Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Jarrett’s son eager for chance to race in LV

Friday, Feb. 25, 2000 | 9:58 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand's motor sports notebook appears Friday. Reach him at bh@vegas.com or 259-4089.

After running the freight-train conga lines last weekend at Daytona International Speedway, you can count Jason Jarrett and Jeff Green among the majority of drivers who are looking forward to this weekend's NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch Series races at North Carolina Speedway and next week's events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Unlike Daytona, North Carolina Speedway and Las Vegas do not require restrictor plates, which reduce horsepower and curtail speeds.

"It's totally different racing," Jarrett said. "At Daytona, everybody is so close together you really can't get away from one another; you just have to hold your breath and hope nothing happens.

"(At Rockingham and LVMS), the driver shows up a little bit more. You have to really hustle the car because the tires get old quick ... and you have to have your shocks right and your springs right. I think you'll see some of the better teams surface to the top when we get to Rockingham and here in Vegas."

Jarrett, the son of reigning Winston Cup champion Dale Jarrett, finished 17th in last weekend's Busch Series race at Daytona. He said he is especially eager to get back to LVMS after testing here for two days earlier this month.

"I'm looking forward to Vegas as much as Rockingham because we came out here to test," Jarrett said. "I was really struggling the first day of it and then my dad came out and helped us for about a half a day and it seemed to turn us around for the whole next day.

"We made a few adjustments and ended up getting down to a 33.80 (seconds) and the fastest car, I think, was Todd Bodine at 33.40 -- so I feel like we're right there."

Green, who won the inaugural Busch Series race at LVMS in 1997, echoed Jarrett's sentiments about LVMS.

"It's good to go to a downforce track where you don't have to worry about all the aerodynamics," Green said. "Las Vegas is awesome -- if you've got a fast car, you're able to go to the front; a lot of these places we go to, you can't do that.

"It's very, very joyful to be able to start the race knowing that if you've got the car to win, you can do it. At Vegas, I feel like you can win from any (starting) spot."

Jarrett and Green will be among an estimated 60 to 70 drivers attempting to qualify for next Saturday's Sam's Town 300 Busch Series race at LVMS. The fastest 36 cars will make the 43-car lineup through qualifying and seven provisional starting positions will be awarded based on 1999 car owner points.

* NASCAR: NASCAR has fined four Busch Series crew chiefs for rules violations before last Saturday's NAPA Auto Parts 300 at Daytona International Speedway.

PPI Motorsports' Pat Smith and Bobby Hillin Racing's Nick Short each were fined $15,000 for "actions detrimental to stock-car racing" and "use of parts that do not conform to NASCAR rules." Short also violated a rule against "alteration that allows additional air to be picked up."

Dave McCarty of Hank Parker Racing and Gere Kennon of Dale Earnhardt, Inc., each were fined $5,000 for using parts that did not conform to NASCAR rules. ...

Ted Musgrave has been named to replace Geoffrey Bodine in Bessey Motorsports' No. 60 Chevrolet until the injured Bodine is cleared to return to racing.

Bodine suffered a concussion and a broken vertebrae, ankle and wrist in a violent crash during last Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona. He was released earlier this week from a Florida hospital, but is expected to undergo surgery Sunday to insert a metal plate into his broken wrist.

* CART: Bettenhausen Motorsports conducted its first test this week since the deaths of team owner Tony Bettenhausen, wife Shirley, team partner Russ Roberts and friend Larry Rangel in an aviation accident.

Driver Michel Jourdain Jr. tested Monday through Thursday at Sebring International Raceway before heading to Firebird International Raceway outside of Phoenix for further road-course testing next month.

"I think to work again after what happened with Tony was good for everybody," Jourdain said.

In tribute to Bettenhausen and the other accident victims, the Bettenhausen team and the other participants in the test, including Newman/Haas Racing, the PacWest Racing Group, Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, Forsythe Championship Racing and PPI Motorsports, ceased all track activity Monday and observed 16 minutes of silence.

The 16-minute period was observed because Bettenhausen Motorsports campaigns car number 16 in the FedEx Championship Series. ...

First-year CART team owner Mo Nunn has secured South American tobacco giant Hollywood as the primary sponsor of his Mercedes-powered Reynard driven by Tony Kanaan.

* IRL: Tri Star Motorsports filed entries this week for Indianapolis 500 veterans Jeret Schroeder and Dr. Jack Miller for the May 28 race.

Tri Star is co-owned by Larry Curry, 1996-97 Indy Racing League champion Tony Stewart, Indianapolis businessman Andy Card and Florida businessman Rick Ehrgott.

Stewart and Miller drove for Tri Star in the 1999 Indianapolis 500, with Stewart finishing ninth and Miller 31st. ...

Also, longtime Indianapolis 500 participant Dick Simon filed an entry Thursday for driver Stephan Gregoire. Gregoire, a native of France living in Indianapolis, will attempt to make his fifth Indy start. Gregoire's best Indy finish was 17th in 1998 for Chastain Motorsports.

* NHRA: After finishing sixth in Pro Stock at the season-opening Autozone Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., Warren Johnson is looking to advance to the finals in this weekend's Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals at Firebird (Ariz.) International Raceway.

"We've put a lot of pressure on ourselves this year," said Johnson, who finished ninth in the 1999 Winston Pro Stock standings. "Last year, we came out and surprised some people in Pro Stock, but now everyone knows what we're capable of doing.

"If we perform better at each event this year than we did last season, I think we'll be right were we want to be at the end of the year. Last year, we made it to the semifinals at Phoenix, so our goal this weekend is to be in the finals."

Qualifying highlights for this year's Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals will be aired Saturday on Speedvision from 5-6 p.m. (PST). First-round coverage will air Sunday from 1-3 p.m. on Speedvision and final-round coverage will be aired Monday from 9-11 p.m. on FOX Sports. Final-round coverage also will be shown Monday from 5-7 p.m. on Speedvision.

* BACKMARKERS: Dave Villwock, who nearly lost his right hand in an Unlimited Hydroplane accident in 1997, injured his left forearm in a bizarre accident with a motorized model airplane.

Villwock had just completed what he hoped was the final reconstructive surgery on his right hand when he was test-firing the motor on his 10-horsepower model airplane in his backyard. The restraint system failed and Villwock had to defend himself from the 10-foot wingspan craft with his left forearm.

Villwock broke the ulna bone in his forearm and damaged his left middle fingertip. Villwock said he expects to be completely healed from his latest mishap in time for spring testing. ...

The Las Vegas-based U-10 Unlimited Hydroplane Race Team has renewed its sponsorship agreement with York Heating and Air Conditioning. Las Vegas businessman Kim Gregory owns the U-10, which is piloted by Mark Weber.

archive