Herta Plans to Get Drivers on the Go

The lack of American drivers in the CART series receives constant mention from the media and fans.

Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser and Memo Gidley are the only American-born drivers competing full-time in the series, which usually features a 26-car field for races.

Bryan Herta of Valencia was to be a full-time competitor as well, but he was relegated to substitute duties when his car owner, Gerald Forsythe, withdrew from the series in a dispute with the CART board of directors about how many CART franchises an individual could hold.

Herta has used just about every connection he has in racing to put together an event that could potentially lead to more participation in the series by Americans in future years.

The Las Vegas Karting Center, a 7/8-mile go-kart track owned jointly by Herta and one of his earliest mentors and backers, Hollis Brown, will host a sanctioned go-kart race Nov. 3-5 called Championship Auto Racing Teams Stars of Tomorrow. Winners in three classes plus two additional drivers chosen by a panel of CART drivers will each participate in a three-day class at the Skip Barber Racing school that will culminate with a test session in a champ car owned by CART interim CEO Bobby Rahal.

“It’s a way to identify the next hotshots,” said Herta, who began his career at 12 years old racing karts. “The advantage that the Europeans have over us is that they recognize talent at the karting level. We don’t recognize talent until Indy Lights or Toyota Formula Atlantic, but a lot of guys never make it that far. This is a way to keep talented drivers from slipping through our fingers.”

Herta made the announcement Saturday at Laguna Seca Raceway, between a morning practice session and an afternoon qualifying session for the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey. Joining Herta for the announcement were Rahal--for whom Herta drove from 1996-1999--Gidley, Barber, driver Paul Tracy and Al Speyer of Firestone.

“The Stars of Tomorrow allows us to reach the grass-roots level of our sport, which is the background of many of our current drivers, and provide an outstanding platform for those whose ultimate goal is the FedEx Championship Series,” Rahal said. “Having Bryan as well as some of the other stars of our series lending assistance and advice to these young drivers will prove invaluable to their learning experience.”

According to Herta, series regulars Tracy, Gidley, Alexandre Tagliani, Tony Kanaan and 1996 champion Jimmy Vasser have all committed to participate in the event, which will include a go-kart race for champ car drivers.

“A lot of champ car guys live in Vegas,” Herta said. “They all have karts and they all go to my track. We go out a lot in the off-season and go play, for no purse, but we do have fun.

“We all recognize how fortunate we are to be [racing] now, and we feel that giving these young guys the opportunity to hang out and learn would be like if we had had the opportunity to hang out with guys like Rick Mears and Emerson Fittipaldi when we were coming up.”

Said Brown: “It’s great to see Champ Car superstars getting involved to give something back to the sport. To have them giving advice to young karters and taking part in the judging is invaluable.”

The three classes have been chosen to attract the best drivers from the ages of 16 and up: Pro 125 Gearbox, Pro 80 Gearbox and Pro Superbox. There will be a Junior Superbox Class race for 12- to 15-year-old drivers, and the top-three participants will be awarded a 125cc Gearbox Driving School and a test with Paul Tracy Kart Racing.

Herta said each race will pay a purse of $1,500 cash to the winner.

“It’s really come together,” Herta said. “I’m proud of CART and I’m really proud of the open wheel racing community. We went to press and made the announcement with what we had, and there’s been a lot more involvement since then.”

For more information, visit www.lasvegaskarting.com.

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After a fourth-place finish Sunday, Herta is optimistic Forsythe will secure funding that will allow Herta to compete in the season’s final three races.

“He’s trying to secure some sponsorship to do that,” Herta said. “It’s not a lot of money. I think it’s the bargain of the series right now, because Jerry’s willing to give a lot of exposure. He’s not looking for someone to underwrite the entire cost, just to help out.”