Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Vasser seeking redemption at Indy

Friday, May 19, 2000 | 9:49 a.m.

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

Jimmy Vasser has some treasured memories of racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but the Las Vegas resident would like to erase the memory of his last lap at the Brickyard.

Vasser, who will attempt to qualify Saturday for his first Indy 500 since 1995, was leading the race with 30 laps remaining that year when he was caught up in an accident with Scott Pruett and hit the wall in turn three.

"I remember clearly the last lap I raced here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway," Vasser said. "I led. And then I ended up in the fence in a little deal with Scott Pruett. That was the beginning for (Jacques) Villeneuve to get his lap back and the crazy things that happened in those final 15, 20 laps." That was the same year that Scott Goodyear was penalized for passing the pace car on a restart while leading the race, which opened the door for Villeneuve's victory.

Despite the way the '95 race turned out for Vasser, who finished 22nd after starting ninth, he credited that run with helping him win the CART championship the following year.

"It was a great race," Vasser said. "I believe that moment probably was the springboard for what was to come for me the following year; that was the first time I had led a race.

"From that point on for the rest of the season, we started doing better. And I believe that was the springboard for the things that happened to me in 1996, obviously winning the championship."

Vasser, who returned to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday with Target/Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Juan Montoya to begin preparations for the May 28 Indy 500, said being back at Indy has filled a void in his career.

"Certainly, I missed being here," Vasser said. "All the success we've had since we've left has been great, but there has certainly been a hole in the racing part of my life, and that's missing here. I certainly feel lucky I race for a team that has the capability to do something like this."

Vasser, whose best finish in four Indy 500 starts was his fourth-place showing in 1994 with Hayhoe Racing, said winning an Indianapolis 500 would mean as much to him as capturing his first CART championship.

"If I can get an Indianapolis 500 under my belt, that certainly would be one of the crown jewels of my career -- right alongside my championship," he said.

"I'd like another CART championship ... but I can't add an Indianapolis 500 race championship if I'm not here."

* NASCAR: In the wake of Adam Petty's death last Friday in a crash prior to the Busch Series race at New Hampshire International Speedway, Petty Enterprises has withdrawn Kyle Petty's No. 44 Pontiac from this weekend's The Winston all-star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C.

Veteran Winston Cup driver Steve Grissom, who drives Petty Enterprise's Dodge in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, will fill in for Kyle Petty in the Hot Wheels Pontiac at next weekend's Coca Cola 600 at Lowe's.

"We're all hurting pretty bad right now," Grissom said, "and I'm really glad there is something I can do to help out. One thing I found out right away is that when you go to work at Petty Enterprises, you become one of the family. That's the way I've felt since I walked in the door the very first time. We're all hurting but we're going to do everything we can do to make Kyle proud of us at Charlotte." ...

Ray Evernham has called a press conference for next Thursday in Charlotte, N.C., to announce the second driver for his two-car Dodge Winston Cup team for the 2001 season.

It has been widely speculated that Evernham will tab Casey Atwood to join veteran Bill Elliott in the second Evernham Motorsports Dodge.

Evernham will be in Las Vegas June 5-6 to test the 2001 Dodge Intrepid at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

* CART: Michael Andretti said he will watch next Sunday's Indianapolis 500 on television, but admitted he won't necessarily be pulling for fellow CART drivers Jimmy Vasser and Juan Montoya.

"I think in some ways, you'll be wanting those guys to do well but I'd also like to see Al (Unser Jr.) do well, too," said Andretti, who called Unser immediately following his win in Las Vegas last month to offer congratulations.

"I was very happy for Al to win the last race and he's running very well (at Indy), too. Just to see him close to the leader chart in terms of time, I think, is a scary thing for the rest of the field because whenever Al is up in the top 10, you know he's going to be tough." ...

Della Penna Motorsports rookie driver Norberto Fontana has been cleared to return to competition by Dr. Terry Trammell, CART's chief orthopedic consultant.

Fontana briefly lost consciousness after an accident last Friday during practice for the Firestone Firehawk 500 at Motegi, Japan. Fontana, who had to sit out last weekend's race, will return to competition at next Saturday's rescheduled Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix at Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway. ...

Fans will be able to cast their votes for the 2000 CART All-Star Team on the series' website (www.cart.com). Two voting periods will be held: The first following the July 16 Molson Indy in Toronto and the second after the season-ending Marlboro 500 at California Speedway.

* IRNLS: According to sources close to the Indy Racing League, the series is expected to announce soon that it will add a race at California Speedway in Fontana for the 2001 season.

The series already has added races in Joliet, Ill., and Kansas City, Kan., next season. The race would mark the IRL's first venture into the Southern California market. ...

A charity event and sports memorabilia auction held Monday evening in Indianapolis raised more than $80,000 to benefit the Sam Schmidt Foundation and the Sam Schmidt Family Trust.

Schmidt, a Henderson resident who was paralyzed from the neck down in a testing accident in Orlando in January, continues to undergo rehabilitation in a St. Louis hospital.

* NHRA: Nine-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force can tie retired Pro Stock driver Bob Glidden's all-time NHRA victory total of 85 with a win this weekend in the Matco Tools Spring SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J.

But Force, the father of four girls, said his zeal over the pursuit of Glidden's record has been tempered by last week's death of 19-year-old NASCAR driver Adam Petty.

"That was a heartbreaker ... it puts a downer on everything," Force said. "I didn't know him -- I only met him once -- but it makes you want to go home and grab your children and hide them and not let them get out there in the world because things can happen. But we've all got to do our thing in life and things just happen and I didn't know why and I don't think it's fair.

"My heart just cries out for (the Petty) family because they had a lot of dreams in that kid and I'm really saddened. I guess when I win, I'll take it and I'll walk away and say 'thank you,' (but) I wish I could trade it for that kid, to give him time to chase him dreams; I've had a lot of my dreams."

* BACKMARKERS: Las Vegas Motor Speedway will host Friday Night Drags at The Strip tonight with High School and Import races. Gates open at 5 p.m. and racing begins at 6. ...

The NASCAR Weekly Racing Series returns Saturday night to the 3/8-mile paved oval at LVMS with racing in NASCAR Late Models, Grand American Modifieds, Legends, Chargers, Mini Stocks and Bandoleros divisions. Gates open at 5 p.m. and races start at 6. ...

Mark Post and John Gaughan, a 34-year old business owner from Las Vegas, have drawn the first starting positions in the two top classes for the 31st annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500 desert race, to be held June 2-4 in Ensenada, Mexico.

Post, from Laguna Hills, Calif., will be in the first four-wheel vehicle to leave the starting line, driving a Ford-150 in the featured Trophy-Truck division. Gaughan, son of Las Vegas casino owner and former desert racer Michael Gaughan, will be behind the wheel of a Porsche-powered Chenowth open-wheel desert race car. Gaughan will drive the first vehicle to start in the unlimited Class 1. ...

The Ralph's Unlimited Hydroplane Tour opens its 2000 season this weekend with the second annual Mohave Unlimited Hydrofest on Lake Havasu, Ariz. The Las Vegas-based racing team owned by Kim Gregory will field two Hydroplanes this season. Mark Weber will return and pilot the U-10 York Heating and Air Conditioning entry while George Stratton will drive the U-5 Miss Appian Jeronimo.

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