Thursday, April 9, 1998 | 7:58 a.m.
Greg Norman was excited when he was invited to drive the pace car for the start of this year's Indianapolis 500. After finally getting in some practice on the historic 2 1/2 -mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, he's even more revved up.
Norman, one of the world's top golfers and a longtime friend of former Formula One and Indy-car champion Nigel Mansell, recently ran some laps in the 345-horsepower 1998 Chevrolet Corvette convertible, the car in which he will pace the 33 starters in the May 24 race.
"Nigel taught me a lot here in just a normal car, a city car," Norman said. "He told me about the different lines. He told me about the corners. ...
"It's wonderful because we've always had a great association, an affinity with our respective sports," he added. "He feels for me when I don't do well. He's ecstatic when I do. And I'm the same way with him."
It's become traditional for a celebrity to drive the pace car for the start. After that, veteran pace car driver Don Bailey takes the wheel to lead caution periods and restarts, while the celebrity heads for a luxury suite to watch the race.
But that start, with 11 rows of 750-horsepower Indy-cars following at about 110 mph and more than 400,000 spectators surrounding the track, can be nerve-wracking, especially for someone who has never driven a race car.
"I've got a lot of confidence in driving the vehicle," Norman said. "You're only going to go as fast as your abilities and confidence will let you. I haven't had a problem. I think I'm doing OK, and I've enjoyed it.
"I think the moment of truth will come May 24 when I get out of the car after the race has started. That's when I'll have the opportunity of expressing my true feelings."
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CHANGING JOBS: Jimmy Johnson, who recently resigned as general manager for the elite Hendrick Motorsports team in NASCAR's Winston Cup series, has joined Gary Bechtel's Diamond Ridge Motorsports.
Under Johnson's guidance, Hendrick Motorsports won three Winston Cup championships, 57 races, 59 poles and more than $35 million.
Johnson, 51, has been hired as a consultant and will begin his tenure at Diamond Ridge as acting general manager while the team reorganizes.
Bechtel decided to park the No. 29 Winston Cup entry of Jeff Green for last Sunday's race in Fort Worth, Texas, and the April 19 event in Martinsville, Va. If testing this week at Talladega Superspeedway goes as planned, Green will return to the track for the DieHard 500 at the Alabama track on April 26.
Diamond Ridge also runs the full Busch Series schedule with brothers Elliott and Hermie Sadler and plans a five-race Winston Cup program with Elliott Sadler. Johnson will be responsible for managing the racing operations of all four teams.
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ROUSH EXPANDS: Already the owner of the largest team on the Winston Cup circuit, Jack Roush is adding a sixth driver by fielding a car driven by Matt Kenseth for the April 26 race in Talladega, Ala.
Roush said he had yet to obtain a sponsor for what so far is just a one-race deal.
Kenseth, 26, of Cambridge, Wis., is fourth in points on NASCAR's Busch Grand National series, where he is in his first full year of competition. Kenseth, who is 44 points behind series leader Dale Earnhardt Jr., got his first victory in February in Rockingham, N.C.
"Based both on his performance as a test driver for our program as well as his outstanding results in the Busch series this year, I felt that Matt was deserving of the opportunity to drive a Winston Cup car for us," Roush said. "He has demonstrated a level of maturity that I believe will carry him on to the next level in Winston Cup racing."
Roush Racing's lineup of full-time Winston Cup drivers are Johnny Benson, Jeff Burton, Chad Little, Mark Martin and Ted Musgrave.
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NEW RACE SET: The inaugural Petit Le Mans 1000 Miles at Road Atlanta will be held on Saturday, Oct. 10.
The sports car race is part of an exclusive five-year agreement between L'Automobile Club de l'Quest (ACO) and Panoz Motor Sports.
Road Atlanta owner Don Panoz said both groups hope the new event will increase the interest of U.S. automakers and race fans in sports car endurance racing by exposing them to some of the world's most exotic race cars.
Winners of the three classes in the race (Prototype, GT-1 and GT-2) will be exempt from pre-qualifying for the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans. Second-place finishers will be invited to pre-qualify.
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TIRE DOMINANCE: Alex Zanardi's come-from-behind victory in last Sunday's race in Long Beach, Calif., helped Firestone to its best day since returning to the CART series in 1995 after a 21-year absence.
The first eight cars in the final order were all on Firestone Firehawks. Firestone's previous best finish in its heated competition with Goodyear was the top five spots in 1996 at the inaugural U.S. 500 at Michigan International Speedway.
Firestone has now won 12 consecutive road and street races in the CART FedEx Championship Series, dating to the 1996 finale on the road circuit in Monterey, Calif.
Goodyear's Michael Andretti won the 1998 season-opener on the oval in Homestead, Fla., ending Firestone's string of 11 consecutive CART victories. Adrian Fernandez then won on Firestones on the new oval in Japan before Zanardi made it two in a row in Long Beach.
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NO REPEAT: Apparently, it's very tough to repeat at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Going into Saturday's Galaxy Foods 300 Busch Grand National stock car race, seven different drivers had won the last seven events on the .363-mile oval.
In fact, the only two-time winner in the last 10 Hickory races is the now-retired Tommy Houston, who won in 1990 and 1992.
Other winners since 1988 include Mike Alexander, Jimmy Spencer, Butch Miller, Steve Grissom, Ricky Craven, Johnny Benson, David Green and defending champion Dick Trickle.
Grissom, Craven, Benson, Green and Trickle are regulars in NASCAR's Winston Cup series.
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