Biffle and Busch Make the Most of Truck Stop

By SHAV GLICK

Oct. 28, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

FONTANA —

NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck series, which serves a dual purpose as a proving ground for young drivers and a place for old-timers to continue their racing careers, concludes its sixth season today with the Motorola 200 at California Speedway.

The younger generation is headed by Greg Biffle, 29, and Kurt Busch, 22, both part of team owner Jack Roush’s stable of Ford stock car drivers.

Biffle, the newly crowned champion from Vancouver, Wash., will be moving on next year to drive a Busch Grand National car and, hopefully, a Winston Cup car in two years. Busch, the Las Vegas charger who has clinched rookie-of-the-year honors, is jumping straight to Winston Cup, where he hopes to earn his second rookie award.

Busch, Featherlite Southwest Tour champion in 1998, took advantage of cool weather Friday to lap the two-mile D-shaped oval at a truck-record 177.388 mph. The top five qualifiers all bettered the track record of 173.561 set last year by Andy Houston. A morning rain delayed the start of practice for several hours, but the track dried out in time for truck time trials.

Biffle, who clinched his title a race ago in Texas, was third fastest at 176.151 mph in his Grainger Ford.

“I look on the move from trucks to Busch as more of a lateral move than moving up,” Biffle said. “But next year the Busch races are going to be longer and the cars are going to have more horsepower so Jack [Roush] thought that was the way to go. Both series are ideal for Cup preparations.

“The trucks are a great series and can stand on their own. We had a great crowd at Watkins Glen [N.Y.] and we sold out the Kentucky Speedway with more than 65,000 seats.

“The only bad part right now is that we don’t have a Busch car to go testing and even though this is the end of one season, it’s only a little more than three months before we go to Daytona. I just hope we’re ready when the flag drops for the first race.”

Leaders of the older set are Joe Ruttman, who turned 56 Friday, and Jack Sprague, 36, who won the last two Craftsman Truck races at California Speedway in a Chevrolet and is last year’s series champion.

“There is a lot to be said for making a career out of trucks,” Sprague said. “And one of the best things is that with only 20 to 25 races, you get some time to spend with your family. I wouldn’t want to be on that Winston Cup schedule, with nearly 40 racing weekends.

“Of course, if I was only 25 and full of vinegar, I’d probably want to do it. But I’ve seen a lot of young guys go to Winston Cup and not make it and end up struggling to make the race and wind up unhappy. I’d rather stay right here and keep on racing until the day I don’t want to do it anymore.”

Sprague is the only driver to have competed in every Craftsman Truck race since NASCAR introduced the series in 1995.

Ruttman was more concerned with today’s race than about talking about another birthday.

“I don’t get too excited about birthdays,” he said. “I treat it like any other day of the year. I guess that’s because I always say, ‘You’re only as young as you feel,’ and I still feel like a kid.

“It’s real important to end the year with a strong finish. We’re going go out there and run just like we have all year.”

Ruttman, who drives a Dana Dodge, is sixth in points with 2,978, 71 behind the fifth-place Sprague. In 23 races, he has three wins and a series-leading eight poles.

On Aug. 3, after Ruttman had won the pole at Indianapolis Raceway Park, truck owner Bobby Hamilton promised him a contract for 2001 if he could win the race. Ruttman answered the challenge and won. A few days later, Hamilton made good on his promise for the former Upland resident, so he’ll be back for at least his 57th birthday next year.

Marlboro 500 Notes

CART champ car series champion Juan Montoya bettered the track record with a practice lap of 242.253 mph, more than 3 mph faster than second-place Gil de Ferran’s 239.198. The official record of 240.942 mph was set by Mauricio Gugelmin in 1997. During practice that year, Gugelmin posted a 242.333 mph unofficial lap. Champ cars will qualify today at 10:45 a.m.

Rookie Oriol Servia was fined $20,000 for infractions during the Oct. 15 race in Australia. The PPI Motorsports driver was cited for ignoring a yellow caution flag, short-cutting the course and running into Paul Tracy in an incident that knocked Tracy out of the race. Servia will also forfeit the championship points he earned with a ninth-place finish.

Cal Wells, owner of PPI, and Toyota jointly announced the end of their 19-year motorsports relationship. The partnership will end after the Baja 2000, Nov. 9-16, in which Ivan Stewart and Larry Roeseler will drive the Toyota Tundra trophy truck. Servia and Cristiano da Matta are Wells’ CART drivers.

Wells said he would not have an announcement for “a week to 10 days” on the future of his champ car operation but that prospects were encouraging.

Car owner Chip Ganassi announced that two international Formula 3000 drivers, Bruno Junquiera of Brazil and Nicolas Minassian of France, would be his replacements for Montoya and Jimmy Vasser next season. Montoya will be going to Formula One and Vasser is looking for a ride. Junquiera, like Montoya, won the F3000 series. Minassian was the runner-up.

Times staff writer Martin Henderson contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Fontana Facts

TODAY

* 7 a.m. Gates open.

* 8 a.m. CART practice

* 9:15 a.m. Indy Lights practice.

* 9:30 a.m. Adrian Fernandez Walk of Fame presentation at Gate 14.

* 9:45 a.m. CART Legends autograph session at Toyota Terrace outside Gate 16.

* 10 a.m. Pace car on track.

* 10:45 a.m. CART qualifying.

* 12:45 p.m. Grid NASCAR Craftsman Trucks.

* 12:45 p.m. Introduce grand marshal, Shane Mosley.

* 12:47 p.m. Driver introductions.

* 12:56 p.m. Invocation by Pastor Dave Stocklein from Inland Hills Church.

* 12:58 p.m. National anthem by country singer A.J. Wright.

* 1 p.m. NASCAR Craftsman Truck race.

* 3:15 p.m. Pace car on track; CART driver autograph session at team motor-coach area.

* 4 p.m. Indy Lights qualifying.

* 5:05 p.m. Historic champ car parade.

SUNDAY

* 7 a.m. Gates open.

* 7:45 a.m. Indy Lights warmup.

* 8:50 a.m. Pace car on track.

* 9:30 a.m. Indy Lights race.

* 10:40 a.m. Champ car legends parade.

* 10:45 a.m. Pace car on track.

* 10:53 a.m. Introduction legends of CART.

* 11 a.m. Grid CART cars.

* 11:27 a.m. Invocation by Father Phil De Rea from CART Ministries.

* 11:28 a.m. National anthem by Christian recording artist Patti Cabrerra.

* 11:30 a.m. Marlboro 500 presented by Toyota.

MOTOROLA 200 LINEUP

Starting lineup for today’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Motorola 200, with driver’s truck number in parentheses, make of truck and average lap speed in mph:

1. (99) Kurt Busch, Ford 177.388

(track record; previous record 173.561, Andy Houston, 1999)

2. (60) Andy Houston, Chevrolet 176.605

3. (50) Greg Biffle, Ford176.151

4. (1) Dennis Setzer, Dodge175.708

5. (66) Rick Carelli, Ford174.056

6. (14) Rick Crawford, Ford173.398

7. (25) Randy Tolsma, Dodge173.256

8. (2) Mike Wallace, Ford173.235

9. (44) Mark Petty, Dodge173.114

10. (18) Joe Ruttman, Dodge173.085

11. (24) Jack Sprague, Chevrolet172.911