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Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 45

Publication:
Edmonton Journali
Location:
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Issue Date:
Page:
45
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

The Edmonton Journal, Friday, August 22, 1997 D3 More expected of Moore in sophomore season RICHARD HOUGHTON Journal Motorsports Writer AGE 22 VITALS: 5' 160 lbs. MARITAL STATUS: single mMrrnuM- Mania I CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 1 997 (age 22) won his first two Indy car races, in Milwaukee and Detroit 1996 (age 21) was the; youngest driver in Indy Moore cars. Best finish was second at Nazareth, Pa Finished second to Alex Zanardi in rookie race 1 995 (age 20) won the Indy Lights Championship. Won a record ten events 1 994 (age 1 9) finished third in Indy Lights 1993 (age 18) finished ninth in Indy Lights 1 992 (age 1 7) won USAC Formula 2000 title. 1 991 (age 1 6) finished fourth in Esso Formula 1600 Series.

1 990 (age 15) year-long student trials at Spenard David Racing School in Shannonville, Ont. Winner North American Enduro Kart Championship. 1 1 989 (age 1 4) won North American Enduro Kart Racing Championship. 1 986 (age 1 1 began career racing go karts. The Canadian Press Saskatchewan running back Robert Mimbs (right) must feel like he didnt get a fair shake against the Argos' tough defence sail pasti Riders Toronto avenges loss earlier in the season The Canadian Press Edmonton This is not what the marketing minds behind the Player's Racing Team had in mind.

Canada's racing wonderkind Greg Moore was in town on Thursday to garner some media exposure and thump the tub for the Molson Vancouver Indy race set for Aug. 31. Moore, 22, in his sophomore season driving the Player's Indy car in the CART World Series, was supposed to be challenging for the CART Series championship by now. Instead he found himself talking about Alex Zanardi. Zanardi is an Italian refugee from the Formula One series.

He bested Moore for the CART rookie of the year award last season. Now in their second years, Zanardi is again thwarting Player's plans for Moore's stardom. Zanardi has won five races this year for the Target Chip Ganassi team, including three of the last four events. He has a hammerlock on the series championship and has stolen the spotlight from everyone else including Moore. "The guy is just on a roll," Moore said of his rival.

"It happens in every sport." Their rivalry turned white hot during the Molson Indy in Toronto when Zanardi reentered the track after a pit stop and drove in front of Moore. The two cars touched wheels causing Moore fly into a retaining wall while Zanardi went on to finish second in the race. "It just seems like Alex can't do anything wrong," said Moore, a trace of exasperation in his voice. "Paul (Tracy) and I have both had bad luck this season," said Moore. "There is no reason why Alex won't have some as well.

I'm wishing some of my bad luck onto Alex for the next three races. No one is conceding this championship to him in any way." Despite the adversity, Moore's ascendance in Indy car ranks has been remarkable. He was a threat to win during his rookie season, and last June he became the youngest winner in CART history when he triumphed on the one-mile oval at Milwaukee. A week later he won again, this time on a road course on Belle Isle in the Detroit River. Driving a Mercedes-powered Reynard on Firestone tires, Moore has also recorded three second-place finishes and currently stands fourth in the point standings with 111 compared to Zanardi's 168.

Recent attention on the failure to win of two of the biggest names in CART Indy car history Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal has prompted speculation that the CART Series is now tougher than ever. The addition of a number of veteran drivers from Formula One such as Zanardi, Mark Blundell and Mauricio Gugelmin has underscored this. Asked if he feels the series is tougher than he expected, Moore puts the credit on the young lions rather than the veterans from Formula One. "Younger guys like Jimmy Vasser, Brian Herta and Paul (Tracy) have changed the series," he says.

"These guys are willing to take chances and give 100 per cent for the full two hours of a race. "Now during the races more guys are run- Toronto Luckily for the Toronto Argonauts, it only took two quarters to learn from their mistakes and manage a 27-1 CFL victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Thursday. After a pitiful opening 30 minutes and a measly 6-1 lead ARGOS 27 RIDERS 1 13th touchdown gave Toronto a 20-1 lead and some breathing room. Quarterback Doug Flutie rebounded from tossing three interceptions in the first half and landed his first touchdown pass of the game a 60-yard strike to Derrell Mitchell at the start of the third that put the Argos ahead 13-1. But Flutie, who complained this week of feeling tired, looked not just sluggish but predictable.

"I thought I had them open," Flutie said of his receivers on the three interceptions. "At least I was in a good mind frame to deal with it I had an exceptional second half." Paul Masotti capped the scoring with a 22-yard TD catch at 5:22 of the fourth from Flutie, who completed 22 of 36 passes for 327 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Mike Vanderjagt hit a pair of 26-yard field goals in the second quarter in Toronto's team-record 13th consecutive home win. Toronto improved to 7-2 atop the Eastern Division. Saskatchewan (4-5) remained in the Western cellar.

at the half, the Argonauts finally scrapped a poorly devised game-plan and just played football to start the third quarter. "We came in with some expectations after watching game film (of their recent loss to the B.C. Lions)," said running back Robert Drum-mond. "We were trying to dictate the pace of the game but we had to stop expecting certain things. Once we let the game happen and took what they gave us, it worked to our advantage." Drummond's one-yard strut with 34 seconds left in the third quarter his league-leading "Paul (Tracy) and I have both had bad luck this season.

There is no reason why Alex wont have some as well. I'm wishing some of my bad luck onto Alex for the next three races. No one is conceding this championship to him in any way. Greg Moore ning every lap within a couple of hundredths of a second of their qualifying times. It is a no-holds-barred, cut-throat deal now.

"Some of the older drivers such as Rahal (he didn't mention Unser) are now realizing this is what they will have to do in order to compete." Another fly in the ointment for Player's has been the passing of the federal government's Bill C-71 which limits the promotion of tobacco products. Under the terms of the legislation, Player's sponsorship of Moore's team and of a host of other drivers in the Player's Driver Development Program would cease in 1999. "I don't know what will happen," Moore says of the legislation. "It's something everyone in the Player's program has to think about. I hope the government does what they said they would and legislates to allow us to race and show the logos of our sponsors.

"I'm just a race car driver. My job is to focus on racing and that is what I intend to do." Yukon sets sights on rare medal at Games The Canadian Press 1 msmiimnrmmsmsmmhmi To be a serious contender in any event at these games is a big deal for Yukon, the Northwest Territories and P.E.I.. So far, none of the three have won a medal in the two-week competition which ends Saturday. As usual, Ontario, Quebec and B.C. are walking away with most prizes at this developmental event for young athletes in Brandon.

Organizers admit it's a lopsided competition between big provinces that send the cream of a large crop of well-trained athletes and those that can barely scrape together a team. It was Sean Sheardown's silver medal in cycling at the 1989 games in Saskatoon, says Boorman, that spurred the cycling movement in the territory. "That's really helped show these kids that they do have potential to reach a high level of cycling at a national level," Boorman said. The Yukon has also won several medals in cross-country skiing at the Canada Winter Games. The Canada Games, which began in 1967, are held every two years, once in winter and once in summer.

Brandon, Man. The last and only time Yukon won a medal at the Canada Summer Games was in 1989. The territory hopes to pull it off again. Yukon is entered in only four of 18 events, but mountain biking, introduced at the games for the first time this year, is where its medal hopes lie. "Yukon really is a paradise for mountain biking," explains the territory's cycling coach Bob Boorman.

"We've got tonnes of trails, we've got a really good environment. It's a very popular thing there." The five-member men's team, all from Whitehorse, includes Preston Blackie and Evan Kelly, who are ranked among the top ten in junior mountain biking in Canada. Female cyclist Nicole Densmore came in 12th in a national mountain biking competition. Since most of the sport's competitors are primarily road racers, the Yukon team believes it has an edge. They hone their skills year-round on dirt and snow.

Hollywood races to Northlands awfmmmm- Special Old Rye 1 jfQa mmm mmj ERNUSI White Zinfandel MaVS $6,99 GALLOL5tr. A simple philosophy "Have tonsils; will travel" has landed a short-time gig for Luke Kruytbosch as the track announcer for thoroughbred contests at Northlands Park. Now installed as the regular race-caller at prestigious Hollywood Park in Los Angeles, Kruytbosch got the Northlands job, which will last until Sept. 25 or 26. for the simplest reason imaginable: "I was the right guy in the right place at the right time." He visited Edmonton a couple of weeks ago only because the Northlands facility was one of the few remaining registered tracks on the continent he has not visited at least once.

The list, he said, has reached 65, including some absolutely forgettable plants Boise, Sacramento, El Paso, Albuquerque and Salem. "I had heard quite a bit about this place when I was working at Turf Paradise (in Phoenix)," Kruytbosch minutes (or less) that it takes to complete a race, I can't think of anything more intense." Kruytbosch agrees. "I'm actually on the microphone for about 15 minutes in a day," he said. "For sure, it isn't a long time. "But when I hear someone tell me how easy my job seems, I ask if they'd like to get a tape of a race, watch it several times, listen to the call, then try to voice a description at normal speed." Obviously, Kruytbosch isn't complaining not after the combination of circumstances that led him to a profession he obviously loves.

It started at Holbrook, Arizona, one of the most obscure tracks in North America. "I went to the track with a trainer friend of mine and was asked if I'd like to call a race," he recalled. "I had thought about it a couple of times, but I didn't think I had the voice." Besides, he was a stu- dent in animal sciences at university and $6.99 2i ju0 11 NUUW mm. 1 1 1 1 1 Kokanee 1 mm Coors Light IS Can Carton mm 1 mm. $17.99 1 'Tv explained over lunch.

"Quite a few horsemen from Alberta go through there. Horses that are competitive around here are usually competitive at similar levels in Arizona. I met (trainers) Doug Clements and Darcy Hawkes," who encouraged him to include already had a future mapped out. "I only agreed to do it because the track was so small that I didn't think anybody would be --INCLUDE' John Short Sports Comment Sausage On A Bun Rnrri nt Arid Iced Tea Aug. 22-Fri.

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464-4137 OPEN: 10AM 2AM 7 DAYS A WEEK listening. 1 11 never forget it. The name of the winning horse was Big John's Wallet." Was the novice broadcaster's love affair with a microphone and his favourite sport instantaneous? "Yes. "The bug bit me right away. I was told the call went pretty well, and I was invited back to try it again.

So I did." The rest, as they say, is history. In a field crowded with well-known veterans, Kruytbosch's selection to replace the legendary Trevor Denman at Hollywood Park created a stir throughout the industry. "I believe Trevor and Tom Durkan are the best," said the ambitious, personable young man. "I don't class myself with them, but I keep working to improve. One day who knows?" A typical day includes visiting with trainers in the morning, checking form charts at every possible moment and imagining every possible happening in each race.

He also colours the form chart for each race. The creative style is gaudy, but not especially neat. Kruytbosch doesn't mind going outside the lines. Behind a microphone, the exact opposite is true but in each case, the man is an artist. Edmonton on his odyssey.

To make things as close to perfect as possible, the journey of discovery includes two other features. "I always like to talk with management when I visit a new track," said the bulky 35-year-old with the smooth, precise delivery. "And I usually offer to do one race, if it can be worked out." In this case, one race was expanded to a minimum of nine a day for six weeks. Northlands race manager Les Butler, well aware of Kruytbosch's rising profile in the intensely competitive business of describing races, found the timing absolutely perfect. As soon as the pair agreed on terms and conditions, regular announcer Alan MacDonald, who has been in harness here for about 15 years, was given a chance to work on other things for a while.

By all reports, the experiment is succeeding. "Luke has been here less than a week, but people at our track (bettors and administrators) are really impressed with his work," assistant Northlands general manager Sam Johnson said. "There may be other sports that are harder to broadcast, but for the two WEST END I SPIRITS IN CALLINGWOOD 6607 177 ST. (SHELL SIDE OF 177ST) PH. 944-8097 OPEN: 10AM 2AM 7 DAYS A WEEK ST.

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