Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Tracy, Rahal look forward to this week’s Rio rematch

Friday, May 8, 1998 | 7:26 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/

Paul Tracy and Bobby Rahal are eagerly anticipating their return to Rio de Janeiro for this weekend's CART Rio 400, but for different reasons.

Tracy, the Las Vegas resident, returns to the 1.864-mile Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway oval as the defending champion while Rahal, in his final year as a driver, is looking to atone for last year's disappointment.

Rahal dominated last year's race, only to run out of fuel while leading on the final lap, handing the race victory to Tracy.

"Rio was one of the more unusual wins of my career," Tracy said. "I started fifth but spun on an early restart and had to come back from tenth place -- all the while saving fuel.

"I knew Bobby was tight on fuel so I kept the pressure on. I couldn't believe my luck when he slowed. We didn't have much fuel left but we had enough to finish and that's all that mattered."

Rahal, who was one lap away from his 25th career CART victory and first since the 1992 season, also couldn't believe his luck.

"We knew we would be close on fuel," Rahal said of last year's race. "We stretched it as long as we possibly could -- I was short-shifting, doing whatever I could. I started praying with about 10 laps to go ... it just wasn't enough.

"It was terribly disappointing because no one had anything for us that day. You don't get that opportunity very many times because it was a dominant car and it was fun. It's just sort of cruel luck that it ended up the way it did."

Both drivers are confident going into this weekend's 133-lap race. Tracy is coming off a fifth-place showing at Nazareth Speedway in his Team Kool Green Reynard/Honda while Rahal finished sixth in his Miller Lite Reynard/Ford Cosworth.

"There are probably 10 different guys who can win this race and, naturally, I think I'm one of them," Tracy said. "But we've got to have a perfect race to do it. We've got a good handle on getting the car setup right and I'm confident we can race up front again."

Rahal said last year's race proved to him that he can return to the winner's circle in his 17th and final season as a driver.

"If there is one positive (to come out of last year's race), it's that last year proves we have a pretty good setup for that track," he said. "There is no doubt we can win there and I'm ready to go back to Rio for another shot at a win."

* NASCAR: Craftsman Truck Series owners Bobby Rahal and Tom Gloy have named crew chief Ernie Cope as a temporary replacement driver for Dave Rezendes in the Icehouse Beer Ford for this weekend's race at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash. Rahal and Gloy tested this week with several drivers, but "were not comfortable" with what they observed, according to a team spokesman, and decided to let Cope drive this weekend. Cope, the cousin of Winston Cup regular Derrike Cope, has logged nearly 3,000 laps at Evergreen Speedway during his days as a stock-car driver. Cope, incidentally, won the last Winston West race held at the 3/8ths-mile Las Vegas Speedway Park oval.

* CART: Following his win two weeks ago at Nazareth Speedway, Las Vegas resident Jimmy Vasser is loaded with confidence heading into this weekend's Rio 400 in Brazil. "The Nazareth win was a big boost for the team," Vasser said. "The car is running great so I'm looking forward to Rio and keeping this momentum going." Vasser's confidence was boosted further by what he called a successful test last week at The Milwaukee Mile. "Maybe we can start to build a little tradition on the short ovals," Vasser said after registering the fastest lap of a two-day test session in Milwaukee. The Target/Chip Ganassi team of Vasser and Alex Zanardi had struggled on the short ovals prior to Vasser's win at Nazareth.

* BACKMARKERS: Henderson's Bekki Freeman is making her presence felt in a major way after two rounds of the six-race 1998 Laughlin SCORE Desert Series. Racing in her new two-seat Jimco desert race car in Class 1-2/1600, Freeman, 28, is second in class points among 41 racers. Freeman also is seventh in overall points among 295 total racers competing in 23 different classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs. Kenny Freeman, Bekki's older brother, is seventh in points in the 1-2/1600 class in his Bunderson desert race car. Las Vegas brothers Ed, Tim and Troy Herbst are again in the hunt for SCORE class championships so far this season, as is the tandem of Danny Anderson and Rob MacCachren. Ed and Tim Herbst are second in the featured Trophy-Truck division while Troy Herbst is third in the unlimited Class 1 point standings. The Anderson/MacCachren team is in second place in the SCORE Lite class, just two points out of the class lead. The next SCORE race will be the 29th Baja 500 June 5-7 in Ensenada, Mexico. ...

Henderson's Rob Flores renews his quest for a professional personal watercraft (jet skis) national championship this weekend as he begins the eight-race 1998 IJSBA Big Red Jet Sports Tour in Titusville, Fla. A two-time Expert Ski class national champion, Flores, 29, returns after narrowly missing last year's Pro Ski championship, losing by just 16 points in the 11-race series to seven-time Pro Ski national champion Jeff Jacobs of El Cajon, Calif. With five victories, four seconds and a third in 1997, it was a fifth-place finish early in the year in San Diego that cost him his coveted first national title as a professional on the International Jet Sports Boating Association (IJSBA) tour. The 1998 IJSBA Big Red Jet Sports Tour travels to four states and Canada before finishing in Chicago July 25-26. The top riders among the seven Pro classes for men and women are eligible to compete in the 17th annual IJSBA Skat-Trak World Finals in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Oct. 11-18.