Rice Stays Cool and Casual After Win

By SHAV GLICK

June 4, 2004 12 AM PT

If Buddy Rice had any say in it, his mug would probably appear on the Borg-Warner Trophy with his baseball cap on backward.

And if you’re looking around town for the cool kid from Phoenix, you’re more likely to see him driving his pickup truck than the 2004 Chevrolet Corvette pace car he received, along with a check for $1,761,740, at the Indianapolis 500 awards dinner. He also won a lawn mower, but said, “What will I do with this? I live in the desert.”

Before Bobby Rahal hired Rice to fill in for the injured Kenny Brack, he had the 28-year-old shave off his soul patch and turn his baseball cap around in the orthodox manner. After all, he was now representing a mortgage company in Irvine, Argent; an electronics firm in Long Beach, Pioneer; and an engine manufacturer with plants in Torrance and Santa Clarita, Honda. He needed a more corporate look.

Rice showed up in a tuxedo at the 500 awards dinner Monday night but was quick to note, “I’m not going to trade my pickup, if that’s what you think.”

Earlier, he’d said, “The patch was a cosmetic change we needed to make for several of our sponsors in situations, but that’s things that you have to do. It’s not an issue. Nothing changed. I mean, [winning the 500] doesn’t change my attitude. It doesn’t change my approach to anything. It doesn’t change my lifestyle, nothing.”

The day after he’d won the pole, he was playing golf on the Eagle Creek course -- with his cap on backward.

“Bobby wants me to be more dignified when I’m doing stuff for the sponsors, but when I’m out here, I’m being myself,” he said. “But I’m totally cool with whatever Bobby wants. Nothing’s going to change my persona. Who knows, the patch may come back. Bobby is already talking about letting the [backward] hat come back.”

Winning the 500 can do a lot of things, though. For instance, in helping Rice celebrate his win, Rahal, the urbane history major and graduate of Denison University in Ohio, turned his cap around and posed like a cool, middle-aged kid.

Rice, the all-American boy, thinks, and hopes, that his victory will spark a renewed interest among young American open-wheel drivers in the Indy Racing League and the Champ Car World Series circuit. They have been largely overlooked recently.

Rice’s victory Sunday was the first for an American driver in the 500 since Eddie Cheever, another Phoenix native, won in 1998.

Between them there were Brack, a Swede; Juan Montoya, a Colombian; and two Brazilians, Helio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran.

“There’s a ton of talent in this country,” Rice said. “And there’s a lot more being backed by Red Bull in their program to put together an American driver search in Europe. A lot of kids that are over there in that program are kids I’ve raced against and grew up with on the West Coast.

“Hopefully, [my winning] gives people a little bit of a shot in the arm right now. I think that there is a place for the Americans. I don’t think they are overpowered by the Europeans, and I think you will see more young Americans coming up. I think there are more than enough talented drivers out there. Some just need to be given a shot.”

One likely to get a shot next year as Rice’s Rahal-Letterman Racing teammate is Danica Patrick, a tiny 22-year-old from Columbus, Ohio. She is driving this season in the Toyota Atlantic series for Rahal and finished fifth at Long Beach. Like Rice, she began racing in karts.

“I had three wishes as a little girl,” Patrick said.

“One was to meet Leonardo Di Caprio. The second was to marry my boyfriend then, which that won’t happen. Third was winning the Indy 500.”

Asked about the possibility of her winning the 500, Rahal said, “Don’t count her out.”

Then he added with a smile, “A lot of you [sportswriters] counted Buddy out too. Don’t forget that.”

For those of you waiting to hear David Letterman’s 10 reasons why his driver won at Indy, Rice is scheduled as a guest on Letterman’s late-night show Wednesday.

Lewis Honored

Steve Lewis, owner of nine U.S. Auto Club midget championship cars, will be inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis., along with former drivers Hank Butcher of San Leandro, Calif; John Coy of Freeport, N.Y., and Roy Sherman of St. Louis.

Lewis, of Laguna Beach, holds the USAC record of 113 feature wins through 2003, and also conducts the Performance Racing Industry trade show annually in Indianapolis.

Among his drivers were Triple Crown champions Tony Stewart, J.J. Yeley and Dave Darland.

Southland Scene

Irwindale, Perris and Ventura are planning multi-feature programs for Saturday night.

Irwindale will feature NASCAR super late models, super stocks and super trucks, followed by the not-so-super Figure 8s. Jesse James, star of the Wizard of West Coast Choppers show, will be in the Figure 8 race.

Perris will have the Pepsi Cup, featuring extreme trucks, street stocks, Lightning sprint cars, cruisers and IMCA modifieds. The cruisers are Perris’ answer to Figure 8s. There are two drivers in each car, one in the driver’s seat, controlling the steering wheel and brakes, and the other in the passenger seat, controlling the throttle.

Ventura will welcome back its VRA sprint car class, after a short absence, with points leader Tom Stansberry hoping to continue his run toward becoming the track’s first repeat champion. Also running will be senior sprints, VRA modifieds and IMCA modifieds. The show starts at 5 p.m.

Johnny Rodriguez will return to Bakersfield Speedway for a 30-lap main event Saturday as the points leader in the USAC Western midget car series. The Elk Grove driver holds an 86-point lead over former champion Wally Pankratz.

The Jack Milne Cup, one of the year’s most prestigious speedway motorcycle events, will be run Saturday night at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. The all-scratch racing program is in honor of the former world champion who brought speedway racing to Orange County more than 30 years ago. U.S. National champion Scott Brant is defending champion.

California Dragway at California Speedway in Fontana will have drag racing Saturday and Sunday. Super comp and super eliminator will be featured, but other classes will be competing as well, among them full-blown dragsters and stock cars.

Baja 500

Rob MacCachren, a Las Vegas native who has won seven SCORE off-road class titles, will try to win in two vehicles when the 36th annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500 starts Saturday in Ensenada, 65 miles south of San Diego in Baja California.

MacCachren, 39, will split driving chores in the feature Trophy-Truck class with team owner Gus Vildosola, 50, of Mexicali in a Ford F-150. MacCachren also will share the seat with Danny Anderson of Las Vegas in Class 1-2/1600, driving a Frayley-VW.

“I race for a living, and when I have the opportunities, I’ll race in as many classes as I can,” MacCachren said. “I have a great opportunity to race with Gus, and Class 1-2/1600 is where I’ve raced since I started when I was 16. The 1600 car is my program and we are leading in points, and I’d like to win not only my class but my first SCORE overall point championship as well.”

Apparel manufacturer and motorcycle enthusiast Jim O’Neal, 57, of Chatsworth will do double duty on a pair of Honda motorcycles, one in the 40-and-older class and one in the 30-and-over class, in both of which he is defending champion.

Motorcycles will start at 6 a.m., with cars and trucks leaving at 30-second intervals starting about 8:30. The 428-mile race starts and finishes in Ensenada.

Passings

Doug Shierson, who owned the car Arie Luyendyk drove to victory in the 1990 Indianapolis 500, died May 26 at his home in Mooresville, N.C. He was 62. Between 1982 and 1990, he entered Domino’s Pizza-sponsored cars in the 500 for Howdy Holmes, Danny Sullivan, Al Unser Jr. and Raul Boesel.

This Week

*--* NEXTEL CUP MBNA America 400

*--*

* When: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 11:30 a.m.; Sunday, race. (FX, 10 a.m.)

* Where: Dover Downs International Speedway; Dover, Del.

* Race distance: 400 miles, 400 laps.

* 2003 winner: Ryan Newman.

* Next race: Pocono 500, June 13, Long Pond, Pa.

*--* BUSCH MBNA America 200

*--*

* When: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 10 a.m.); Saturday, race. (FX, 10 a.m.)

* Where: Dover Downs International Speedway.