Ganassi chooses Toyota engines

Louis Brewster

Sunday, Oct. 31, 1999 | 11:15 a.m.

FONTANA, Calif. - A need to stay ahead of the pack closing in on his championship team and the desire to remain on the leading edge were the reasons Chip Ganassi switched engines.

Ganassi, the CART FedEx Championship Series car owner whose drivers have won the last three titles, announced he'll be Toyota-powered in 2000 after running Honda engines since 1996.

"We're always looking for that edge, breaking new ground," said Ganassi, preparing for Sunday's Marlboro 500 at California Speedway. "This is one of the most exciting decisions I've made in the last three years."

That's because, using the Honda power plant, Ganassi has won 30 races and 24 pole positions. Furthermore, Jimmy Vasser and Alex Zanardi have used Honda engines to win driving titles.

On the other hand, Toyota has yet to win a Champ car race since joining CART in 1996. Currently, Toyota powers cars run by Dan Gurney, Arciero-Wells, Team Gordon and Della Penna Motorsports.

"This is not about a bad job anybody else did and I agree Honda is the No.1 engine," Ganassi said. "This is about a new program, staying on the leading edge and continuing to win with our team."

Ganassi hit on the package of Reynard chassis, Honda power and Firestone power in 1996 when Vasser won the crown. Now, he feels as though the field is catching up with him and he's ready to take another step with Toyota RV8D engine.

"I've never seen the hunger to want to win in any manufacturer as this one," Ganassi said. "I see it their attitude, eyes and level of commitment."

Ruttman gets contract: Bobby Hamilton, the Winston Cup driver who took advantage of the off-week to qualify for today's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series NAPA 200, gave Joe Ruttman a belated birthday gift.

A day after his 55th birthday, Ruttman was given a contract to drive the DANA-sponsored Dodge next year for Hamilton. Ruttman, fired by Jack Roush last December after finishing third in points, was a midseason replacement this year after Butch Miller was released.

"This is huge. Last year was such a tremendous blow to my ego," Ruttman said. "I thought maybe I was out. This is sheer excitement."

Hamilton said Ruttman's input was one of the reasons he retained the veteran driver.

"He brought the team around 180 degrees. The biggest factor was that he brought the guys up. He drives like a 20-year-old."

Andretti honored: CART unveiled the Mario Andretti Trophy, which will be presented to the driver who receives the most votes for the inaugural all-star team. The 95-pound, 38-inch-high statue, composed of bronze, marble and walnut, took artist Elie Hazak five months to complete. Eight cars are featured, symbolic of Andretti's career ranging from dirt cars to Formula One to current Champ-car design.

"It was totally flattering and I didn't hesitate to accept it," Andretti said. "The championship rewards the best driver, but not always. This doesn't forget the driver who was spectacular but maybe not lucky."

So long hot dogs: Race fans who have seats in the new skyboxes atop the grandstands have quite a choice as far as the menu from Sportservice goes.

In addition to race track staples such as hot dogs, nachos and hamburgers, the menu includes a Tuscan antipasto platter, tangy Thai curry chicken skewers and a California raw bar complete with oysters on the half shell, littleneck clams, jumbo shrimp, cracked lobster and smoked salmon.

Other entrees available to the 28 suites include beef tenderloin, herb-crusted salmon, pesto cream chicken tortellini and a mozzarella-stuff chicken breast. John Costello, former executive chef at the FleetCenter in Boston, is the general manger for Sportservice at the speedway and is being assisted by 40 managers from throughout the country.

Indy Lights: Jonny Kane won the pole for Sunday's PPG-Dayton Indy Lights 100 in qualifying early Friday evening and Oriol Servia moved a step closer to wrapping up the season-long points title.

Kane, locked in a tight battle with Scott Dixon for the Indy Lights' Rookie of the Year award, edged Servia for the pole with a top speed of 186.346 miles per hour and a lap time of 39.198 seconds.

Servia was second at 186.057 and 39.259. He maintained his 14-point lead over Casey Mears in the points race, but, since Mears couldn't pick up the one point awarded the pole winner, he now needs only a sixth-place finish to wrap up the title.

"The championship is always there, obviously. I arrived here thinking about just this race," Servia said. "I'm going to try to win the race."

Mears, a teammate of Servia's, qualified in the eighth position. The third member of the Dorricott-Mears Racing Team, Philipp Peter, qualified in the third position. Sunday's race will begin at 9:50 a.m. and precede the CART race, which is set to start at noon.