Friday, Jan. 16, 2004 | 10:14 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.
Despite his horrific crash three months ago in the Indy Racing League season finale at Texas Motor Speedway, Kenny Brack said he never has had second thoughts about returning to racing once his recovery and rehabilitation are completed.
"I haven't really thought any thoughts like that," Brack said. "My focus has been to basically learn about my injuries and talk to the doctors and get their opinion about how it's going to heal and how long it's going to take and so forth.
"I think everybody that's worked on me has been of the opinion that the injuries are serious but they will heal and it will take somewhere between five to six months from the accident date."
Brack's list of injuries included a fractured lumbar vertebra, fractured right thighbone, fractured sternum and fractures to both ankles. As a result of being bed-ridden for nearly six weeks, Brack had to have his gall bladder removed late last month. He still is walking with the aid of crutches because his right ankle has not completely healed.
Brack, 37, has set the Indianapolis 500 -- a race he won in 1999 -- as his goal for his return to racing. But even Brack, who has remained optimistic throughout his recovery, isn't sure if that is a realistic goal.
"You know, I never have been in a position like this so obviously I can't say if (my recovery) is going to be five or six months or if it's going to be three months or 12 months," he said. "But for now I believe the doctors and I keep working hard at making a comeback.
"It has hurt a lot and so forth but like the last three weeks I've been home, I've been seeing a tremendous recovery as well. It is getting better pretty fast at the moment."
Bobby Rahal, Brack's car owner in the IRL, said he wouldn't be surprised if his driver made it back in time for the Indy 500 in May.
"Kenny is the kind of guy that if a doctor tells him it's four months to heal, he'll try to do it in three or better," Rahal said. "I still say when you look at the severity of that accident, it's only by the grace of God that Kenny is still with us.
"I've always had nothing but the highest regard for Kenny. I was very upset when he got hurt but his recovery, even with all the glitches, has been, I think, extraordinary. He's still got that drive. One of the things I always respected, maybe the biggest thing I respected about Kenny, was the way he approached his racing or his work. You talk work ethic, what have you, I don't know if I've ever seen anybody with it for the same degree."
Rahal has hired Buddy Rice to drive the No. 15 Pioneer Electronics/Argent Mortgage G Force/Honda until Brack's return. Whether Rice stays with the team in a second car after Brack comes back will depend on how well he does in the interim, Rahal said.
"If (Brack returns for the Indy 500) ... we would do everything we could to make sure Buddy was (in a second car) -- particularly if we were figuring in the championship," Rahal said. "Depending on how the first couple races go, if we're in the top three, I think it would be foolish for us not to try to figure out how to put something together to keep Buddy doing the obviously good job he's been doing up to that point."
OPEN-WHEEL RACING RESPONDS: Officials from open Wheel Racing Series, LLC, the group that is trying to purchase CART's assets and keep the series running this season, said they are not concerned by the Indy Racing League's interest in CART's assets.
"I doubt that the IRL would put in a bid in order to continue the series," said Kevin Kalkhoven, an OWRS partner and CART team owner. "In my opinion, their desire would be to kill it. The result would be many hundreds of Americans out of work, depriving two million fans of the opportunity of watching some of the greatest racing in the world and showcasing a great historical American motor racing series.
"I would sum it up as the IRL wants to bury -- OWRS wants to build; that's the difference."
Kalkhoven added that he didn't think a bid by the IRL to buy certain CART assets would be taken over his group's plan to buy all of the bankrupt series' assets.
"Any offer to acquire specific race assets without assuming all of the contracts as in the OWRS proposal is unlikely to beat the OWRS offer because it would not take on all of the liabilities associated with those contracts," Kalkhoven said.
"It's not unexpected that other organizations would come forward to review the assets and documents as we're all in the motor sports business," said Paul Gentilozzi, another OWRS partner and CART owner. "We've spent six months to acquire a thorough understanding of the situation and develop a business plan for the successful operation of the series.
"We are steadfast in our dedication and commitment to continue the Champ Car World Series for the millions of loyal open-wheel racing fans throughout North America and beyond."
IROC NEWS: The International Race of Champions (IROC) Series on Thursday formally announced it has signed a three-year agreement with Crown Royal to serve as the title sponsor of the all-star racing series.
The prize fund for the 2004 Crown Royal IROC season will be increased to $1.9 million, with the champion of the four-race series receiving $1 million. Las Vegas native and NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Kurt Busch is the defending IROC champion.
The 2004 IROC season will open Feb. 13 at Daytona International Speedway and then visit three new venues: Texas Motor Speedway (April 2), Richmond International Raceway (Sept. 9) and Atlanta Motor Speedway (Oct. 30).
Busch will return to the IROC series this season. Other drivers confirmed to participate include reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Matt Kenseth and Indy Racing League drivers Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves and Scott Sharp.
IROC president Jay Signore said that scheduling conflicts would not allow NHRA drivers Ron Capps and Doug Kalitta to compete in the series this season. Both Capps and Kalitta were invited to test IROC cars last year.
LVMS NASCAR TEST: Nearly 50 NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch Series drivers are expected to be at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Jan. 26-29 for an open test.
Penske Racing's Ryan Newman and Chip Ganassi Racing's Casey Mears have dropped out of the test but Petty Enterprises drivers Kyle Petty and Jeff Green have registered since the speedway put out its initial list of attendees. Several other drivers have switched dates. See the accompanying box for an updated testing list.
The four-day test will be open to the public, free of charge.
FORCE TABS MEDLEN: John Force has named rookie Eric Medlen to replace Tony Pedregon as driver of the Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang Funny Car in the 2004 NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series.
Medlen, 30, has little drag-racing experience but has worked at John Force Racing for the past eight years. He is the son of John Medlen, who was Pedregon's crew chief for the past eight years.
"We talked to a lot of very talented drivers but, bottom line, we had an opportunity to give a young driver a chance and, after talking to all my crew chiefs, that's what we decided to do," Force said.
"Eric has been here for the last eight years. He knows our routine. He knows what we expect. He tested in my car after Vegas (last October) and that really is what told us that he had the potential to do the job."
Medlen inherits a ride that Pedregon drove to the 2003 NHRA Funny Car championship and 27 national-event victories in eight seasons.
NHRA TESTING: The NASCAR boys won't be the only drivers testing at LVMS later this month. Many of the top professional NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series teams will be at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Jan.29-Feb. 1 for testing.
Among the drivers who have registered include 12-time Funny Car champion John Force, reigning Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon, Tony Pedregon, Gary Scelzi, Whit Bazemore, Jerry Toliver, Ron Capps, Tommy Johnson Jr., Gary Densham and Eric Medlen.
Unlike the NASCAR test, LVMS will charge admission for the test. Adult admission is $20 per day or $50 for a four-day pass and children between the ages of 6 and12 will be admitted for $6 per day or $12 for a four-day pass.
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