Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Crew chiefs won’t alter pre-race fuel planning for NASCAR’s new finish

Friday, July 23, 2004 | 9:31 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.

NASCAR's new green-white-checkered finish will take effect in this weekend's Nextel Cup and Busch Series races at New Hampshire International Raceway, but Nextel Cup crew chief Chad Knaus said the new format won't change the way he prepares for a race.

Knaus, crew chief for series points leader Jimmie Johnson, said a green-white-checkered finish doesn't necessarily mean those races would be extended by only two or three laps.

"We're going to run the race to the length of whatever it is -- 300 miles at Loudon or 200 laps at Daytona or whatever it is," Knaus said. "We're going to figure it that way and then if the caution comes out, we just have to deal with it because you don't know that it's going to be three (extra) laps.

"The caution might come out at Lap 300 at Loudon and then run six laps of caution to get the mess cleaned up before they send you back to green."

Some drivers -- Johnson included -- theorized that most teams would automatically figure that races could last three laps longer than scheduled and figure that into their fuel-mileage strategy.

Knaus disagreed.

"Honestly, I'm not going to change anything I do," Knaus said. "(The rule) doesn't say they're only going to go three laps more; it just says that you're going to have a green-white-checker finish. If you start to play ifs and buts, you're just going to catch yourself way out of the game and end up with nothing."

While Johnson expressed approval of the green-white-checkered finish, Knaus said he is not in favor of NASCAR's newest rule.

"I don't really agree with it," Knaus said. "It's like going to a football game and telling the losing team that's on the 5-yard line that, 'OK, we're out of time but we're going to give you one more shot to see if you tie it up before overtime.'

"I understand that the fans want to see the green-flag finish, but it's not the way it is. If someone is losing a baseball game, we don't give them an extra inning or if their big hitter is coming up next, we don't say we'll give you one more pitch; it just doesn't work that way."

Johnson, on the other hand, said NASCAR was right for listening to that the fans.

"There's been a lot of changes taking place -- some I've been in favor and some I haven't." Johnson said. "Just my own personal opinion on that, this one I think it's a legitimate reason to make a change for the fans. Especially it being one opportunity to make a finish under green, but a very good compromise (that) you won't have a fiasco like you did in the truck race the other night."

Last weekend's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Gateway International Raceway needed four restarts and 14 extra laps to complete the race after accidents marred the first three restarts. The Truck Series, which has used unlimited green-white-checkered restarts to ensure a green-flag finish in its races, will adopt the single green-white-checkered restart format beginning with next weekend's race at Michigan International Speedway

DOUBLE DUTY: Rusty Wallace and Jamie McMurray will take over driving duties from Billy Parker in Wallace's No. 66 Busch Series entry, Wallace announced this week. McMurray will drive the car in Saturday's Siemens 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway.

"This was a really tough decision to make," Wallace said of replacing Parker. "The team's performance just isn't where we think it should be, so we have to start taking a look at what's going on. In order to do that, we had to get more of a veteran in the car so that we can evaluate our equipment.

"Jamie McMurray has a great track record in the Busch Series and I think that his input is going to really help this team. He's an incredibly talented and aggressive driver. Obviously, I've been doing this for a long time as well so hopefully between the both of us, we'll be able to give the guys some good feedback."

Wallace said that Parker, 27, would remain with Duraflame RWI Racing in a testing and development role.

Parker competed in eight Busch Series races this season but had crashed out of four of his past five races. His best finish was 22nd at California Speedway in May.

"Billy is still going to be a key player on this team," Wallace said of Parker. "Everyone here at RWI Racing loves him and wants him to succeed. We just have to take things one step at a time. Maybe there will be an opportunity for him to run some more races for us in the future if the situation works out right."

EYEING A RECORD: Champ Car World Series points leader Sebastien Bourdais can tie a series record by winning Sunday's Molson Indy Vancouver.

Bourdais, the 2003 Rookie of the Year, will attempt to earn his fourth consecutive victory this weekend -- a record shared by Al Unser Jr. (1990), Alex Zanardi (1998) and Cristiano da Matta (2002).

Bourdais posted wins in Portland, Cleveland and Toronto and has moved from fourth to first in the championship. The 25-year-old Frenchman holds a 28-point lead against Bruno Junqueira after six of 16 races. Las Vegas residents Patrick Carpentier, Paul Tracy, Alex Tagliani and Jimmy Vasser are third through sixth in points.

"Compared to last year, we have the same level of speed but the thing is we are much more successful and we haven't had bad luck so far," said Bourdais, who earned three victories and finished fourth in the championship in 2003.

"It's a much better year for us; we have a full time sponsorship with McDonald's and that helped our program. Things are looking pretty good."

The Champ Car World Series will make its first visit to Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sept. 25 as part of a Saturday night doubleheader with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

EARNHARDT'S DEBUT: Kerry Earnhardt, the eldest son of the late Dale Earnhardt, finished fourth in his NASCAR West Series debut last Saturday at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash.

Earnhardt, who is driving for Bill McAnally Racing, qualified sixth for the 200-lap race on the .646-mile short track. In addition to competing in the eight remaining West Series races, Earnhardt is driving in selected Nextel Cup races for Richard Childress Racing.

McAnally's drivers finished first (Austin Cameron), second (Jeff Jefferson) and fourth (Earnhardt) in the race.

BIG-TIME BAJA: For only the second time in its 37-year history, highlights from this year's Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 will be televised on network television, SCORE International president Sal Fish announced this week.

NBC's "Jeep World of Adventure Sports," which debuted earlier this year and is produced by Aura360, will air a 1-hour special on the Baja 1000 in December. The race will be run Nov. 19-20, starting in Ensenada, Mexico and finishing in La Paz.

"Monumental would be the word to describe this (announcement) -- absolutely unbelievable would be an even better way," Fish said. "The motor sports world has never seen an event like this. We have always said the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 is more than a race -- it's an adventure."

The five-race 2004 SCORE Desert Series resumes Sept. 10-12 with the ninth annual Las Vegas Primm 300.

LVMS TICKETS: Las Vegas Motor Speedway officials announced they have completed their ticket renewal process for the 2005 NASCAR Weekend and that tickets in the Dale Earnhardt Terrace now are on sale to the general public. All other remaining seats will go on sale Sept. 13.

The 2005 Nextel Cup Series race at LVMS is scheduled for Sunday, March 13 while the NASCAR Busch Series race will be Saturday, March 12. Qualifying for both races will be Friday, March 11.

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