Sponsors Now Racing to Ride With Barron

He may wonder what might have been if yellow flags had not come out at the end of the 86th Indianapolis 500, but Alex Barron is reasonably content with the reality of his fourth-place finish in “the greatest spectacle in racing.”

Since Barron was named co-rookie of the year with South African Tomas Scheckter, who led the most laps, things have become increasingly rosy for Barron. Or, perhaps, increasingly green.

“We’re [attracting] more sponsors for the [Blair Racing] team,” Barron said. “I’ve been involved in a lot of PR stuff that’s going on--things that didn’t come along until we went through the month of May. We have a lot of momentum with the driver and the team, and when that happens, you get a lot of exposure and a lot of things come to you.

“With a rookie team to come into the IRL and move from ninth to fifth [in the standings] with five races gone and 10 to go, people are seeing we’re going to be a player throughout the season.”

Helio Castroneves won his second consecutive Indy 500--Paul Tracy’s Team Green has filed an appeal on that score--but Barron might have shocked the racing world with a victory for team owner Larry Blair had it not been for two late-race caution flags, on Lap 173, then again on Lap 198. Barron, who earlier had led twice, for a lap each, pitted under green flag conditions on Lap 165.

“We were the only ones who could finish the race on fuel prior to that,” said Barron, who started 26th in the 33-car field in Dallara-Chevrolet. We would have won because everybody else had to pit [for fuel].”

Blair, who had run cars off and on in CART, decided in December to field a car in the less expensive Indy Racing League and assembled his team in January. That was a concern to Barron, 32, who knew this was his best opportunity to stay in the big leagues of open wheel auto racing.

“I was a little worried that the team got put together a little late,” he said. “[Blair] put together some key people in a short amount of time, and we’re competing [against] a lot of guys who have been doing it quite a few years in the series.”

Barron, who lives in Menifee, in Riverside County, competed in the World Shifter Kart Series in Europe in 1994 and ‘95, as well as in America, winning 64 of 68 kart races. Moving to Formula Atlantic, a CART development series, he won the title in 1997. He drove for CART team owner Dan Gurney in 1998, and had stints with Roger Penske and Dale Coyne before hooking up with Blair for the last two races of last season in CART.

In the two races since Ray-O-Vac came aboard as a sponsor, Barron has finished sixth and fourth. Now, he says, the pressure is on to follow it up with a terrific performance Saturday at the Boomtown 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

“More than anything, we need to stay consistent,” Barron said. “Realistically, we have a shot at trying to win the championship. The most important thing is to finish the race. The more we race, the more comfortable I feel. The chemistry has come a long way in the last couple of months.”

With the Ray-O-Vac backing--and maybe the new money that could come from his Indy performance--Barron is thinking about digging into the lead of those drivers ahead of him in the standings, Penske drivers Castroneves (195 points) and Gil de Ferran (169), last year’s champion Sam Hornish Jr., (159) and Felipe Giaffone (140). Barron has 109 points.

“We’re able to do more development, more testing,” Barron said. “We’re able to buy more of the equipment that we need. [Sponsorship] just helps the whole program. Before we got it, we were definitely going to make sure we didn’t overextend ourselves.

“Realistically, to win the championship will be very tough, but that’s what you’re always looking forward to trying to do, and that’s what we’re going to go for.”

Drag Racing

Gary Scelzi may have won three top-fuel championships in a five-year span for Alan Johnson, but his seven-week tenure in the first-year Toyota Celica funny car for Johnson’s team was hardly the success he hoped for.

After failing to qualify in two consecutive events, Scelzi voluntarily stepped aside for Bruce Sarver, for whom the Celica was specifically built, to await a second car for Johnson’s team. In the three weeks after Scelzi stepped aside, Sarver finished second in his debut in the Celica, and was the No. 1 qualifier in the next two events.

Scelzi and Johnson parted ways last week, before the Chicagoland Dodge Dealers NHRA Nationals. Sarver lost in the second round to Gary Densham, and Scelzi is looking for new opportunities. One of those opportunities could come with 11-time funny car champion John Force, who has a three-car team and is working on sponsorship for a fourth car in 2003.

“We have a good stable with three Mustangs, and we may put four in, but we just don’t know yet,” Force said.

But Force says he will not hire Scelzi at the expense of Bellflower’s Densham. That’s a rumor Force heard after he had offered Scelzi a chance to test recently, an offer Scelzi declined.

Through 10 of 23 events, Team Force occupies the top three positions in the funny car standings. Densham, 55, who had never had a winning record in head-to-head competition until 2001, is leading in points for the first time in his career. Force, 53, of Yorba Linda, is second, and Tony Pedregon, 37, of Chino Hills, is third. They are separated by 75 points.

“It’s no different than being Roger Penske or Jack Roush, you’re proud of your people,” Force said. “I’ve done everything you can do. I’ll continue to set records, but I want to set records as a team. Whether Tony or Densham gets a championship, it doesn’t matter, as long as we get it as a team.

“I’m very proud, very honored, to say I made the right choices with the right people.”

Irwindale Speedway

The NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series rolls into Irwindale Speedway Saturday for the K&N; Filters 150, a 75-mile race on the half-mile oval. It will be the season debut for 2001 champion Craig Raudman of Bakersfield, who is driving for a new team, Performance Engineering. Raudman will try to become the sixth winner in six races this season.

Only four points separate the top three drivers, Eddie McKean of Jerome, Idaho, with 762 points, Sean Woodside of Saugus with 760, and Burney Lamar of West Sacramento with 758. Parnelli Jones will drive the pace car.

Speedway Motorcycles

Shawn McConnell of Diamond Bar has never won a Jack Milne Cup at Costa Mesa Speedway, but will get a chance on Saturday as one of the track’s hottest riders.

Before more than 6,500 at the Orange County Fairgrounds last week, McConnell won his third consecutive main event, finishing the scratch main ahead of season points leader Josh Larsen of Monrovia and third-place Scott Brant of Costa Mesa.

Off Road

The 34th SCORE Tecate Baja 500, which began and ended in Ensenada, Mexico, last weekend, was dominated by the Class 1 unlimited single- or two-seaters, with the top three finishers coming from that class. Troy Herbst of Las Vegas and Larry Roeseler of Hesperia finished first in 10 hours 24 minutes 56 seconds on the 473.2-mile course; they were followed by second-place Gary Weyhrich of Troutdale, Ore., in 10:32:03, and third-place Andrew Myers of Newport Beach in 10:38:11. The Arizona duo of Mark Miller and Larry Ragland were fourth overall, and first in the premier trophy truck division, in 10:48:42. American Honda team riders Steve Hengeveld of Oak Hills and Johnny Campbell of San Clemente together won the overall motorcycle title by 22 minutes with a time of 9:35:54. It was Campbell’s third victory in the Baja 500.

Last Laps

The SCRA sprint cars return to Perris Auto Speedway on Saturday. Steve Ostling of Corona, who finished third in the 50-lap main event two weeks ago, took the standings lead for the first time in his 18-year career with 701 points, 11 more than three-time champion Richard Griffin

Wally Pankratz of Orange, who won last weekend’s race at Santa Maria Speedway, is expected to start a record 400th USAC Western Midget Car feature Saturday at Bakersfield Speedway.

Super street stocks, mini -stocks, pure stocks, Grand Americans and Figure 8s will be on the card Saturday at Willow Springs Speedway. Qualifying begins at 5 p.m. They will also race on June 29.

Drag racing returns to California Speedway’s street-legal drag strip Saturday and Sunday with its summer schedule. Racing also is scheduled June 29-30, July 13-14, 27-28, Aug. 14-15 and 21-22.