NASCAR truck series, CART plan to team up in 1999

PHOENIX -- In an attempt to enhance its profile as one of NASCAR's premier racing divisions, the Craftsman Trucks Series will run four races in 1999 as parts of doubleheaders with Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) events.

The NCTS also will run four doubleheaders with the Indy Racing League, including the weekend of Sept. 24-26 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and will add two new venues to its schedule.

For the first time in its four-year history, the truck series will visit Michigan Speedway and Portland International Raceway in 1999.

As reported in Thursday's Sun, the 1999 NCTS race at LVMS will be held on a Friday night, under the lights. The fourth annual IRL Las Vegas 500K will be held two days later, on Sunday, Sept. 26.

LVMS had played host to the truck series' season finale since 1996, but is moving its truck date to its IRL weekend in hopes of boosting attendance for both events.

The trucks also will run as companion races with CART events at the season opener March 20 in Homestead, Fla., on June 19 at Portland and the series finale will be held in conjunction with CART's final event at the California Speedway in Fontana on Oct. 30.

"All of the ingredients are here to make 1999, by far, the best year of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series," Dennis Huth, NASCAR vice president for Administration, said.

"By opening later in the year and scheduling some of our most attractive events in the spring, we have the opportunity to increase interest in the series ... and make it easier for NASCAR fans to more closely following their NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series favorites."

Huth said that four of the final five truck races, including the Las Vegas race, will be held on Friday nights, in prime time, to avoid conflicts with major fall sporting events such as the World Series and NFL and college football.

"This type of schedule, with the way we'll run it and with some of the matchups we'll have with the other series ... is just going to help add credence to the series," Huth said of expanding the series' relationship with the open-wheel series of CART and the IRL.

"What we have found is that, in all of our conversations, everybody is very excited about the schedule and the way it fits in with whatever series we're dealing with. Maybe it's the NASCAR name that helped bring part of it together."

Coming to Las Vegas

The 1998 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season title will be decided Nov. 8 in the Sam's Town 250 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Ron Hornaday will bring a 13-point lead over defending series champion Jack Sprague into the season finale. Sprague took a 28-point lead over Hornaday into Saturday's race at Phoenix, but Sprague struggled to a 13th-place showing and Hornaday took third, regaining the points lead.

It marked the 10th time in 26 races this season that the points lead has changed hands between Hornaday and Sprague and they are the only drivers who have led the series this season.

"We've just got to go to Vegas and win the race," Hornaday said of his strategy in the season finale.

Jarrett gets relief

Dale Jarrett had to be replaced behind the wheel of the No. 88 Quality Care/Ford Credit Taurus by Michael Waltrip midway through Sunday's Dura-Lube/Kmart 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Complaining of flu-like symptoms before the race, Jarrett eventually became too ill to drive and Waltrip, who did not qualify for the race, took over. Jarrett, who was experiencing abdominal pain and dehydration, was taken by helicopter to a Phoenix hospital for observation.

NASCAR's Iron Man

Terry Labonte added to his series record by making his 600th consecutive career start in Sunday's race.

Labonte started 29th in the field and had moved up to 10th place when the race was red flagged and eventually halted because of rain.

"That was a pretty good run for us," Labonte said. "It would have been a lot nicer if we could have won the 600th consecutive start, but we got a top 10 out of it and we've got two more chances this season to get back into victory lane."

Labonte, the 1984 and 1996 Winston Cup champion, has started every race the series has run since Jan. 14, 1979.

Mr. Consistent

Mark Martin, who picked up the first of his seven wins this season in the Las Vegas 400 back in March, scored his 24th top-10 finish of the year with a second place showing Sunday.

It was Martin's seventh straight top-10 at PIR, which includes four second-place finishes. He took his runner-up status this weekend in stride.

"We weren't going to be a contender to win and probably couldn't expect to have done better than second, so we'll take it," Martin said. "We have done better this year and we have done worse, so it was a great effort by us but we weren't dominant."

Good start, bad finish

Ken Schrader earned his second pole of the season for Sunday's race and led the first 53 laps, but his car developed handling problems and he wound up in 22nd place.

"The car went bad all of a sudden and just wouldn't go anywhere," Schrader said of handing the lead to eventual race winner Rusty Wallace on the 54th lap.

"We looked good at the start but they don't pay much for that. We're big-time disappointed."

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