Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Yates replaces son with veteran Carter

Thursday, Aug. 29, 2002 | 9:38 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

Veteran drag racer Mark Carter will replace Jamie Yates in Jim Yates' second NHRA Pro Stock entry beginning with this weekend's U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Jamie Yates, who drove the team's second SplitFire/Peak Pontiac Grand Am in a developmental role, will serve exclusively as crew chief on his father's car.

"Jamie has done a great job as a driver, but right now he is way too important to my program and I need him as a full-time crew chief," the elder Yates said. "At the last race (at Brainerd, Minn.), I had to run beside him or right in front of him in three different qualifying sessions. I basically lost my crew chief for three runs and we just can't do that.

"We're in a tough championship points battle and we all agreed that we have to make sacrifices and do everything we can to try and win it. Mark talked to us earlier in the year about possibly coming to the program. We've worked with him before and he has good experience driving a racecar. We're confident he can do the job."

Jim Yates enter the U.S. Nationals trailing front-running Greg Anderson by 25 points in Pro Stock.

Jamie Yates said he would miss driving the team's second car.

"I am disappointed that I am not going to be racing as much," he said. "But I am excited about the opportunity to totally focus on my crew chief responsibilities and do everything I can for us to win another championship.

"Recently, it's been difficult to make the right decisions that would enable us to perform at a championship level. Having the second Pontiac Grand Am car is such a performance enhancement for our program that we don't want to give it up, especially during this critical stretch of the championship run."

Jim Yates said his son received encouragement from NHRA legend Bob Glidden that helped the younger Yates accept the change.

"Jamie has handled this very well," Yates said. "He loves to drive and he is very good at it. But more than anything, he wants us to win the championship.

"Bob Glidden told Jamie during the Indy test session, 'Your dad just paid you the highest compliment he can pay anybody -- he said you're too valuable helping him on the starting line than you are driving his other racecar.' Coming from a legend like Bob, that meant a lot to Jamie, as it did to me."

Carter, 41, who competed in Pro Stock from 1996 to 1998, agreed to pilot Yates' second car on a race-by-race basis.

"I'm excited -- I thought my driving career was over," Carter said. "I feel extremely fortunate. You don't get an opportunity like this very often. The Yates family has always been good to me and I feel honored to be part of Jim's team."

During an interview with ESPN, Morgan made comments "to the effect that NHRA flagrantly disregards racer safety," the sanctioning body said in a release announcing the fine. "NHRA strives to provide a safe environment and a level playing field at all national events. Morgan's comments were unsportsmanlike, detrimental to the sport of drag racing, and out of order."

The fine must be paid in full before Morgan will be allowed to participate in another NHRA event, the NHRA said.

Force said in July that a doctor told him he would need surgery to remove his gallbladder to relieve persistent stomach pain.

"I went to a second doctor, who said that the gallbladder didn't do anything, but if it wasn't causing me any pain, why take it out?" Force told National Dragster magazine. "He said, 'the pain could have come from somewhere else. Do you have any stress in your life? Because it could be stress-related.'

"I answered, 'Not unless you think a dozen guys trying to take your title away and ruin your life could cause stress. Not unless finding the money to run all these cars could cause stress. My life is one big glob of stress.' Bottom line, I'm not getting hacked on -- at least not right now."