Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Test cut short for Montoya

Friday, March 31, 2000 | 10:32 a.m.

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

In his brief but successful CART career, Juan Montoya has proven to be a quick study.

Montoya earned his first victory in only his third career start in a Champ car and won seven races and the series championship as a rookie in 1999.

So it wasn't too surprising that the 24-year-old Colombian didn't seem at all bothered that his first test in an Indy Racing Northern Light Series car Thursday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was severely limited due to an engine problem.

Montoya replaced Target/Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Jimmy Vasser in the cockpit of the team's G-Force/Aurora for the team's test in preparation for the Indianapolis 500, but ran fewer than 75 laps because of a broken timing chain 10 laps into the session.

"We had a problem with an engine," Montoya said during a four-hour break while his team worked on the car. "But it's OK ... maybe less than a day ... half a day, we should be where we want to be, be comfortable with the car."

Montoya wasn't at all concerned that he won't be able to race at LVMS before going to Indy in May.

"I would love to race here," he said of the 1.5-mile superspeedway. "I think the racing surface and the banking would make for a great race. I wish we could run here in the Indy cars, but I don't think it's going to be possible. It's a shame we can't race here. This facility is awesome.

"We just need to get the feel for the car. I don't know if it will hurt us not having a race before Indy, but we just need to know what this car will do."

In the limited time he had on the track Thursday -- and despite gusting winds -- Montoya was able to get the car up to 204.3 mph; Vasser ran a top lap of 205.5 in near-perfect conditions Wednesday.

Although Vasser said there were more similarities than differences in the IRNLS and Champ cars, Montoya found the differences to be quite noticeable.

"The (IRNLS) cars are a lot different from a Champ car," he said. "It's completely different; the seat position is different, the engine is completely different. Everything is so different, it's kind of weird driving it (but) it's kind of interesting.

"But as long as it's quick, I like it. You can put me in any kind of car on any kind of track, and I like it if it's fast."

* NASCAR: Kyle Petty said he hasn't been this excited about a NASCAR Winston Cup race since he first raced against his father, Richard, back in 1979.

Adam Petty, Kyle's son, will attempt to qualify for his first Winston Cup race this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

"This race will be the neatest thing," the elder Petty said. "Adam will make his Cup debut here and that's real special. As a father, I'm really excited. There's nothing like the feeling of seeing your children do what they want to do and succeed. It lets you know you did an okay job as a parent when they are happy and loving what they're doing."

Petty said he would not mind if his son finished ahead of him in Sunday's DirecTV 500.

"I'd like nothing more than for him to do extremely well," Kyle said. "If Adam wins all of the races for the rest of my life, and I don't get (another) one, that's fine with me." ...

Coast Resorts will sponsor the NASCAR Winston West race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 22. The Orleans 150 will be held in conjunction with the Vegas Indy 300 Indy Racing Northern Light Series event and a concert by the rock band Smash Mouth.

* CART: Jimmy Vasser, a four-year resident of Las Vegas, had never driven at Las Vegas Motor Speedway until Wednesday's Indy Racing Northern Light Series test in preparation for the Indianapolis 500.

His impressions of the 1.5-mile superspeedway?

"It's great," Vasser said. "It's good to finally get out there and fly it around. It's a great oval."

Vasser added that he would relish the opportunity to return to LVMS in one of the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing Champ cars.

"I think it would be a fantastic circuit for the Champ cars," Vasser said. "It would be very fast -- probably close to the 225 (mph) range -- and I think it would be good for the fans."

* IRNLS: Strong winds kept most of the five drivers off the track Thursday for the second day of a two-day test session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Kelley Racing drivers Scott Sharp and Mark Dismore, Panther Racing's Scott Goodyear and Hubbard-Immke Racing's Tyce Carlson cut short their testing because of the wind.

Carlson and his crew limited their track time to working on pit stops in the afternoon. Target/Chip Ganassi Racing's Juan Montoya was the only driver to venture out on the track after lunch.

"It's a bit too windy to do any development work today," Goodyear said after pulling his Pennzoil Dallara/Aurora into the garage.

* NHRA: Jim Yates will join local drivers George Marnell, Donny Hendrick, Dwayne Shields and Andy Lewis in making the first passes on the new $10 million drag strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway today at 4:30.

Marnell, who drives in the NHRA Pro Stock category, will make the inaugural pass on "The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway," which will host the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals next weekend.

"We're excited about being the first team down the track," Marnell said. "It's great having a top-notch facility in our backyard. Hopefully, it will give us a leg up on the competition."

The practice session will be open to the public.

* BACKMARKERS: Freestyle motocross rider Carey Hart of Las Vegas is scheduled to perform in an exhibition performance Saturday night at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway's half-mile dirt track.

Hart's exhibition will coincide with the track's weekly IMCA Late Models and Modifieds, Legends Cars and Thunderstox program. A demolition derby also will be on the bill.

Spectator gates open at 6 p.m., with racing at 7:30 p.m.

Las Vegas drivers Dale White and Mike Petersen will be competing in both the American Le Mans Series and Speedvision World Challenge events in Saturday's Grand Prix of Charlotte at Lowes Motor Speedway. Both cars are sponsored by the Westward Ho hotel-casino.