost confidence in each other.”

Zanardi failed to score any points in 16 races and completed only six.

“The whole Zanardi business is still a bit of a mystery to us,” said Williams, whose teams have won seven F1 championships. “There are many theories about what went wrong, but I don’t know why coming back to F1 didn’t work for him, and I don’t want to say what I think. In the first four or five races, Alex certainly had some mechanical difficulties, but very few after that. I spoke to him just a week ago, and there was no rancor.

“I would have to say that Alex was blindingly good with sponsors and with the people on the team, but the bottom line was that the results weren’t there.”

Although several CART teams have sought Zanardi’s services, the Italian veteran says he has not made any decisions for 2000.

WINSTON CUP

Bill Elliott, who has driven Fords his entire 24-year career, will switch to Dodge next year. An announcement is expected today on Elliott joining Jeff Gordon’s former crew chief, Ray Evernham’s new Dodge team in Winston Cup in 2001. Elliott will continue to race his Ford this season. He has won 40 Winston Cup races.

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Parity is the lifeblood of NASCAR so it should come as no surprise that Chevrolets will get aerodynamic help in their battle with Fords and Pontiacs, beginning with Sunday’s Cracker Barrel 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Ever since five Fords swept the Daytona 500, Chevrolet owners and drivers have lobbied for a rule change. They got it after Dale Earnhardt’s eighth-place finish Sunday in Las Vegas was Chevrolet’s best.

The new rule will permit a two-inch extension of the Monte Carlo’s front air dam, an opening below the bumper that funnels air beneath the car.

It is the latest in the continuing banter between manufacturers. Only a couple of years ago, the new Ford Taurus was having difficulty competing with the Chevies and cries of anguish came from Ford owners.

For this season, Chevrolet brought out a new Monte Carlo, Ford made some alterations and Pontiac stood pat with last year’s model. Fords have won two races, Pontiac the other.

One driver the new rule might help is Gordon. The three-time champion has not had a top-five finish in his last eight starts, his longest such streak since becoming a Chevrolet Winston Cup driver.

INDIANAPOLIS 500

The announcement from Indianapolis that defending 500 champion Kenny Brack had entered a car in the race with former boss A.J. Foyt stirred rumors that the Swedish driver might defend his title, even though he now drives in the CART series.

Not so, insists Bobby Rahal, who has Brack under contract.

“The entire Team Rahal organization, including our drivers Kenny Brack and Max Papis, are focusing our energies entirely on winning the CART FedEx championship,” Rahal said.

“We felt that running at Indianapolis would only detract resources, manpower and energy from our primary goal. Neither of our drivers will race at Indianapolis without Team Rahal.

“As a former Indy 500 champion I understand how unique it is for the defending champion to not race at Indy. I think it is a great gesture on the part of A.J. that he has offered Kenny a symbolic means to be involved in the race.”

DAYTONA 200

AMA Superbike champion Mat Mladin, an Australian who lives in Chino Hills, came within .014 of a second of winning the Daytona 200 last year, losing a drafting battle to Canadian Miguel Duhamel after 200 miles. On Thursday, the Suzuki rider missed winning the pole for Sunday’s race--the most important motorcycle race of the year--at Daytona International Speedway by .008 of a second.

“I’m getting closer,” said Mladin after fellow Australian Troy Bayliss won the pole on a Ducati. “I’m locked in on the front line. That’s good. I’d like to win this race; it’s one I haven’t won.”

LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX

Although the world’s fastest beach party, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 16, is more than a month away, construction already has started on the 11-turn, 1.97-mile circuit south of Ocean Boulevard.

The course will be slightly different from last year to accommodate the Queensway Bay project.

Dwight Tanaka and his 44-man crew have begun putting 10,250-pound concrete blocks into position, each fitted with debris fence poles and cable. The three miles of fencing will be strapped in place for a safety system protecting both spectators and drivers. Tire crash barriers will be added to minimize car crash damage.

“We put it all together in just nine weeks,” said Tanaka. “Then, when the checkered flag falls, we take it all down and get it all ready for next year.”

LAST LAPS

Troy Cline, winner of the last Sprint Car Racing Assn. event at Perris Auto Speedway, will try for a second win there Saturday night after last week’s show was rained out. Starting next week, Cline will concentrate on the Winston West season, which begins March 18 at Phoenix. . . . Anyone who remembers when cars had running boards, wind wings and hood ornaments will enjoy this weekend’s March Meet Nostalgia drag races at Bakersfield’s Famoso strip. Only vehicles from 1972 and earlier are eligible. Three days of racing, sanctioned by the Goodguys Vintage Drag Racing Assn., will feature 12 classes.

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This Week’s Races

WINSTON CUP

Cracker Barrel 500

* When: Today, first-round qualifying, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 2 p.m., tape); Saturday, second-round qualifying, 8:30 a.m. (ESPN2, 3 p.m., tape); Sunday, race (ABC, 1 p.m.)

* Where: Atlanta Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.54 miles, 24 degrees banking in turns), Hampton, Ga.

* Race distance: 500.5 miles, 325 laps.

* Last year: Jeff Gordon won, beating Bobby Labonte by 2.5 seconds. It was Gordon’s second straight win at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

* Last race: Jeff Burton won the rain-shortened CarsDirect.com 400 in Las Vegas. NASCAR stopped the race after 148 of a scheduled 267 laps.

* Next race: Mall.com 400, March 19, Darlington, S.C.

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BUSCH GRAND NATIONAL

Aaron’s 312

* When: Today, second-round qualifying, 7:15 a.m.; Saturday, race (ABC, 10 a.m.)

* Where: Atlanta Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.54 miles, 24 degrees banking in turns), Hampton, Ga.

* Race distance: 312.62 miles, 203 laps.

* Last year: Dave Blaney was awarded the win over Mike Skinner, who used an unapproved engine part and was bumped to 43rd place.

* Last race: Jeff Burton got his 11th Busch Series victory in the Las Vegas 300 after leader Mark Martin got caught behind Jack Sprague’s spinning car.

* Next race: SunCom 200, March 18, Darlington, S.C.

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FORMULA ONE

Australian Grand Prix

* When: Saturday, qualifying; Sunday, race, 7 a.m. (Fox Sports Net, tape).

* Where: Albert Park Circuit (3.28 miles), Melbourne, Australia.

* Race distance: 190.24 miles, 58 laps.

* Last year: Eddie Irvine won for the first time on the Formula One circuit, upsetting Michael Schumacher.

* Next race: Brazilian Grand Prix, March 26, Sao Paolo.