Racings news briefs

Thursday, Oct. 16, 1997 | 10:05 a.m.

Although overshadowed some by officiating and scoring flubs, a post-race incident between a driver and a team owner and a spate of injury producing crashes, the 10-race 1996-97 schedule did produce nine different winners and some exciting wheel-to-wheel racing.

That was particularly significant in light of the fact that everyone in the series was running in new cars with new engines, the result of a complete change in the technical rules after the inaugural IRL season.

Arie Luyendyk was the only driver able to win more than once in a season that began with two races in fall 1996 and closed out last weekend at Las Vegas.

The Dutchman won his second Indianapolis 500 in May and followed that with a controversial victory in the first IRL race at Texas Motor Speedway. A scoring error initially gave the race to rookie Billy Boat, whose team owner, A.J. Foyt, got into a scuffle with Luyendyk in victory circle.

Thanks to a check for more than $1 million at Indianapolis, Luyendyk and Treadway Racing led the season earnings list with $2,079,150. Tony Stewart, the series champion by six points over Davey Hamilton, was next with $1,090,450 for Team Menard.

Jim Guthrie, who won the race in Phoenix last April, was rookie of the year, beating Affonso Giaffone by 27 points.

The 1998 season, which will increase to 11 races, begins Jan. 24 at Orlando, Fla., and concludes in Las Vegas on Oct. 10.

FOREIGN FLAVOR: The final point standings in the PPG CART World Series reflect growing foreign involvement in the American open-wheel series.

Seven of the top 10 in the driver standings were non-Americans, led by Italian driver Alex Zanardi, who won the $1 million title.

Gil de Ferran of Brazil was second, followed by Jimmy Vasser, the only American in the top seven; Brazilian Maurcio Gugelmin; Canadian Paul Tracy; Englishman Mark Blundell; and Canadian Greg Moore.

American drivers Michael Andretti and Scott Pruett were eighth and ninth, with Raul Boesel of Brazil rounding out the top 10.

Despite the strong foreign presence, the United States won the Nation's Cup competition, beating Brazil 252-238. Italy was third with 198 points and Canada next with 190.

Drivers representing 10 countries took part in the series this season.

COMING BACK: A two-car Porsche factory team, with drivers Hans Stuck, Thierry Boutsen, Bob Wollek and Yannick Dalmas, will compete in the three-hour races Saturday at Sebring, Fla., and on Oct. 25 at Monterey, Calif.

It is the first time since the 1980s that a team representing the German factory will compete in the United States.

The cars are mid-engined, 500-horsepower Porsche 911 GT1s.

"Not only has it been awhile since a Porsche factory sports car team raced here, but it's the first time since Phoenix in 1991 (the last Formula One race in the United States) that the FIA has held races in the U.S.," said Alwin Springer, head of Porsche Motorsports North America.

The FIA races will be run as part of rounds 10 and 11 of Professional Sportscar Racing's Exxon Supreme GT Series.

NEARING TITLE: Jim Yates, who drives the McDonald's Pontiac pro stock entry in the National Hot Rod Association, can wrap up his second consecutive season championship this weekend at the Texas Motorplex.

It is the same place where he clinched his first title a year ago, and he can repeat simply by qualifying and winning the first two rounds of eliminations on Sunday. Yates enters the Revell Nationals with a 347-point lead over Warren Johnson.

Yates' season has been spectacular, topping the NHRA's three professional classes in points (1,753), victories (8), final rounds (11) and elimination-round victories (53). He also leads pro stock with eight No. 1 qualifying spots. He has won three straight races and reached the final round in eight of the last nine events.

"We will not go into a defensive shell to protect our lead," the 44-year-old driver said. "Our goal is to continue to be aggressive, win the last three races and wrap up this championship."

TOP COMPETITION: Michael Schumacher, who trails Jacques Villeneuve by one point in the Formula One championship race, holds a solid lead on the Canadian driver in the world driver rankings this week.

The German driver actually extended the lead to 65 points with his victory last Sunday in the Japanese Grand Prix.

The bi-weekly rankings compare the performances of drivers in 24 racing series, based on a numerical formula.

Schumacher leads Villeneuve in the points 999-934, with CART PPG Cup champion Alex Zanardi third with 887 and current NASCAR Winston Cup leader Jeff Gordon fourth with 873 points.

Others in the top 10 include Indy-car runner-up Gil de Ferran, Pedro de la Rosa of the Formula Nippon series, NASCAR's Dale Jarrett, Alain Menu of British Touring Cars and Formula One drivers Jean Alesi and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

BEHIND THE SCENES: Almost unnoticed outside the inner circles of Indy car racing, 66-year-old Karl Kainhofer retired following the CART finale last month at Fontana, Calif.

Kainhofer, then a mechanic, was Roger Penske's first employee when Penske Racing was founded in 1966. In 1977, the Austrian-born Kainhofer became manager of the team's engine shop. He was then elevated to vice president and general manager of the Reading, Pa., operation in 1988.

"Karl really started things off," Penske said. "He set the standard for attention to detail, cleanliness and regimentation, which is carried on throughout the whole racing team today. He never strayed from perfection and, in the engine area, his reliability record is unmatched."

Penske's Indy car team is the most successful in history with 99 victories, including 10 Indianapolis 500s, and nine series championships.

LUCK OVERDUE: Cruz Pedregon is due a good break or two after what he went through last week.

Pedregon, from Camarillo, Calif., endured a nightmarish nine-day stretch that included two hospital visits.

"I consider myself really lucky, but yeah, it was a tough week," Pedregon said.

It began when he failed to qualify at Topeka. Two days later, Pedregon underwent an emergency appendectomy in Topeka, yet chose to drive four days later at Memphis, Tenn., despite suffering from a slight fever. Pedregon advanced to the final, where more bad luck awaited him.

While John Force roared to victory, Pedregon's car was engulfed in a spectacular fire. Pedregon ended up in the hospital for the second time in seven days, and was released after treatment for a second-degree burn to his right index finger.

"I've been on fire before, but this was the worst," Pedregon said.

SHIRLEY'S BACK! Three-time top fuel champion Shirley Muldowney returns to NHRA competition this weekend at Dallas, her first competition since 1991.

"It's been a long time since I've raced with NHRA, and I'm looking forward to seeing my friends," Muldowney said.

Muldowney has spent the last several seasons competing in IHRA and making match-race appearances with her husband and crew chief, Rahn Tobler.

"It's going to be tough to qualify in Texas," Tobler said. "But I think we've got enough horsepower to make the show and race on Sunday."

Muldowney's last NHRA victory was in 1989 at Phoenix. She won the top fuel titles in 1977, 1980 and 1982, the only woman to win a NHRA season title.

End Adv for Thursday Oct 16