Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Payton sees sweet future for race team

Friday, Dec. 26, 1997 | 10:25 a.m.

Walter Payton is eagerly anticipating the 1998 CART season opener in much the same way he looked forward to the opening of the NFL season during his Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bears.

Payton, who co-owns the Payton/Coyne Racing Team with Dale Coyne, is optimistic about his team's opportunity for success next season after switching from the Lola chassis to Reynard with driver Michel Jourdain on board.

The chassis switch came during the 1997 season and Payton said he noticed the difference right away.

"After we changed the chassis, we started kicking butt," Payton said during a stop in Las Vegas last week. "We were outqualifying some of the big wheels and we were running real strong.

"We're looking forward to this coming year. We don't have to wait until half the season is over before we change chassis because we feel that Reynard is a pretty good chassis setup with Firestone. It could be a kick-butt year for us."

Payton/Coyne Racing ran two cars during the 1997 season, with Jourdain running one car full time. The team's second car featured a succession of drivers after they lost the primary sponsorship on that vehicle.

In 1998, Payton said, it is likely that both cars will carry the Herdez colors, although Payton said he has yet to name a driver for the second car.

"Next year we'll probably go to two cars -- we already have two cars but we'll probably go to two cars with Herdez (as the sponsor)," he said. "We had a contract with Hype, which they had verbally committed to and signed, then they fell out, which basically put an end to (that) program. This year, we don't have to do that."

Because Payton/Coyne Racing lacks the funding of the top teams in the series, the team's cars have been relegated to the back of the pack in most races -- with the exception of the 1996 U.S. 500 at Michigan International Speedway. Roberto Moreno piloted the Payton/Coyne entry to a third-place finish in the inaugural event.

Payton said he sees no reason why his team can't post the same results on a more consistent basis in 1998.

"We've been on the podium with Roberto Moreno and our goal this year is to qualify within the top 12 and finish within the top 10," Payton said.

Payton's own driving career lasted longer than many of his runs from scrimmage. He began driving in the SCCA Sports 200 series in preparation for his run in the SCCA Trans-Am series, but a violent wreck during the 1993 season convinced Payton to hang up his helmet. Payton joined Coyne in 1994.

"It's a lot safer than driving," Payton said of his role as team owner.

* NASCAR: Speculation has resurfaced that NASCAR is contemplating splitting its Winston Cup series into two divisions to create twice as many races and satisfy the demands of new and existing tracks in search of dates. A NASCAR official denied that any such discussions have been held at the series' corporate offices in Florida, but Dennis McGlynn, president of Dover Downs International Speedway in Delaware, said a two-division circuit has been discussed "at high levels" in NASCAR. "It was a hot topic at a meeting in New York a couple of weeks ago," McGlynn said. "There were 125 major members of the racing community represented, including CBS television. It's fair to say everybody wants more races, but there is a concern that going to two division would dilute the product." NASCAR public relations director Jeff Motley agreed. "Dividing up the field would water it down," he said. "Right now, every Winston Cup race is like an all-star game, with every top driver entered. I don't think fans would want to see that change."

* CART: Championship Auto Racing Teams has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell shares of common stock in an initial public offering valued at as much as $84.1 million. CART said it will sell 4.33 million shares and stockholders will sell 240,000 shares. It didn't give an expected price range or trading symbol, though it said it's applying to have the shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange. CART said it lost $388,000 in 1996, compared with net income of $985,000 in 1995. Revenue was $41.5 million in 1996, up from $30 million in 1995.

* BACKMARKERS: The Team Green Academy named 23-year-old Alex Gurney as the winner of its "Class of 1997," Gurney, who was rookie of the year in the 1997 Skip Barber Midwestern Formula Dodge Series, is the youngest son of racing legend Dan Gurney. "Alex impressed everyone at the Academy with his talent and maturity," said Team Green general manager Kim Green. "The fact that he won 10 of 14 events in his first full season of racing also shows he knows how to win races." As winner of the Team Green Academy, which was held in a series of sessions conducted by the Academy and the Derek Daly SpeedCentre at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Gurney will be contracted to drive for Team Green in the 1998 Barber Dodge Pro Series. ... Team Kool Green announced that Naoki Hattori of Japan will return to the team for a second season in the PPG-Dayton Indy Lights Championship series in 1998. Hattori had five top-10 finishes in Indy Lights this past season.