Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Las Vegas' Hearn has some choices ahead

BRIAN HILDERBRAND is a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. His motor sports column appears Fridays. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected]. For the latest in the world of auto racing, check out the Sun Racing web site at http://www.lasvegassun.com/sports/ racing/

Richie Hearn will have a lot more on his mind this weekend than merely negotiating the 2.25-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course during the CART FedEx Championship Series Miller Lite 200.

The Henderson resident, who is coming off a career-best fifth-place finish in the U.S. 500 at Michigan Speedway, is sorting through numerous job offers that could have him switching teams at season's end.

Hearn's Della Penna Motorsports Swift/Ford Cosworth is in jeopardy of losing its primary sponsor, Budweiser. If that were to happen, it is unlikely team owner John Della Penna would field the car next season and would have to let the 27-year-old Hearn out of his contract.

Hearn confirmed Thursday that he has talked with owner/driver Bobby Rahal about replacing the three-time CART champion in the Miller Lite Reynard/Ford Cosworth when Rahal retires at the conclusion of this season.

"Yes, I have (talked to Bobby)," Hearn said. "There are a lot of things going on. There are other opportunities out there as well -- there are probably three or four (teams) I could go to if I really worked on them."

But Hearn said his preference would be to stay where he is providing Della Penna can extend his sponsorship agreement with Budweiser. Hearn is in his fifth season driving for Della Penna, the past three in the CART Series.

"Right now, John has an (contractual) option on me and we're kind of waiting for Bud's answer, so we're kind of in a holding pattern right now," Hearn said.

"If the Budweiser money is not there and (Della Penna) doesn't have a program, then I can go somewhere else; he's got to have a program (for me to stay) so that's why we're waiting to see what Budweiser wants to do.

"Things are happening fast. By the end of next week, I'll probably know where I stand."

Hearn, who has six top-10 finishes in 12 races this season and is 14th in points, said he believes his career will remain on track whether he stays with Della Penna or switches to Team Rahal in 1999.

"I think the Swifts and the Firestones that we have at Della Penna is a very, very good package," Hearn said. "Obviously, the Reynard is a good package, too, but I'd like to have another year with this car to really see what it can do because I think it has the potential to be very strong.

"Either way, I think I could do a good job at either team as long as I have the proper funding."

* NASCAR: Goodyear has introduced a rain tire for Winston Cup road courses, signalling an end to rain-delayed or postponed races, including this weekend's Bud at the Glen at Watkins Glen. "We need to have a rain plan," Dale Earnhardt said. "The fans deserve every effort to make sure we race when we have it scheduled. NASCAR and Goodyear have come up with a good plan." Not all drivers, however, like the idea of racing in the rain. "I feel comfortable qualifying in the rain, especially with my experience in the rain and testing Goodyear's wet tires," Mark Martin said. "However, I think it will be difficult to actually race in the rain due to the spray of 43 cars on the road course at the same time. The low visibility caused by the spray as well as the foggy windshields would make it very difficult to race." ... Dr Pepper, the Richard Petty Driving Experience and Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall are teaming on a promotion that will reward 10 winners with a trip to Las Vegas, lodging and a chance to participate in the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sweepstakes entry forms can be obtained from specially marked Dr Pepper 12-packs in Las Vegas, Southern California and Phoenix through September.

* CART: Three-time CART champion Bobby Rahal will make his final start at his "home track" this weekend as the series visits the 2.25-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington. Rahal, an Ohio native, will retire as the driver of the Miller Lite Reynard/Ford Cosworth at the conclusion of this season and concentrate on his duties as the team's owner. "In my 15 CART races at Mid-Ohio, there are many special memories and I'm sure this weekend's race will be pretty emotional for me," Rahal said. "The place has a lot of great history and I've been part of that history." Rahal has two CART wins, two seconds, three thirds and two poles in 15 starts at Mid-Ohio.

* IRL: Defending series champion Tony Stewart, currently second in points behind Scott Sharp, said he feels lucky despite his team's recent rash of bad luck with blown engines. "If we get our problems fixed now, there's a lot of potential for winning another championship," Stewart said. "We're still within striking distance and we've got four races to go so we need to make the most of those four races." Stewart participated in a Firestone tire test Tuesday and Wednesday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the track temperature reached 149 degrees Wednesday afternoon. Stewart was asked about the wisdom of testing in the heat of summer when the IRL will run here in October. "There are some things you're not going to learn," Stewart said. "It's good (to test here), but it's also bad; there are some things you're not going to learn but if the tires can last in this heat, they're going to last in 85-degree weather. As far as simulating the conditions you're going to be running in, no, you can't do that." ... Arie Luyendyk, who suffered a mild concussion in a crash during the IROC race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend, said he will be ready for next weekend's IRL race at Pikes Peak International Raceway. USAC short-track specialist Jason Leffler drove in place of Luyendyk for Treadway Racing in this week's tire test at LVMS.

* BACKMARKERS: Las Vegan Mike Ray extended his lead in the Pacific Coast Region of the NASCAR Winston Racing Series following his 13th win in 15 decisions last weekend. The 43-year-old driver of a 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo has a Competition Performance Index of .8682. The index is used to rank the track leaders in each of the 10 regions across the country. Other Las Vegas drivers rated in the points standings include Scotty Gafforini (18), Jerry Spilsbury (27) and Chris Lowden (35). The NASCAR Winston Racing Series returns to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway 3/8ths-mile paved oval on Aug. 22. ... Two funny car drag race organizations will highlight the Fox Hunt drag races Saturday night at LVMS. Sixteen entries from the California Federal Mogul Funny Car group and the California Independent Funny Car Association will head the show. The event will also feature another points race in the National Hot Rod Association/Craftsman ET Points Series, with competition in National Performance Eliminator, Pro ET, Sportsman, Street and Motorcycle categories. ...

After winning the first four races of the 10-race Ralphs UHRA Thunder Tour, which is co-sponsored by Las Vegas, Dave Villwock again is riding high in the Miss Budweiser unlimited hydroplane despite a third-place finish last weekend in Canada. Villwock, fully recovered from last year's severe mid-season crash, leads the driver point standings and Miss Budweiser is atop the boat point standings entering this weekend's Texaco Seafair Cup in Seattle. Villwock and Miss Budweiser each have 7,963 points while second-place Steve David and Miss Molson have 5,327 points. Mark Evans and PICO American Dream won for the first time last weekend in British Columbia to move up to third in the season driver and boat standings. The Las Vegas Cup, round 9 of the 1998 series, will be held on Lake Mead, Sept. 25-27.

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