Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 53

I wwwstar-telegramcom Thursday July 27 2000 11D 'P rr STOPS THE GRID THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE PORTO RSP F3Y flIAF F' V131 CR JOHN STURBIN MI A few ideas for 2012 Olympic motorsports It has been a week since officials of the committee seeking to bring the 2012 Sum- mer Olympics to Dallas announced that they would like to stage an international auto race as a demonstration sport at Texas Motor 7 ramm71 Speedway As much as I love "Ir' motorsports I don't 7 4 believe race cars belong in 7 et If the Olympics the ultimate '''41) 1 proving ground for the 7 human athlete -1 I fully believe that race- car drivers are athletes JOHN who possess extraordinary STURM levels of hand-eye coordiII nation ability to concen- COMMENTARY trate in a hostile environ- ment and bravery But their performance goes hand-in-foot with a motor vehicle which must take into account all the variables inherent with motor vehicles For instance deciding on what genre of race car and what type of race circuit would create a "level playing field" for the world's greatest drivers in 2012 is foremost among the tasks facing Eddie Gossage The executive vice president and general manager of TMS Gossage is a charter member of Dallas 2012 and a proponent of motorsports in the Olympics He is preparing a questionnaire for hundreds of movers-and-shakers in the motorsports industry worldwide on these thorny subjects I've told Gossage that I don't believe motorsports belong in the Olympics But if we rules that have been enforced at Cowtown Speedway in Kennelde for nearly 40 years What red-blooded American sitting in the frontstretch grandstands at TMS wouldn't stand up and cheer as a Ford Crown Victoria driven by some future NASCAR star from Darlington SC backs squarely into the chrome radiator of a Mercedes-Benz or a Volvo or a Lens driven by some overpaid Formula One driver from Monaco? If Dallas 2012 still doesn't approve I'd like to propose an Olympic Figure-8 demonstration race again using full-sized sedans from each participating nation Gossage and Smith would need to have an pattern paved into the TMS infield just like the one that put Islip (NY) Speedway on the motorsports map What red-blooded American sitting in the frontstretch grandstands at TMS wouldn't stand up and cheer as a Buick Regal driven by some future IRL starfrom Muncie Ind Tboned the right-side doors of a BMW or a Saab or a Honda driven by some transplanted CART driver from Brazil? I can almost hear the chants of "IBM-USA!" already That would be followed by something they don't see over in Europe every day a 2012-lap Legends Car feature race and a Humpy Wheeler-inspired display of fireworks and blowin' stuff up I can almost hear the Olympic theme song and the dulcet voice of Al Michaels inquiring: "Do you believe in motorized miracles? Yesssss!" must include them here are some suggestions that would give America its best opportunity to medal My first choice as form of motorsports would be drag racing And my first choice of vehicle would be nitro-burning Funny Cars Why? Because to me drag racing is even more inherently American than oval-track racing Americans invented drag racing Americans are forever raising the bar in drag racing and nobody will ever beat America in drag racing In fact if drag racing were approved for Olympic competition I would advise The Rest Of The World to not even show up in Fort Worth Americans would win the gold medal the silver medal and the bronze medal and Miss Congeniality Of course a quarter-mile drag strip does not exist at this time at TMS The Great American Speedway But Gossage has until 2012 to build one assuming that he and track owner Bruton Smith really want to help America kick some butt in Olympic demonstration motorsports But let's say that Dallas 2012 decides it would rather see motorsports demonstrated on either TMS' 15-mile quadoval or its 25-mile combination ovalroad course just so The Rest Of The World doesn't start whining Here are some ideas stolen from America's traditional Saturday night short tracks First I'd like to propose an Olympic Demolition Derby open to all countries who manufacture full-sized four-door sedans Naturally each country's drivers would compete in models built in their respective lands The competilion would be conducted using Demo Derby NASCAR BUSCH SERIES Carquest Auto Parts 250 Site: Madison Schedule: Tomorrow qualifying Saturday race 8 pm Track: Gateway International Radeway (egg-shaped oval125 miles 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2 9 degrees in turns 3-4) Race distance: 250 miles200 laps TV: TNN (Saturday 8 pm) 1999 champion: Dale Earnhardt Jr CART FEDEX SERIES Target Grand Prix Site: Cicero Ill Schedule: Saturday qualifying Sunday race 3 pm Track: Chicago Motor Speedway (oval 1 mile) Race distance: 225 miles225 laps TV: WFANCh 8 (Sunday 3 pm) 1999 champion: Juan Montoya FORMULA ONE German Grand Prix Site: Hockenheim Germany Schedule: Saturday qualifying (Speedvision 6 am) Sunday race 7 am Track: Hockenheimring (road course 4239 miles) Race distance: 180755 miles45 laps TV: Speedvision (Saturday qualifying 6 am Sunday race 7 am) Fox Sports Net (Sunday race 11 am tape-delayed) 1999 champion: Eddie Irvine NHRA Prolong Nationals Site: Seattle Schedule: Tomorrow first-round qualifying Saturday second-round qualifying Sunday final eliminations noon Track: Seattle International Raceway TV: ESPN2 (Saturday qualifying 9:30 pm Sunday eliminations 6 pm) 1999 champions: Joe Amato Top Fuel Del Worsham Funny Car Kurt Johnson Pro Stock PENNZOIL WORLD OF OUTLAWS Upcoming schedule: Today-tomorrow Williams Grove Speedway Mechanicsburg Pa Saturday Hagerstown Speedway Hagerstown Md TV: INN (tomorrow 11 pm tape-delayed) OTHER EVENTS Texas Raceway: Saturday the monthly Big Money Bracket Race will pay $5000 to the winner of the ET Class and $1000 to the Foot Brake winner in Kennedale Cowtown Speedway: Saturday a Demolition Derby in Kennedale is set with $500 to the winner 8 pm Boyd Raceway: Friday a Mod-4 1-on-1 Tournament will be part of the program 8 pm 281 Speedway: Saturday the IMCA Sprint Cars will be on the card in Stephenville 8 pm Kennedale Speedway Park: Saturday the track has scheduled bicycle races for kids 8 pm Motorplex lobbies NHRA Texas Motorplex general manager Elon Werner says the drag strip in Ennis may still have a "40 or 50 percent" chance of retaining its spring National Hot Rod Association national event in 2001 Completion of the NHRA schedule hit a snag when officials of Virginia Motorsports Park decided to switch to the rival International Hot Rod Association beginning in 2001 Previously NHRA president Tom Compton had announced that the spring Castrol Nationals in Ennis and the fall event at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown would be trimmed from the schedule Werner said that as of Monday the 2001 NHRA schedule had not been finalized Werner said he has been dealing with Jerry Archambeault the NHRA's vice president of public relations and communications on the matter "I've been letting the NHRA know we're still interested and have sponsors ready to go" Werner didn't get the impression I was wasting my time Jerry said that returning to Ennis was one of the options they're looking at I think they have three or four options with the schedule I also told them that no matter what happens we'll still be 100 percent supportive of the NHRA" Juan's stock hot again Reigning CART Fed Ex Series champion Juan Montoya's thrilling victory over Michael Andretti in the Michigan 500 on Sunday has turned up the heat on Montoya's impending move to Formula One in 2001 Montoya reportedly will leave TargetChip Ganassi Racing for Frank Williams' Fl operation as teammate to Ralf Schumacher Jenson Button Williams' current No 2 driver is rumored to be a candidate at Jaguar and Benetton Dodson disses aero-match Veteran NASCAR Winston Cup crew chief Barry Dodson doesn't have the budget to run a full-scale wind tunnel aerodynamics program for rookie driver Mike Bliss at Eel River Racing But Dodson still is not in favor of NASCAR introducing a common template to "aero-match" the four body styles that will be in use beginning in 2001 1 know every manufacturer wants to identify their brand" said Dodson crew chief for Rusty Wallace when he won the Cup championship in a Pontiac Grand Prix in 1989 'We're very close to having an IROC race where all the cars are equal We might as well send our money in to pay for our car let them NASCAR1 unload 'em and we race 'ern "NASCAR has always found a way to find parity in the brands I'm not in favor of a common template being an answer to that I know the 2001 Dodge is being built off the Taurus and that's not good for Pontiac That's not good for Chevrolet I count eight or nine Dodges coming on board that's like eight or nine more Fords coming on board" ')It 11 TMS road course winds toward completion gth ye VOWINWAM? LAWAFAWAV1WVAWA ilq ---N 0-0 1-- 97 r1101 1 -7-1 II 1 ws L---- t-7 z7 alt01------ 0140 me AA1111111 I Viper "We're going to a new street course in Montreal that no one's ever seen and another in San Diego Since I live here I might be able to go out to TMS and walk around the course and get a little bit of a sneak preview I don't think that's an advantage you can carry into the race But I'm going to try to come up with an advantage" The layout under construction differs from the one put on display during TMS' Media Day in January Gossage said "I like this design" Archer said after reviewing a faxed copy of the course "With the space that they have I think it's going to be a real nifty track Most infield road courses do not allow for much passing But you'll be able to do passing under braking and I think it's going to be quite exciting "They dealt themselves a tough hand initially because of limited space but it's going to be great Using the rest of the oval you're going to see some high speeds which people at Texas Motor Speedway expect This should be a good track for us much to my competition's dismay" Work on the infield road course at Texas Motor Speedway is on pace for a mid-August completion and the scheduled arrival of the inaugural Grand Prix of Texas on Labor Day weekend A concrete base is being poured this week on a layout that has been carved into the east side of the infield It will be allowed to cure so that final paving can begin Tuesday on a course that will play host to the American Le Mans Series on Sept 2 and the BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series on Sept 3 "I think it'll be done by mid-August with no questions or concerns on our part" said TMS general manager Eddie Gossage who has been watching the course take shape from his office window at The Speedway Club "The course looks great from the sixth floor The cool thing is you can sit in Turn 1 and see every inch of this thing" Gossage said his primary concern is to get the paving completed so the curing process can begin "This heat doesn't help the curing so as soon as they get the Texah Motor Speedway Drivers competing in the inaugural Grand Prix of Texas will use the outer loop of the new infield road-course complex at Texas Motor Speedway The cars will turn left off the backstretch to enter the road-course section which includes its own backstretch before exiting left again onto the 15- mile quadoval 1 out All but approximately 60 yards of the 15-mile oval will be implemented into the course Fort Worth's Bobby Archer the reigning Speedvision World Challenge GT champion said lack of track time will not present a major hurdle to his peers "The level of drivers in the series at least in the front can adapt quite well" said Archer who is seeking primary sponsorship for the No 32 Viper Speed asphalt down they'll hit it with a water truck" Gossage said "We're using a granite compound asphalt instead of limestone base to give it strength and durability It's got a polymer in it as well so it should be very durable" Gossage said that while ALMS officials have been kept informed of the progress he is not sure when the first race car will turn a wheel on the entire 25-mile lay Motorsports standings schedules 120 Check out wwwthatsracincom for daily stock-car racing updates To contact John Sturbin call (817 390-7408 or e-mail him at sturbstar-telegramcom 11I33 Lawn Tractor 13 hp 38-inch mowing deck 5 speed shilcon-the go transnission 1 ial it i I 1 0 0 414A gbti AN 0 1 A9IS1Aini "4c 5 I The lazy days of summer are here and John Deere has the polect way to make your mutter laWn care msy on you and on your wallet Come in to a John Deere dealer near you and learn how you can beat the heat this summer litt GT225 Lawn and Garden linetor 15 hp 42 inch COI Wert deCk IWOWilk ITWISIWSS1011 mYS1Ilum36 C4 i l'A 11' 5 A 10 410 i0 0004m 0-010 -71 325 Man and Carden 18 hp Thin engitK Ank rtu transmi5sion 48 it Kh Oruknible HMO' dtt LX255 Lawn linctor I 1514) Autotnalk- tratanglAsion 42 irk Convettible 8 liMf60016t mis117Pa' priuth 1 LA 19 141r4t4 wwwdeerecom MOORE RENTAL SERVICE INC 2440 HWY 287 MANSFIELD TX 76063 817-473-3131 KELLER FEED STORE 483 MAIN KELLER TX 76248 817-431-3341 DIV SMALL ENGINE CENTER 1301A WEST NORTHWEST HWY GRAPEVINE TX 76051 811-401-3200 MOORE RENTAL SERVICE INC 1010 DIVISION St ARLINGTON TX 76012 817-277-1141 MOORE RENTAL SERVICE INC 1010 DIVISION ST ARLINGTON TX 76012 817-277-1141 BOWIE BUTANE GAS CO INC 14 13 WISE ST BOWIE TX 76230 940 872-2266 DAVID'S STOVE SHOP INC 4019 IT WORTH HWY EXIT 4151-20 WEATHLRIORD TX 76087 817-596-4900 iI mit tind rNIV 'Win iiiI fd thinciog for comomini ow Available Eit pi' wooing kiri3k11 1111 Utta and OfM an 31 2000 Su brut to opoomid Ludt Xi Jam Deem Cledit ltoneolving Phitt LIM1 fugglit solup nod ihnlootty chafilps wat tak' inut tatollily payment ()that alw Nal all ptamiable a oducM at all (11tilertilliptc i tit i 11 '--s--- as.