Friday, Oct. 31, 2003 | 10:23 a.m.
Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at [email protected] or (702) 259-4089.
John Force's record streak of 322 consecutive starts will come to end next weekend after the 12-time NHRA Funny Car champion suffered cuts on both hands Wednesday night in a freak accident at his Yorba Linda, Calif., race shop.
According to a team spokesman, Force was moving a crystal trophy when it shattered as he set it down. Force suffered serious cuts on both hands that required 40 stitches to close. Force was treated at Placentia-Linda Hospital in Placentia, Calf., and released.
"The doctor said no way I can drive and he doesn't know how long it'll be before I can sign an autograph," Force said in a prepared statement.
Force, who routinely drives his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang Funny Car at speeds in excess of 320 mph, said this was the most serious injury he has suffered in his 30-year racing career.
"I've burned my eyebrows off a couple times," Force said. "Burned my hands a little, crawled out of a lot of fires. The worst thing that happened before was when we had a car we were going to cut up on TV. It was on a moving stage thing and I was doing my act and got hit in the elbow by my own car. I thought I was going to miss a race then, but we got through it."
Force said he had not decided whether he would park his racecar for next week's NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., or field the car with another driver.
Force made his 322nd consecutive start last weekend in the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Force was eliminated in the first round by Gary Scelzi.
Saturday's King Taco 200 was canceled due to the Southern California wildfires. Sunday's CART Champ Car World Series season finale also has been canceled.
Lynch, who drives a Dodge that is prepared by Orleans Racing of Las Vegas, held a 14-point lead over Mike Duncan and a 33-point edge over Steve Portenga after 12 races. Lynch, 23, had a series-leading three victories and 10 top-10 finishes this season.
Lynch said the cancellation did not diminish what he and his team accomplished this season.
"It's not going to take away from anything," Lynch said. "There are going to be the guys that are going to be saying, 'Well, we would have won the last race if we would have had it,' so we don't deserve to win it. But I guarantee you, my guys deserve it -- they worked hard all season long and they just did a wonderful job."
Lynch said he would drive a second Orleans Racing Dodge truck as a teammate to Brendan Gaughan in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season finale Nov. 14 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but was unsure if he would return to the Winston West Series next season. As the Winston West champion, Lynch also will compete in next weekend's inaugural NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway.
"We still have the big (Showdown) in L.A. next weekend and that's what we're focusing on now," Lynch said. "And then we're going to run Homestead in the truck race. We just want to come out with a good top-five finish in the (Showdown) and a good top-10 finish in the trucks and then go from there.
"After the season has settled down, we will sit down and talk and figure out what the plans are for next year."
After Busch's engine gave out during the Martinsville race, he spun several times on pit road -- while other crews were working on their cars -- after running through his own oil. NASCAR summoned Busch, his crew chief and car owner Jack Roush for a meeting after the race, but Busch did not attend.
NASCAR called another meeting the following week, at Atlanta, and Busch was forced to turn over his hard card, according to a report on thatsracin.com.
"Our president, Mike Helton, is trying to make a point," NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said. "We need to do what is necessary to get Kurt's attention."
Losing his annual pass won't affect Busch's ability to compete, but he will have to personally sign for a paper credential at each track for the remainder of the season -- an inconvenience that drivers and crew members avoid by possessing the hard card.
"This transition will enable GM Racing to strengthen its Chevy Nextel Cup program and, at the same time, work with Pontiac on its future racing plans," Doug Duchardt, director of GM Racing, said.
Tony Stewart (2002) and Bobby Labonte (2000) won two of the past three NASCAR Winston Cup championships in Pontiacs, but Joe Gibbs Racing switched to Monte Carlos for both drivers at the beginning of this season. Although the Grand Prix will be allowed to compete next year under NASCAR's rules, it is believed most teams currently driving Pontiacs will switch to Chevys next season.
The test, which will be open to the public, will be the last opportunity for most teams to test prior to the 2004 Daytona 500. Nearly 50 Winston Cup and Busch Series drivers took part in this year's test at LVMS.
"We have been approached by Jacques Villeneuve with regards to a role with the team in 2004," a McLaren spokesperson told the Reuters News Agency. "However, no meaningful discussions have taken place."
Longtime car owner Menard has been added as a partner to the team, which will continue to be known as Panther Racing. Tomas Scheckter already is signed to drive one car while the driver and sponsors of the second entry have yet to be announced.
Racing in nine classes will be held beginning at 8 a.m. both days. Fields are made up of vehicles from the 1940's through the 1970s. Admission is $10 for the weekend, and children 12 and under are admitted free.
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