The Sacramento Bee from Sacramento, California • 31

The Sacramento Bee Saturday August 16 1997 C3 Breedlove: It could take $5 million for record run Unser is trying to put Penske back on track Al Unser Jr Recent mechanical problems for the CART driver have contributed to a winless streak of nearly two years erybody Michael has lost them like that too And won them when somebody else broke It all evens out in the Still the losing streak now is 30 races for Unser whose teammate Paul Tracy also has been struggling recently after winning three consecutive races early in the PPG CART World Series season any one reason for this winless Unser 36 said a combination of many things cars working that well right now The level of competition in the CART series is stronger than ever been I also finished seven of the 13 races run this year six because of mechanical The latest non-finish came last week at Mid-Ohio where an engine failure relegated him to a 22nd-place finish more frustrated than Unser said seems that everyone is trying to find one thing to blame it For some people that one thing is the driver As the losing streak has increased there have been unfounded rumors of a drinking problem and also talk that Unser wants to drive in the In- By Mike Harris Associated Press ELKHART LAKE Wis A1 Unser Jr is too professional to start celebrating a victory before reaching the checkered flag But he was thinking about what a win would mean to him and the Penske team when his engine failed 100 yards from the final turn on Road four-mile road course A stunned Unser was still coasting to a halt when Michael Andretti shot past on his way to victory in last Texa-co-Havoline 200 Unser a second-generation Indy-car star has 31 CART victories including two in the Indianapolis 500 But the Road America race was the closest he had come to a victory since September 1995 in Vancouver was a said Unser who will try to turn things around for himself and Marlboro Team Penske this weekend at Road America led 25 of the 50 laps in that race and all we had to do was finish the same thing happens to ev Breedlove said I found an engine (a modified F-4 Phantom jet engine) through a friend in the salvage business in San Diego Then I started building the car like building an advanced tactical fighter from The new Spirit of America made of steel tubing with aluminum skin is 47 feet long 8V2 feet wide weighs 8500 pounds and cost $3 million Breedlove says the whole project will require $5 million before done I finally got the car fairly far along I contacted Shell Oil which was one of my sponsors Breedlove said convinced them that we could run the car on their Formula Shell 92 octane the same product sold to customers and they agreed to be the primary sponsor Then we got AutoZone parts stores and Speedvision cable channel Now all he has to do is get into the car and go faster than anyone on earth has ever gone and then do it again The rules of land-speed records require two runs within one hour in opposite directions with the speed of the two runs averaged The course he will use is 15 miles long but only the middle mile is actually timed with the first seven miles used to build up the speed and the last seven to stop Continued from page Cl terested in it after Breedlove spent his time on my laurels designing a couple of Indy cars working on my dragster and doing some Meanwhile Gary Gabelich who was later killed in a motorcycle accident went to the Utah desert in 1970 with his Blue Flame and broke record Englishman Richard Noble came over in 1983 in Thrust SSC and hit 633468 mph a record that still stands broke my record on Goodyear tires so they really all that excited about another Breedlove said was in an odd position I had given up five years when I was in a good position public relations-wise and celebrity-wise And an American broke another record Land-speed records became pretty obscure plugged on through the years trying to get sponsorship but I finally had to get a real job in 1974" he said By the time Noble set his mark Breedlove had built a successful real estate business in California But he says the thought of more high-speed thrills never left his mind I finally had accumulated enough money to start the dy 500 now an Indy Racing League event so badly that he would leave the elite Penske team for an IRL ride I drive for the top car owner (Roger Penske) and one of the best sponsors in the business people feel that I should be out there winning all the time and (that) me who has the problem because I Unser said there was a problem either personal or professional be gone be fired But Roger given me any indication that the team want me any longer and I have no desire to go race for anyone else or in any other series you try forcing a victory it he added had losing streaks before Racing is fickle and my dad always told me hot hot and the next day And not right now But light the burner again maybe this season comes to end I I (OTTUlTrgTffli 1 jnna i I Vfr7rp I 5 EExpress Tire Auto Service Knights retain lead defeat Portland 8-5 Bee Sports Staff PORTLAND The Sacramento Knights out-scored the Portland Pride 4-1 in the third quarter Friday night to post an 8-5 victory and retain their one-game lead in the Continental Indoor Soccer Western Division The Knights (12-3) who remain unbeaten on the road in six games were ahead 4-3 midway through the third quarter when they scored three unanswered goals to break the game open Iain Fraser scored what proved to be the game-winner on a power play at the 12:07 mark of the third quarter Jon Parry had two goals and one assist for the Knights increasing his point total to 35 Michael Araujo added a goal and two assists Bee Sports Staff The Sacramento season came to an end Friday night as the Chico Rooks defeated the Scorpions 6-1 in the first round of the USISL playoffs The Rooks advanced to the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues division final next week Chico will play the winner of San Francisco-Los Angeles game The Scorpions who finished the season 12-8 were done in by Sacramento native Jake REGIONAL Gwin who scored four goals for Chi-nmi-o-r co before 1743 fans at Cosumnes DIGEST River College was on fire said Scorpions team president Kevin Campbell Jeremy Sweet scored the lone goal for Sacramento Baseball John Bartsch pitched 7 innings of one-hit relief and retired the last 22 batters he faced Friday as Auburn defeated New Mexico 12-8 in the first round of the American Legion Western Regional championships Ryan Larson and Chris Matsuoka each had three hits for Auburn which is competing in the tournament at the Veterans Hospital fields in Yountville Bartsch entered the game in the second inning after New Mexico had rallied from a 6-1 deficit to take an 8-6 lead He allowed only a single and struck out seven Auburn scored four runs in the fourth to take a 10-8 lead Auburn will play Hawaii an 11-1 winner over Arizona today at 3 pm General Pleasant Gary Vanier beat defending champion Casey Boyns 3 and 2 to win the 92nd annual Northern California Golf Amateur Championship at Spyglass Hill Golf Course Vanier 46 the 1982 California State Amateur champion won his first NCGA title although he is a veteran of many amateur events After the two played the first 18 holes of the 36-hole finale even Boyns 41 of Pacific Grove fell behind with a bogey on the 21st hole of the day He then conceded a 10-foot birdie putt to Vanier on the next hole after making bogey Former 49ers running back and kickoff return specialist Del Rodgers has been hired by Channel 3 (KCRA) as a sports anchor and reporter Station news director Ed Chapuis said Rodgers will begin on Sept 10 and share the sports duties with sports director Ron Hyde Rodgers drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round in 1982 retired from the NFL in 1989 after two seasons with the 49ers 4000 5500HR REG $3693 SALE $31 99 REG $2399 SALE $1999 PER MONTH 9) Day Deferred Payment Interest on All Purchases Delivery Assembly Available Trained Fitness Consultants on Staff 30 Day Risk Free Trial on Everything 4500 REG $1093 SALE $999 5500HR REG $1895 VriJ i i SALE $1699 REG $2095 SALE $1899 33 (iMitt'iiREHtt' lyUf t'ffiP I'W-oiiiM taro ifiRifcjL'RTEP'.