Local drivers fare well over weekend

Monday, March 27, 2000 | 9:46 a.m.

It was a banner weekend for five Las Vegas drivers competing in national racing series, led by Paul Tracy's third-place finish in the CART season opener Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Tracy was followed to the finish line by Jimmy Vasser and Patrick Carpentier, giving Las Vegas a 3-4-5 finish in the Grand Prix of Miami.

On the West Coast, native Las Vegan Brendan Gaughan won Saturday's NASCAR Winston West race and finished 13th in Sunday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, both held at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif. Kurt Busch of Las Vegas, an NCTS rookie, scored his third top-five finish in four races with a second-place effort in the truck race at Mesa Marin.

Tracy, battling an ill-handling car, charged from the 17th starting position to the lead on lap 109 and remained on the point for 32 laps. With just nine laps to go, Tracy was forced to slow for lapped cars and was passed by race winner Max Papis and runner-up Roberto Moreno.

"We had the chance to win this thing, but I'm really happy to get third when we had a 10th-place car." Tracy said. "We didn't have a great car, but my (crew) guys were fantastic with the pit stops. We made great time on my in and out laps, which really bumped us up."

Vasser, who started 10th, was competing in his first race with a Toyota-powered Lola after team owner Chip Ganassi made the switch from Honda engines.

"It's not a bad start for us and it's only going to get better from here," Vasser said of his fourth-place showing. "Some people are kind of counting our team out, but that's not the case."

Gaughan, a Bishop Gorman High grad, couldn't have been happier with his results on the demanding half-mile Mesa Marin oval. Gaughan followed his first career Winston West victory on Saturday night with his second consecutive 13th-place showing (matching his career best) in the truck series.

"To finally get that first win is awesome," Gaughan said. "We have been working so hard for that and we knew we could do it. Then, to top it off with a good showing (Sunday) was just the icing on the cake."

Busch, a 21-year-old rookie driving for team owner Jack Roush, challenged eventual NCTS race winner Mike Wallace in the closing laps. Busch was running in seventh place with 12 laps to go but closed to within a truck length of Wallace with two laps to go. But he could not overtake the veteran driver.