Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Shot at 4 for 4 hypes crew at Morgan-McClure

Friday, Jan. 16, 1998 | 11:59 a.m.

BRIAN HILDERBRAND is a Las Vegas SUN sportswriter. His motor sports column appears Fridays. He can be reached on the Internet at bh@lasvegassun.com. For the latest in the world of auto racing, check out the SUN Racing web site at http://www. lasvegassun.com/sports/racing/

As if joining a new race team isn't enough pressure, NASCAR Winston Cup driver Bobby Hamilton will really be under the gun at next month's Daytona 500.

Taking over for Sterling Marlin behind the wheel of the Morgan-McClure Monte Carlo this year, Hamilton already is feeling the heat of returning the No. 4 Kodak Chevrolet to Daytona's victory circle. Two other drivers -- Ernie Irvan and Marlin -- won Daytona in their first starts for Morgan-McClure, with Marlin winning NASCAR's biggest race in 1994 and 1995.

"The only pressure I feel is not because the car has won so many races at Daytona, but two things stand out," Hamilton said after a GM test session this week in preparation for the Feb. 15 Daytona 500. "You have pressure in the Daytona 500 anyhow and when they make a driver change in this car, the new driver has always won the Daytona 500 in his first race -- that's a little pressure.

"I see the way (this race team) works: They might not win the Daytona 500, but right now they think they've got it won. They've got a T-shirt they're all wearing. It says 'Four for 4.' On the back of it, it says 'February, 1998.' That's pretty cocky but that's what they've got in their mind I told them not to wear them (at Daytona) but they wear them around the shop."

After three seasons and two wins with Richard Petty, Hamilton arrived at Morgan-McClure with a new -- but definitely not kinder and gentler -- outlook on driving. Known in the past as one of the 'good guys' on the track, Hamilton said he has had enough of playing Mr. Nice Guy.

"When people get rough and knock you out of the way, you bite your lip and say, 'I'll get him later,' and I never do," Hamilton said. "That ain't going to happen this year. My boss (Larry McClure) told me if somebody hits me, if I don't hit them the next time, then (McClure) and I are going to have to talk.

"I've taken enough. I don't want this to sound like a rasslin' match, but I've paid my dues enough and I've taken enough. I don't care about taking any more. The things I've taken have cost me two races. I just want everybody to look at me like they look at the other drivers."

As for his inaugural season in the yellow-gold No. 4 Monte Carlo, Hamilton said he wants to pick up where Marlin left off.

"I think this is going to be a good race team," Hamilton said. "I've seen Sterling and Ernie win with this team, so it's just up to me now."

* NASCAR: The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series kicks off the 1998 racing season Sunday with the Chevy Trucks Challenge at Walt Disney World Speedway. Joe Ruttman who won the 1997 season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, won last year's race on the 1-mile tri-oval. The 200-lap race will be televised live by ESPN beginning at 9 a.m. (PST). ESPN2 will broadcast the 25-lap last-chance qualifying race Saturday during it's 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. broadcast from Walt Disney World Speedway. ... Defending Daytona 500 and Winston Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon posted the fastest lap during this week's GM testing at Daytona International Speedway. Gordon's top speed of 189.155 mph on the 2.5-mile superspeedway bested Sterling Marlin's 189.119 and Bobby Hamilton's 189.044. ... General Mills and its flagship cereal, Cheerios, will sponsor the Roush Racing No. 26 Ford Taurus, driven by Johnny Benson Jr., on the Winston Cup circuit this year. ... The newly remodeled Atlanta Motor Speedway was ordered closed recently by Georgia state officials for a host of violations, including not having an occupancy license, having deficient fire doors and lacking fire extinguishers in several locations. Track officials maintain the closure was a political ploy by the state's insurance and fire safety commissioner and have requested a formal hearing to resolve the dispute. ... ESPN's five-part series documenting the history of NASCAR debuts this afternoon (4:30 p.m., PST) and will air on consecutive Fridays for the next four weeks. The series coincides with the 50th anniversary of NASCAR.

* CART: Helio Castro-Neves, runner-up in the 1997 PPG-Firestone Indy Lights championship, has been named to drive the Team Alumax Reynard/Mercedes Benz in this year's CART FedEx Championship Series. ... The reconfigured Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex received rave reviews following several days of testing by Marlboro Team Penske and Team Kool Green. Penske's Andre Ribeiro said the redesigned track, "is much nicer and allows for more passing. It's also safer because, now, we don't have a wall facing us at a bad angle. Originally we had four quite sharp turns and now we have two long corners." Average speeds on the 1.517-mile oval are expected to approach 210 mph -- well above the track's record qualifying speed of 198.590.

* IRL: Las Vegas resident Davey Hamilton tested for the second time with his new team, Nienhouse Motorsports, this week at Walt Disney World Speedway. Hamilton's best lap in his G-Force/Aurora on the 1-mile oval was 165.899 mph -- the fastest lap turned in Wednesday but still well shy of Scott Sharp's top speed of 171.698 (an unofficial track record) in his Dallara /Aurora. The Indy Racing League season opener, the Indy 200 Presented by Aurora, will be held Jan. 24 and televised live by ABC. ... Entries for the Indy 200 reached 31 by the Jan. 8 deadline, according to the IRL, including drivers Hamilton of Las Vegas and Sam Schmidt of Henderson.

* BACKMARKERS: Defending NASCAR Winston West Series champion Butch Gilliland won the 1998 WWS season opener last weekend at Tucson Raceway Park. Gilliland edged Winston Cup star Ken Schrader by .389 seconds. The Winston West Series makes its first of two stops at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Feb. 25. ... The 1998 Laughlin SCORE Desert Series kicks off Jan. 30-Feb 1. with the fourth annual Laughlin Desert Challenge. The race weekend begins on Thursday, Jan. 30, with a pit crew competition and the "Laughlin Leap."