Columnist Ron Kantowski: IRL has more trouble with flying debris

Tuesday, July 20, 1999 | 12:09 p.m.

Ron Kantowski's notes column appears Tuesday and Thursday. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or 259-4088.

The wheels are continuing to come off the Indy Racing League.

A grinding four-car crash in this past Saturday night's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway resulted in several tires being dislodged from wrecked suspensions. And once again, one went flying over the debris fence -- although outside of the Indianapolis Star, no one reported it.

That's only because no one was killed or seriously hurt (other than driver Steve Knapp, who suffered a fractured neck). The accident occurred in Turn 2, in a section of the track devoid of grandstands. The lower fence in that part of the track was ineffective in containing the crash debris.

"There wasn't any fence there," IRL executive director Leo Mehl said, although that isn't entirely true. Pictures of the wreck show tires, wings and other debris flying against a smaller fence beyond the wall. "I think the new fence (being built at the track) would have kept it (in play).

"But we were lucky for sure."

After three spectators were killed in an IRL event at Charlotte earlier this year, track owner Bruton Smith ordered taller fences at each of his tracks, which include Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The IRL cars will race here on Sept. 26.

"They got all the new fencing up where the spectators were, but they ran out of time over there," Mehl told the Star.

But there might have been hell to pay had a track worker or spectator been wandering out beyond turn 2 when the crash developed.

In light of the Charlotte disaster and last year's CART U.S. 500, in which three more fans lost their lives in a similar incident, Smith also has proposed the IRL cars be outfitted with sports car-type fenders next year. That idea largely has been ridiculed by the open-wheel fraternity.

"(He's) crazy, and I'll tell him that," car owner A.J. Foyt told the Star.

"You've seen sports cars; all they do is get airborne. I've driven those cars. I know what they handle like. You talk about (debris) flying, the whole car goes.

"Who's puttin' all this crap in (Smith's) head?"

The last time an Indy-car sported fenders was in 1964, when radical car owner Mickey Thompson entered two such "funny cars" in the Indianapolis 500. Dave MacDonald, a California sports car ace, lost control of one of them on the second lap, triggering a massive crash and explosion that killed both MacDonald and popular veteran Eddie Sachs.

* WE WANT JEAN: Having missed an opportunity with Casey Martin last year, the Las Vegas Invitational should use one of its exemptions, normally reserved for ex-UNLV golfers and other marginal touring pros, on another guy who has never won anything that matters -- Jean Van de Velde, the sad sack loser of Sunday's British Open.

Offer him a suite at the Mirage, Siegfried and Roy tickets, a courtesy Peugeot, all the croissants he can eat or in-room Jerry Lewis movies. Whatever it takes. Just get him in here.

Van de Velde's presence would be a publicity bonanza for the LVI which has lost some of its luster in recent years, what with the defections of Tiger Woods and other marquee players.

* AROUND THE HORN: For a guy who was said to be devastated by the breakup of his marriage, UNLV Hall of Famer Matt Williams has rebounded nicely. He's hitting a ton for the Arizona Diamondbacks and this past January married actress Michelle Johnson, whose credits include "Blame It on Rio," "Death Becomes Her" and "Far and Away." The new Mrs. Williams has a significant tattoo on her left biceps (pictured in the July 26 issue of ESPN The Magazine) that looks like (take your pick) something you'd order at Panda Express or a backward Reebok logo. ...

Speaking of logos, Rebel golfer Michael Kirk was true to his school during this past weekend's 74th U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in Illinois. Virtually every part of Kirk's wardrobe was adorned with some sort of UNLV logo, but it was Oklahoma Sooner Hunter Haas who prevailed with a 4 and 3 victory over Kirk in the televised finals. ...

And once more with the logos: Former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian, one of the first coaches signed to a shoe contract bonus by Nike during the 1980s, is being dropped by adidas, which until recently outfitted Tark and his Fresno State Bulldogs. Tarkanian apparently has a new deal with Nike, but it's not nearly as lucrative as his initial Nike contract, according to insiders. ...

Last month, Sun outdoors writer Paula Del Giudice threw out the first pitch at a Baltimore Orioles game in her new role as chairman of the National Wildlife Federation, but the ESPN cameras missed it. Paula should have worn a sports bra or something. When Carla Overbeck of the World Cup winning U.S. Women's Soccer Team performed the first-pitch honors at Sunday night's Orioles-Mets game at Camden Yards, ESPN made sure it was back extra early from commercial break. ...

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's desire to build a downtown sports arena/performing arms center and bring an NBA and/or NHL team (or the opera) to town is detailed in the current issue of Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal. Mandalay Sports Entertainment, which along with Hank and Ken Stickney owns the triple-A Las Vegas Stars, is featured in a Page One story in the same issue. Paul Schaeffer, one of the front men for Mandalay Sports, indicated in the story that the group is talking to two "interested parties" about moving the mothballed Las Vegas Thunder IHL franchise, which the consortium still owns, to another city. ...

Three former IHL coaches will be behind the bench as head coaches with NHL teams next season. Former Thunder head man Butch Goring, who spent last season with the Utah Grizzlies, will take over the New York Islanders while Curt Fraser (Orlando) and Steve Ludzik (Detroit) have been named head coach of the expansion Atlanta Thrashers and Tampa Bay Lightning, respectively. They follow former Kalamazoo K-Wings head man Ken Hitchcock, who masterminded the Dallas Stars' recent Stanley Cup victory, into pro hockey's biggest show. ...

And finally, Jean Van de Velde's incredible collapse on the final hole of Sunday's British Open must have been an embarrassment to Van de Veldes around the world. How else do you explain Rance Pugmire replacing Bruce Van de Velde as athletic director at Utah State on Monday?

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