Columnist Ron Kantowski: Teen’s plan to race cars hits the wall

Tuesday, Sept. 28, 1999 | 10:23 a.m.

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

A 15-year-old aspiring race car driver named Adam Gardner thought he finally had his father's blessing to pursue the sport he loves -- until Scott Goodyear literally wrecked it for him Sunday afternoon during the Vegas.com 500.

Gardner and his father, Frank, will be featured on this Friday's "Jenny Jones" during a show called "My Teen's Dream is Becoming My Nightmare."

Frank Gardner apparently was dead set against letting his son anywhere near a racetrack other than a Hot Wheels set until Indy Racing League star Goodyear appeared on the same show. Goodyear spoke about the virtues of motor sport, then invited father and son to Sunday's race, where they watched from the IRL suite.

Just about the time the elder Gardner probably was thinking that auto racing wasn't nearly as dangerous as ... say, a Motley Crue concert to his son's well being, something on Goodyear's car broke, sending the veteran driver into the Turn 4 wall with a violent thud.

Goodyear walked away from the heavy crash with nothing more than a bruised knee. But I heard that Adam Gardner left the track studying to be an accountant.

In reality, the Gardners couldn't be reached for comment.

* SUNDAY DRIVERS: In an effort to boost flagging attendance, the Indy Racing League is recruiting a variety of drivers who should become favorites with various fan segments.

The biggest news is that Al Unser Jr., on the downside of a spectacular career with the rival Championship Auto Racing Teams series, is headed to the IRL next season, where he will drive for the Galles Racing Team. His presence should attract racing enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes.

Willy T. Ribbs, about five years removed from a marginal CART career (although in Ribbs' defense, he never had a top-flight ride in CART), made his IRL debut here Sunday, crashing after completing just 16 laps. If he can stay in one piece, colorful Willy T., the only black driver in any major racing series, should spark interest in the IRL among minorities.

Sarah Fisher, an aspiring 18-year-old driver from Ohio, was making the rounds at LVMS Sunday. She looks less a race car driver than Carrie Fisher. But word out of the Midwest, where she runs open wheel dirt cars, is that Fisher isn't just another publicity stunt. She can really drive.

Her talent notwithstanding, there's probably a Soyuz chimpanzee test pilot who is updating his resume as we speak and sending it to IRL headquarters.

* AROUND THE HORN: Until Saturday, when the Indy Racing League drivers raced side-by-side-by side at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, about the only place you could go three-wide around here was UNLV president Carol Harter's box at refurbished Sam Boyd Stadium. I'm told three regulation-size suites were combined to make one for Harter (and that it had to be the first one finished), and that athletic director Charlie Cavagnaro and his visiting counterpart also have their own boxes. Wouldn't it behoove UNLV to have the big shots share a single box and rent out the other four at $45,000 (each) per year? ...

Terry Cottle, UNLV's personable associate AD in charge of football marketing, called to say that the announced crowd of 26,000 and change for the the Rebels' home opener against Iowa State was legit and not under-reported, as was suggested in this space this week. He also said UNLV has indeed begun informal talks to upgrade its football schedule. Then I saw a report that the Rebels were chatting with Washington State, Louisville, Cincinnati and Marshall. I guess the upgrade talks have ended. ...

The Mountain West Conference is a solid football league, even if nobody east of Ole Miss has noticed. But it's also responsible for the worst new football gizmo. The announcers at Saturday's Wyoming-Air Force game called it "the dipstick," which is what it looks like. The contraption is fitted to the forward most yardstick linking the first-down chain and then unfolds during a measurement. There's some sort of marker on the stick which indicates whether a first down has been made, only fans don't know what to look for.

The dipstick wasn't needed at Saturday's Utah-UNLV game, even though the Rebels appeared to leaking oil all over the field.