Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Sponsorless Clapshaw heading to front of class

Friday, Sept. 15, 2000 | 10:20 a.m.

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

Gary Clapshaw stunned the drag racing community last week by finishing second in his unsponsored "Spirit of Las Vegas" to defending NHRA Winston Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher at the prestigious U.S. Nationals near Indianapolis.

But the result didn't surprise the 49-year-old Las Vegas resident who was making only his fourth start in the NHRA's premier category.

"In most people's eyes, it was (a shock)," Clapshaw conceded. "But we go there looking to be successful or we don't have any business going. You've got to believe in yourself and your own program or you're not going to have much success with it.

"We were happy to be qualified in the show; to get to go some rounds on race day was an added bonus."

Clapshaw, the 15th-fastest qualifier, defeated No. 2 Cory McClenathan in the first round of eliminations on Labor Day. Clapshaw then got past five-time NHRA champion Joe Amato in the second round and Melanie Troxel in the third round to advance to the final.

After discovering a potentially disastrous air leak in the staging lane before his showdown with Schumacher, Clapshaw red-lighted in the final to hand the win to Schumacher.

"(The air leak) was not something we could fix in a few seconds," Clapshaw said. "We knew that we were on a short fuse at that point. I knew that if we didn't get off pretty quick, then nothing was going to work; the fuel timers, the clutch timers -- none of it was going to work.

"I was kind of pushing it for that reason. It would have been a real, real close race (if we hadn't fouled). Unfortunately, the tree didn't come down quite when I wanted it to so the best light of the weekend turned into a red light."

That finish to a remarkable weekend didn't lessen what Clapshaw accomplished against 21 more well-funded Top Fuel teams. But his effort hasn't exactly had potential sponsors beating down the door to his race shop at the Research and Development Park at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"We've had a few calls and we've got some folks coming to visit, but actually nobody that's local," said Clapshaw, who won a Funny Car national event in Memphis in 1995.

Clapshaw's appropriately numbered 777 Top Fuel Dragster is a 300-mile-per-hour billboard for the city of Las Vegas; renderings of a showgirl, a pair of dice and a bird's-eye view of the Strip adorn the body of the dragster.

"Right now, I'm the only person putting any money into it, so it's all out of my pocket," Clapshaw said. "I've spent millions on the Fuel cars through the years and now I'm back to spending money on this one. "Obviously, the hope and dream of ours is to be able to run for the city and the Valley here, to give Las Vegas something to root for, and to develop the program into a real viable marketing enterprise."

In the meantime, Clapshaw is parking the "Spirit of Las Vegas" to concentrate on landing a sponsor, and will not compete again until the season-ending NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., in November.

It was believed Chad Little's departure from the No. 97 John Deere Ford was delaying Busch's debut in the car, which he is expected to drive full-time next season. But in a message posted on his website Thursday, Little said he would drive in only two more races for Roush this season: This weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway and Oct. 15 at Talladega.

That would give Busch seven races in the No. 97 car, which would allow him to retain his rookie status in 2001. ...

Veteran crew chief Ray Evernham, who now is heading the Dodge Winston Cup Intrepid R/T program, has rescheduled his Dodge test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to Nov. 6-8. The test will not be open to the public.

With four races remaining in the season, only 17 points separate the top six drivers in the FedEx Championship Series -- by far the closest battle in the 22-year history of the series.

Gil de Ferran leads the tight pack with 132 points, but Michael Andretti (6 points), Las Vegas' Paul Tracy (10 points), Adrian Fernandez (14), Kenny Brack (16) and Roberto Moreno (17) remain within striking distance.

The FedEx Championship Series is in Madison, Ill., this weekend for the Motorola 300 at Gateway International Raceway.

Schmidt, a resident of Henderson and former IRL driver, was left paralyzed from the neck down by a testing accident last January in Orlando, Fla.

The "Hallow Eve" bash will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a lavish dinner and will be followed by a costume party at 11.

Tickets to the VIP dinner are $250 per person and can be obtained by calling (317) 387-0888. Tickets to the "Hallow Eve" costume party are $25 and available at the Hard Rock box office or by calling 693-5000.

Etchells said that it was a mutual decision between himself and Bazemore to independently pursue other opportunities. Bazemore will remain with the team through the end of this season.

In two seasons in the Etchells Racing entry, the 37-year-old Bazemore competed in 39 NHRA national events, posting two wins (Sonoma 1999, Denver 2000) in seven final round appearances, and claimed six No. 1 qualifying positions. With six races remaining in the season, Bazemore is sixth in Funny Car points.

The final IMCA points races of the season will be contested Saturday night at the half-mile dirt oval at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Gates open at 6 p.m. and races start at 7:30. ...

The Strip will host Toyota Supra Night along with Import racing and test-n-tune tonight and the Southern California Super Eliminator on Saturday. Gates open at 5.p.m. on Friday and 6 on Saturday.