The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 47

SPORTS DAILY SPOTLIGHT MOTORSPORTS THE KANSAS CITY STAR D43 Friday March 17 2000 73Sh Racin' Sports can making comeback ON THE NET Be sure to check out wwwthatsraciiucom an Internet site updated every day of the year with Winston Cup racing news Look for daily live reports on what's happening in the sport and find it first at wnwwthatsracinxom TRACI OF THE WEEK Darfngta Raceway Fh vMxuKeti Ptevi The Audi Sport North America Audi R8 qualified on the pole Thursday for Saturday 's 12 hour race in Settling Fla the season-opener for the American Le Mans Series Darlington Raceway will host the TransSouth 400 Sunday 4 Track facts U66 Length L22Bfeet Front U28feet Front Back 2degrees 2 degrees Darlington NC 3 and 4 2S degrees Jeff Burton Sports-car radag me following art the major stjorts-car rc-ng senes currently ooerabng the Untied States American Le Mans Series: Founded is MW Don Panoz the organization uses rules Ova are er similar to those used at Oie 24 Hours of Le Mans rile organization licensed by that famous race It udR stage 12 -aces this rear eight the US one in Canada two in Europe and one in Australia Winners in the three classes are granted pre-quaUfyng exemptions hr the 24-Hours of Le Mans A goal of the senes is universal rules for sports-car racing The season begins Sunday at Sebring Fla Grand American Bond Racing Association: This will be tfte inaugural year for the senes that as founded tty BASCAfTs France family- (t has nine events scheduled The first race was run February at Daytona Motor Speedway as a part of Speed Wee its Venues include read courses cameo out at the infields at France-owned speedways such as Daybwa as weil as venerable old road courses She Road America and Watkins Gten White the senes welcomes factory teams it hopes bo keep racing costs low by means of price caps on cars Also factory teams must set cars to privateers The fodowmg are the major classes of sports cars being raced in the American Le Mans and Grand American sports car senes Cars the ALMS are essetttedfy the same as those In the equivalent dass in Grand-Am: MOST POWERFUL AIMS: IMP (le Mans Prototype): Grand- Am: SR (Sports Racer) These are the fastest cars on the trad They are purpose-built so-called two-seaters Grant Am they are open cockpit only In AMIS they are mostly open but rules allow dosed cockpits and those can are designated tMP-GTP They weigh about 2000 pounds and are heavy on downforce Engines are V-8 IS VI? Top speeds are around 200 mph They are made by such tradbonai racing powers as Ferrari Reynard Lola Audi BMW and Riley A Scott Some are fielded by the manufacturers some are fielded by privateers who have bought them from the manufacturers Turbocharged engines are permitted Grand Am also offers a Sports Racer class They are like SR cars but love smaller engines usually V-Bs MiO POWER ALMS: GTS Grand AM: GTO Production-based cars they are more readily identifiable by casual racing fans -Dodge Vipers Corvettes and Porsche turbos dominate the field But these bigft-horsepower cars are not your street-variety sports can They are tricked out and nearly as fast as the prototypes Both Dodge and General Motors field factory teams the category LEAST POWERFUL ALMS GT Grand Am: GUI These come closest to street versions of normally-aspirated cars such as Porsche 911s and BMW M3s Basically these are run by privateers and are almost always the most numerous cars on the track By I1M PEDLEY The Kansas Clly Slat Most fans of the sport agree: The long dark night for sports-car racing in this country seems to have come to an end Whine virtually no viable sports-car raring series existed two years ago there are now two Both are staging races attracting competitors and selling tickets Asked if the sport is back on its feet as the 2000 racing season begins veteran driver Rob Dyson of feted an emphatic yes great thing about it is we are getting people interested in it and who want to see it gn Dyson said The late 1990s were not good for big-time sports-car racing in the United States The once-vibrant IMSA series was sold off by owner lohn Bishop in 1996 When he left so did much of the luster The new owners changed the name to Professional Sports Car Racing In 1998 the series folded Also in 1998 Sports Car Club of America Pro Racing attempted to 611 the void by founding United States Road Racing That series folded last year in midseason But in 1999 entrepreneur Don Panoz launched another sports-car series the American Le Mans Series When the first ALMS season ended last year- it did so in good health and with renewed interest in the sport fans Panoz said "weie say ing 'Yes you did the right thing' The signs of progress were there" Others were apparently watching Last September NASCAR 's France family threw its weight and resources behind the Grand American Road Racing Series Grand Am whose goal said president Roger Edmondson is crown an American road racing champion' began its season in February with the Roiex 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway ALMS begins its season this weekend with a 12-hour race at Se bring Fla Sports-car racing traditionally' has been a fairly esoteric sport in America Its followers are not as numerous as those of NASCAR or Indy-style open -wheel counterparts But they tend to be very dedicated Asked why the sport is not as Sources Darlington Rjcrway NASCMfc KKI nstMck ibe Liuvi' (icy star THIS RACE very expensive and most popular prototype programs to support full fields in two series Dyson said Not yet There are just enough to make sure there is adequate racing' ALMS currently has the edge in attracting the top prototype fields This week at Sebring fans wtB get to watch BMW V-12 LMRs Audi R8s Lola B2K lOfudds Panoz LM-1 Roadsters and the Cadillac North-star LMP Top drivers in the series include a sizable contingent of former Formula One competitors like Michele Alboteto and European road-race veterans like Allan Mc-Nish At the Grand-Am opener at Daytona the new- Cadillac and die Dyson Raring entry were the top prototypes None finished the race paving the way for the unheard ot a Viper tn the GT class was the overall win net followed bv a GT Corvette Things the Grand-Am senes does have going for it and which ate expected to increase car counts are the golden touch of the France family and raring at the top road courses in North America If spotts-car raring is to come to the Kansas City area it will most likely be the Grand-Am series The NASCAR track being burit in Wyandotte County is owned by the France family's International Speedway' Corporation While the primary configuration of the track is a 13- mile oral a road course could be built in the infield would not be that hard to da Kansas Speedway Corporation president Grant Lynch said buih mto the plan' To reach fi Pedley motorsports writer for the The Star call (816) 234-4960 or send e-mail to jpedteykcstarxom popular as other forms of racing Dyson said too complicated' In sports-car racing several classes of cars race at die same time The cars look different and perform dif Terentiy The classes of cars are racing against each other and not against each other way fans have to look at it' said Dyson who is raring in the Grand-Am series this yean'is there are really three races going on all at the same time They are going for their class win and going for die overall win' The fastest cars the prototypes can teach speeds of 200 mph The other two classes GIs are going at speeds as slow as 120 mph -On the same track that creates some desirable traffic problem--That's right desirable traffic is a major component of this kind of racing" Dyson said fans see a pass on an outside comer where a car shoots by another 20 mph faster it adds to perspective' The cars carry the names and in the case of the GTs the looks fans can relate tu They include Fer laris BMW's Porsches Audis Corvettes and Dodge Vipers That is also a selling point with fans road-raring types will teO you People in the stands and in front of television sets can watch vehicles similar to the ones they own competing in major competitions But an is not love and kisses in the sport right now: There is tension between the two series tension predicated on the belief that the market will not allow both to survive Basically both series are vying to attract the same cars teams and fans And cars and teams particularly in the marquee prototype dass are not all that numerous Asked if there were enough of the 4 Malicom 400 WHENWHERE: 11:30 am Sunday at Darlington Motor Speedway in Darlington SC TVRADIO: ESPN: KFKF (941 FM) LAST WINNER: Jeff Burton FACTS: Last year it was Jeff City at Darlington: Jeff Gordon won the pole and Burton won the rain-shortened race In 1950 Darlington was the site of the first 500-mile Winston Cup (then called Grand National) race won by Johnny Mantz That race was also the first Grand National race run on a paved track If current points leader Bobby Labonte wins Sunday he would be the first Pontiac driver to win at Darlington since Joe Weatherly in 1963 QUOTE OF THE WEEK out there racing our rear ends off eveiy week doing the best we can do How do we know what it looks Winston Cup driver Tony Stctcart when asked if races are becoming borivg I Stewart WIHSTOH CUP STAHDIH6S The Wmston adds money to boost interest teams continued Thursday when France's Renault announced it was buying the Benneton operation for S12G million Renault the top Formula One en gtne maker of the 199(K dropped out of the sport after the 1997 season Benetton an Italian clothing maker will retain a role as a sponsor tor two years In the past year Jackie Stewart sold his team to Ford which renamed the team Jaguar BMW also recently bought into the Williams team and Honda has teamed up with British American Raring Formula top two teams are both associated with major auto builders McLaren Mercedes and Ferrari held at in May for the past 15 years is a non-points event which traditionally has featured the winners of races held in the 12 previous months previous Winston up points champions any driver who has won the Winston the past five years and the winner of the Winston Open which is held before The Winston the same weekend This year the winner of a new 18-lap No Bull Sprint held the same weekend will also qualify The Winston itself is a race held in three segments The first two segments consist of 30 laps each The third is a 10-lap dash This year S50000 will be awarded to the winner of each of the first two segments The winner of the final 10-lap shootout will get $500000 Wheeler explained the format by-saying: "We wanted to bring back Saturday night fever when you had heats and a final showdown 1 le called the Winston gun-fight at the OK rinaL" This year race will be held on May 20 Morgan Shepherd will fill in for Mike Skinner this week as driver of the No 19 Busch Grand National car Skinner had minor corrective eye surgery Tuesday But Skinner will drive in Sunday's Winston Cup race in Darlington SC The trend toward major automakers buying up Formula One By JIM PEDLEY The Kin City Star Making auto racing more well interesting is A Wheeler's thing His target this week was The Win ston Winston A II ft CuP racings I annual all-star NOTEBOOK event His big weapon was money Wheeler who is president of Lowe's Motor Speedway near Char lotte NC announced that the purse for the event would be kicked up from $12 to S2 million The Winston which has been LTJ33 Lawn Tbactor 13 hp 38-inch cutting width 5-speed shift-on-the-go transmission DEERE SEASON 2000 So Advanced It Even Cuts Prices Whether looking to trim it up cut it down or just green up your lawn you can walk in with empty pockets and walk out with a John Deere now through July 5 2000 Get your lawn in shape for the season Cut a path to your John Deere store today GI225 Lawn and Garden Thactor 15hp 42-inch Convertible mower deck Automatic transmission JS60 Walk-Behind Mower 6 hp 21 inch steeideck SAVE $50 now $279' SAVE $250 t3 849' Nothing Runs Like Deere UMIIBSKIUK9MGS 8147247100 MIBLMO DEMSfMMHXYMlHK MUM1H omamMo owouawnr aurat msam 1 anuamif MO MMNEBMWMBnCONMI (UflOLHO SMBMBHMtCOLK MMK4C1 6UBSWM0 8144591949 6USHRM0 oasoreoupcok mu nil MMMUEM RMHEOMif lUtCQ 11 AM SCI NOORMIBHrK WBWOMI FHBUMUliSBK MEMUM0 844 04434 (HMRUMtMMUjt 1144714484 9S6FMMH MM3MUM 1141V SB tfBSBMMD MO NMBNR UMMUMKtFlfBSK MNRWLMO OM DRBNMUMS8K 11474721 OIIt vnd July 5 2000 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