Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 48

I i 10D Tuesday March 28 2000 I wwwstar-telegram cum I BO)tilIG 11110TORSPORTS 1 0D Tuesday March 28 2000 I wwwstar telegrancom HMG MOTORSPORTS 1 1 Cleaning up with dirt '1 1 i The popularity of dirt-track racing is ''1 1 even taking Eddie Gossage by surprise I By FTAFF- VVRITril JESSE SANCHEZ BY LEN IIAYWARD )-' 1 Star-Telegram Staff Writer 1 FORT WORTH Eddie Gossage made his first 1 De La Hoya bout is good for all trip to the Knoxville Nationals in Iowa last August 4 shortly after Texas Motor Speedway announced 'i 1 At 4a 1 t'sadone deal as far as the tion bantamweight champion kind of a combination of holly plans for a dirt track ks I boxing business goes Paulie Ayala who like De La wood singeractorspokesman The plans weren't even finalized before people at --lot El" 1 The contracts are signed and Hoya is promoted by Bob Arum's and will reportedly make more the biggest sprint car race of the year were asking 11 I 1 the first of what will surely be Top Rank Inc As long as De La than $8 million from the fight in TMS executive vice president and general manager i I several news conferences and Hoya continues to make head- June Gossage about tickets and suites 1 rounds of lines and money it helps Ayala "Oscar is No 1" said Lee "I could not believe it I go to Knoxville and this verbal jabs and his team at Boxing Manage- Samuels spokesman for Top fellow comes up to me from Tulsa" Gossage said -3' A Ok "Ile wants to know if we are going to have suites a' has already ment Inc Rank Ite's the only guy in the 4 -'i 4 ta taken place "Everything revolves around business who can still draw all the and how big they are going to be I said I don't '11 Oscar De Oscar" said BMI president Lester time know Then he asks me how much they cost I said I La Hoya and Bedford "He dictates almost "That doesn't take away from do I i Shane Mose- everything It's a huge advantage any of our other fighters though" happened on two different occasions" ai ly are sched- being on Top Rank with Oscan Paulie Ayala has been a part of Less than eight months and about $85 million uled to fight He keeps Pattlie Ayala in the mix pro boxing for almost a decade later the Texas Motor Speedway dirt track is corn- JESSE I June 17 at and gives Top Rank more money and knows the business side pret- plete SANCHEZ the Staples to work with ty well by now Mom money for Gossage and short track manager Gary Guehler I Center in "To be on his coattails is a Oscar can mean more money for said there a few little things to be done before Thurs- star-TelegramRoN JPNKINS COMMENTARY Los Angeles good place to be" him in the future day's opening night of the Southern Bleacher Classic Trying out the dirt track at Texas Motor Speedway are for the World It's common knowledge that "He brings in all the money so for the Pennzoil World of Outlaws sprint cars But Randy Hannagan left and Jeff Shepard The dirt tracks Boxing Council's welterweight De La Iloya presides over pretty of course they want to keep him considering dirt began moving in earnest in Novem- debut is scheduled for Thursday night De La Iloya bout is good for all I t's a done deal as far as the boxing business goes The contracts are signed and the first of what will surely be several news conferences and rounds of I verbal jabs has already 0 -4kti taken place 't: Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mose- ly are sched- uled to fight JESSE June 17 at SANCHEZ the Staples III Center in COMMENTARY Los Angeles for the World Boxing Council's welterweight VVRITER JESSE SANCHEZ tion bantamweight champion Pau lie Ayala who like De La Hoya is promoted by Bob Arum's Top Rank Inc As long as De La Hoya continues to make headlines and money it helps Ayala and his team at Boxing Management Inc "Everything revolves around Oscar" said BMI president Lester Bedford "He dictates almost everything It's a huge advantage being on Top Rank with Oscar He keeps Pau lie Ayala in the mix and gives Top Rank more money to work with "To be on his coattails is a good place to be" It's common knowledge that De La Hoya presides over pretty kind of a combinatiOn of Hollywood singeractorspokesman and will reportedly make more than $8 million from the fight in June "Oscar is No 1" said Lee Samuels spokesman for Top Rank 'TIe's the only guy in the business who can still draw all the time "That doesn't take away from any of our other fighters though" Pau lie Ayala has been a part of pro boxing for almost a decade and knows the business side pretty well by now Mom money for Oscar can mean more money for him in the future "He brings in all the money so of course they want to keep him Cleaning up with dirt The popularity of dirt-track racing is even taking Eddie Gossage by surprise BY LEN HAYWARD Star-Telegram Staff Writer FORT WORTH Eddie Gossage made his first trip to the Knoxville Nationals in Iowa last August shortly after Texas Motor Speedway announced plans for a dirt track The plans weren't even finalized before people at the biggest sprint car race of the year were asking TMS executive vice president and general manager Gossage about tickets and suites "I could not believe it I go to Knoxville and this fellow comes up to me from Tulsa" Gossage said "Ile wants to know if we are going to have suites and how big they are going to be I said I don't know Then he asks me how much they cost I said I don't know yet He says put me down for one This happened on two different occasions" Less than eight months and about $85 million later the Texas Motor Speedway dirt track is complete Gossage and short track manager Gary Guehler said there a few little things to be done before Thursday's opening night of the Southern Bleacher Classic for the Pennzoil World of Outlaws sprint cars But considering dirt began moving in earnest in Star-TelegraMIRON JENKINS Trying out the dirt track at Texas Motor Speedway are Randy Hannagan left and Jeff Shepard The dirt track's debut is scheduled for Thursday night much everything at Top Rank Inc He ranks right up there with Bob Arum breathing Is it because De La Hoya is a good fighter? Probably Is it because De La floya is a great draw? Definitely Money talks and Oscar is the definition of money He brings in fans translation money to casinos when he fights in Las Vegas He makes millions of dollars out of the ring as some November TMS built one of the nation's largest dirt-track racing facilities complete with tunnel in less than five months "Builders will tell you that any major construction project will come down to the last minute" Guehler said "Like anything else you get as ready as you can When something comes up you find a solution to work on it" The four-tenths mile dirt track is the centerpiece of a facility that as of now has permanent seating for 13007 and a lighting system with poles both inside and outside the track But it is the tunnel and the luxury suites that separate this dirt track from others on the Outlaw series The 16 suites on top of the grandstand each seat 22 people unusual for Outlaw tracks The tunnel is 10-feet tall and wide enough for about 1'4 lanes of traffic and will be used as the exit for race cars and other vehicles "This whole organization gets a big attaboy" said current Outlaw standings leader Danny Lasoski "I am telling you they did their homework But what makes me feel good especially myself and Steve Kinser and the guys that have been around a little bit all the hard work and dedication we gave to our sport is finally paying off" Lasosld was among 15 drivers that tested the new track on March 9 and the reviews were glowing Less than a week before the last of 600 truckloads of black clay was put on the race track The dirt was found about two miles from the track on land that Speedway Motorsports Inc chairman Bruton Smith owned The content of the dirt is similar to the surface at Devil Bowl Speedway in Mesquite which TMS officials took a sample of early in the building process Devil's Bowl Speedway owner Lanny Edwards "has been invaluable" said Guehler who has worked for Edwards "Getting good clay really was critical and we did a lot of chemical testing But Lanny picked up a handful of dry dirt spit in it and saw if it stuck together lie said it would be all right That comes form 30-35 years of experience" Much like the 15-mile 'FMS superspeedway was built to hold the crowds for NASCAR races the dirt track was built to hold the anticipated Outlaw crowds Because of "brisk" ticket sales 3000 temporary bleacher seats will be added for the two-day event With 16007 seats the TMS dirt track is among the top five in capacity on the Outlaw circuit "This is an impressive facility" said two-time Outlaw champion Mark Kinser "We are headed in the right direction here" LJIM ON ot0 r-N i I I rie 177 Len Hayward (817) 685-3873 Inhaywardstar-telegrancom 1 47 4 4 -4 A 4 1 1 1 I I I title OK so now the rest of the boxing world outside of undisputed light heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr and undisputed heavyweight Lennox Lewis can plan their fights Jones arid Lewis are big-time stars in their own right The official announcement of the Mosely-De La Hoya fight is particularly good news for Fort Worth's World Boxing Associa THE RING Coming soon on TV Pau lie Ayala has been described as a mid-level star by Top Rank Inc and he'll likely be on an HBO production in his next bout either on TNIKO or KO Nation sometime this summer The prospect of fighting in Japan for $200000 still looms and moving up in weight is a possibility Lester Bedford said 'We got nothing to complain about" Bedford said "It's our job to make a Paulie a bigger attraction more of a national fighter" Chips off the old blocks? Forget about Hector Camacho Jr The real legacy of box ers is being carried on by daughters of former champions Freeda Foreman daughter of George Foreman is making her debut on Saturday She joins Jacqui Frazier-Lyde (Joe Frazier) Laila Ali (Muhammad Ali) J'Marie Moore (Archie Moore) Irechelle Duran (Roberto Duran) and Maria Johansson (Ingemar Johansson) in the professional ranks The one and only Featherweight Robert Gonzales is Fort Worth's lone representative at the National Golden Gloves Tournament scheduled April 30-May 6 in Detroit Gonzales won a three-round decision against Juan Flores of El Paso for the Texas Golden Gloves state title on March 4 San Antonio won the state tournament team title and has five participants in the national tournament I 1 Card postponed I Fight Club Fort Worth's 4 next fight card date has been I postponed from April 6 to the i middle of May said Lester Bedford who is trying to attract professionals from around the state to battle local pros Making his debut Tony Ayala Jr's first bout under the management of BM! is April 14 against Jorge Bado (16-7-1 12 knockouts) 1 at Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio Lester Bedford said Tony Jr's fight deal includes two bouts against unranked opponents and two against ranked opponents Tony Jr will fight in BMI's FightClub Fort Worth series in May or June Bedford said The most recent time Tony Jr fought in Fort Worth was against Curtis Ramsey on June 26 1981 at Will Rogers Memorial Colise1 um He also won a Golden Gloves state title in Fort Worth in 1979 I 1-111NIL Camino soon on TV Pau lie Ayala has been described as a mid level star hu Tnn Rank Ind- and hall lika- ly be on an HBO production in his next bout either on TNKO or KO Nation sometime this summer The prospect of fight- ing in Japan for $200000 still looms and moving up in weight is a possibility Lester Bedford said We got nothing to com- plain about" Bedford said "It's our job to make a Paulie a bigger attraction more of a national fighter" Gams OTT Ine ola DIOCKS1 1 t-orget apout riector uama- 611U IL I led' leydty Lit LAJA- Prc holm' nnrritari on hu daughters of former champions Freeda Foreman daughter of George Foreman is making her 1 Oh a 1 happy" Ayala said of De La "You can get overlooked because he's the main moneymaker but working with Top Rank has more pluses than minuses" There's no guarantee of wealth but Paulie's exposure to Top Rank and De La Hoya could be his ticket to premier status outside the ring Well at the very least maybe Oscar can get Ayala a Spanish record deal like his "First I had to feel corn- fortable with him personally to get involved with him" BMI president Lester Bedford said "It was important to me that I too know this crime was something he was sorry about "Ile admits it was a terrible horrible crime and he knows people will be watching with a microscope But he feels like he's turned his life around "Ile's feels like he's been given a second chance at life" Tony Jr said he is remorseful and will never forget about the victim of his crime He said he hopes others will learn from the wrong choices he has made in life "I hope I can contribute to this society" Tony Jr said Hopefully lessons will be learned and kids realize there are consequences of actions "They can't let being a sports figure fool them into thinking they're above the law" Pantie Ayala said his relationship with Tony Jr is on a professional basis only "As far as promoting him they had 11000 people in San Antonio" Pantie said "From a promoter standpoint it can be very lucrative but personally I don't even know him" sportsstar telegramcom I 1 I i 1 THURSDAY 10:30 am-noon 12:30 pm: Busch Grand National practice 2:45 pm: Busch Grand National qualifying positions 1-25 FRIDAY am: BGN practice 11 pm: Winston Cup practice pm: BGN practice pm: Winston Cup practice 2:05 pm: BGN qualifying positions 26-36 3:30 pm: Winston Cup qualifying positions 1-25 Time permitting: BGN final practice 0) The Associated PressERic GAY ReutersS rEvE MARCUS Although they're not related Tony Ayala Jr left and Paulie Ayala have had a lot to celebrate in the past several months 1 -I 1 1 i 0 I I 1 I 1 I I 1 1 1 i 1 I a EE'E i 1 i 1 1 4 Ayala is a brand name in professional boxing LABONTE From Page ID "There is a lot more cooperation among the teams that is the biggest thing" De Hart said The departure of Ray Evemham and Andy Graves and the return of Hendrick were among the changes Evemham moved on to head up Daimler Chrysler's return to Winston Cup in 2001 Graves Labonte's crew chief in 1998 and '99 went to work for TargetChip Ganassi racing on the CART circuit De Hart returned as the crew chief for Labonte and they appear on track to make a run at their success of 1996 when Labonte won the Winston Cup championship Labonte made a late run in Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway to finish fifth his best finish this season He moved up to ninth in the Winston Cup standings heading into Sunday's DirecTV 500 at TMS 10 points ahead of Gordon Jerry Nadeau drives the team's third car the No 25 Michael Holigan IIomes Chevrolet "In a lot of ways it seems like De Hart never left" Laborite said "He came back and picked right up I hated that it did not work out any better for Andy because he is a good guy" De Hart didn't want to talk about what happened in 1997 when he left but added he is happy to be back with longtime friends Labonte and Hendrick "At Hendrick Motorsports I didn't burn any bridges but there were a few things I felt that were not right" De Hart said "I decided I wanted to pursue my own things" Hendrick Motorsports once a model for the multicar team began to drift apart in 1996 The Labonte and Gordon teams seemed to separate that season when the two were battling for the Winston Cup championship which Labonte eventually won There was tension between the crew chiefs and the crews Meanwhile Hendrick was fighting for his life after being diagnosed with leukemia in 1996 and spent 1998 confined to his house after pleading guilty to mail-fraud charges Evernham Gordon's former crew chief allegedly attempted to control the organization in Hendrick's absence alienating the other Hendrick teams There was more tension "than there should have been" Del tart said "The bottom line is this: You tear yourself up from within and you are not going to let someone tear you up from outside" De Hart left Hendrick Motor-sports in October 1997 and went to work for Lyndon Amick in the Busch Grand National Series He also did some work for Morgan 2 SATURDAY 9-10 am: Winston Cup practice I 10:45 am: Win- (S ston Cup qualifying positions 26-36 Noon: Albert- til 4011p son's 300 BGN u9) race 200 laps 30 minutes after V) race: Winston Cup final practice SUNDAY 1 pm: DirecTV 500 Winston Cup race 334 laps 45 minutes after race: Legends races AYS FOR TICKETS Call (817) 215-8500 McClure racing the past three years Since De Hart left Labonte has not enjoyed the same success he had in 1996 when he won two iraces finished in the top 10 in 24 'races and won his second Cup title He has won only three races since the 1997 season Even though he won at Texas and took The Winston all-star race in Charlotte NC in 1999 Labonte was disappointed with last season He finished 12th in points his first time out of the Winston Cup top 10 since he started driving for Hendrick in 1994 "I should have won at Bristol last year too" Labonte said "It was not that bad of a season but it was disappointing that I did not finish in the top 10 in points That is what really burned me up" "But I feel pretty good about this year We got some real good race tracks coming up that we're going to run good at" Len Hayward (817)685-3873 lahaywardstar-telegrancom qrdeline 336-ST" run I ItolltIL I Call (817) 215-8500 c--1 r----- g1-7) LI II 7 Arguably the biggest as well as most controversial last name in professional boxing in Texas today is Ayala Fort Worth's World Boxing Association bantamweight champion Pau lie Ayala is the former while San Antonio's Tony Ayala Jr (25-0 23 knockouts) is the latter Pau lie 29 defeated Johnny Tapia for the WBA title won the 1999 Ring Magazine Fighter of The Year and has defended his title twice in four months Tony Jr 36 was the WBA's No 1-ranked junior middleweight when he was imprisoned for rape in 1983 He made a highly publicized comeback last year after serving 16 years in a New Jersey prison He is 3-0 since his release 11 months ago Pau lie and Tony Jr are not related and their physical life paths are as varied as their weight class (118 pounds and 160 pounds) but both Ayalas fight for Boxing Management Inc Pau lie has been with BMI since the early 1990s and is part-owner of the company Tony signed a four-fight promotional deal last week However the decision was not an easy one cir I uvi uue i If you're an NCM basketball tournament fan call 336-STAR (336-7827) and enter code: 6771 for tournament schedule 6790 for game recaps 6211 for men's NIT Available through Apri I 3 2000 To contact Jesse Sanchez call 390-7760 or e-mail him at.