Test Could Establish a Pattern

In what could shape up as a preview of the Indianapolis 500 as well as the March 24 Indy Racing League 400 at California Speedway, a number of CART drivers will participate in the IRL’s “Test in the West” next week in Fontana.

Former Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack, who was unable to defend the title he won in 1999 because he’d switched to Bobby Rahal’s CART team in 2000, will be back and looking forward to another crack at the world’s biggest race. Brack has moved again, this time to Chip Ganassi’s team, to assure himself an Indy ride. Teammate Bruno Junqueira of Brazil will also be at Fontana.

Ganassi, the first major CART owner to test the 500 after the CART-IRL split in 1996, won the race in 2000 with Juan Montoya.

Rahal, who had opposed running at Indianapolis while the two open-wheel series remained apart, changed his mind when one of his major sponsors, Miller, withdrew from the CART series and said it will run only the Indy 500, with Team Rahal driver Jimmy Vasser. Vasser, who won the Marlboro 500 at California Speedway in 1999, also will be at Fontana for the test.

Brack and Junqueira will be in Chevrolet-powered G Forces, Vasser in a Dallara-Chevy. Although no announcement has been made, all are expected to compete in the March 24 race.

CART champion Gil de Ferran and defending Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves, from Roger Penske’s team, will make their first formal appearances as IRL drivers. Penske broke from CART last year to enter both in the 500 and this year made the move complete by announcing his team would run the full IRL schedule.

Castroneves, IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr. and former champions Scott Sharp and Buddy Lazier will miss Tuesday’s media day to practice in IROC cars at Daytona International Speedway. The first IROC race will be Feb. 15 at Daytona.

All four will fly back for Wednesday’s practice, which will be open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. and free of charge.

In other IRL news, A.J. Foyt named Donnie Beechler to drive his second car as a teammate to Chilean veteran Eliseo Salazar, the highest finishing IRL driver in last year’s Indy race. Beechler drove six races for Foyt last year on a race-to-race basis and had a best finish of third at Kansas Speedway.

Neither Beechler nor Salazar will be at California Speedway. They will begin practice Feb. 5-6 at Phoenix International Raceway in another IRL test.

Drag Racing

Cory McClenathan, one of the finest top-fuel drivers in the National Hot Rod Assn., but without a ride for the last year, will return to the strip next week when the 42nd Winternationals open the season at Pomona.

McClenathan, winner of 26 national events, will drive Rick Henkelman’s dragster, the same one he drove to two wins at the close of 2000. The car was purchased at that time by Brad Anderson, who is turning it over to Henkelman.

Mike Berres, of the Reading (Pa.) Eagle-Times, polled drag racing writers around the country and found that Larry Dixon, Don Prudhomme’s top-fuel driver, was favored to unseat champion Kenny Bernstein. There were no surprises in funny car and pro stock, where John Force and Warren Johnson were selected to repeat. In pro stock motorcycle, champion Angelle Savoie was only a third choice behind Matt Hines and Antron Brown. Dark horse selections were Andrew Cowin, top fuel; Gary Scelzi, funny car; Kurt Johnson, pro stock; and Steve Johnson, pro motorcycle.

Rolex 24 Hours

One of the most diverse fields in 40 years of the 24 Hours of Daytona will line up Saturday for the twice-around-the-clock spectacle. Drivers from NASCAR, CART, Trans Am and the IRL have joined sports car regulars from the Grand American Road Racing Assn.

Tony Stewart, last year’s Winston Cup runner-up, will share a ride with road racing veterans Jan Lammers and Johnny Mowlen in a V-10 Judd-powered Crawford. It will be Stewart’s debut in a sports car race, but he proved his road racing ability last year when he won the Winston Cup race at Sears Point.

Lammers won in 1990 with European drivers Andy Wallace and Johnny Dumfries. Wallace will be back in an unusual Porsche-powered Lola, driving with five-time winner Hurley Haywood and Porsche factory drivers Lucas Luhr and Sascha Maassen.

Other NASCAR entries, getting a head start before Daytona 500 practice opens next week, include Robby Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Petty and John Andretti. One of Gordon’s teammates will be Sharp in an Orbit Racing Porsche.

Max Papis will represent CART in a Judd-powered Dallara with sports car regulars Didier Theys and Mauro Baldi.

Theys won in 1997, and Baldi is one of only five active drivers to have won Daytona, LeMans and Sebring.

Three Trans Am champions, Paul Gentilozzi, Brian Simo and Scott Pruett, will share Gentilozzi’s Rocketsports Jaguar. Bill Auberlen, another former Daytona winner, will be in a Ferrari with former Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope.

Stock Cars

The eight-race Winston West stock car season will open Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway with team owner Bill McNally looking for his fourth consecutive championship, but with a new driver, Austin Cameron. Brendan Gaughan, winner the last two years, has moved up to the Craftsman truck series. Sean Woodside, the 1999 champion, will return to the series.

Hershel McGriff, 74, has announced that he will compete one more year with his own team, leaving McNally’s Orleans Racing team. Crew chief duties will be shared by Hershel McGriff Jr. and Steve Portenga. Other favorites include Johnny Borneman, Scott Gaylord and Kevin Richards.

Fast Laps

Scott Goodyear, two-time Indianapolis 500 runner-up, has retired as a driver and will become a broadcaster with ABC at IRL events.... Perris Auto Speedway will hold its first practice session Tuesday night. The season will open Feb. 9.

Dan Smith of Riverside had to drive both legs of the feature Trophy-Truck race in last week’s SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge when his partner, Dave Ashley, was sidelined by a stomach ailment, but he brought his Enduro Racing Ford F-150 home in first place. Brothers Dale and Mike Dondel of Hemet upset Troy Herbst of Las Vegas for the overall victory in an unlimited Class 1 Nye Frank-built open-wheel desert car.