Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Win whets appetite of LV Hydro team

Brian Hilderbrand's motor sports notebook appears Friday. His golf notebook appears Wednesday. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4089.

When Kim Gregory bought his first Unlimited Hydroplane last August, the Las Vegas businessman expected to experience a slow learning curve.

Little did he expect that his U-10 Unlimited Hydro would win its first race in only its third start, capturing last year's season finale in Hawaii. In fact, that may have been the last thing Gregory wanted.

"I was happy when we won Hawaii, and then I told everybody we were kind of screwed because once you win a race, nothing ever feels that good again," Gregory said.

"It was real exciting ... but you have to be realistic and know what you're capable of and what you're not. It's nice to work your way up the ladder and that's what I meant when I said that by winning the race, we kind of got screwed. We're going to start all over, this is a new year and we start at the bottom and work our way back up -- we don't start at the top."

Gregory and his U-10 team will open the 1999 season this weekend with the inaugural Budweiser Mohave Unlimited Hydrofest on Lake Havasu.

Once again, the U-10 team will have veteran Mark Weber in the cockpit of the bright yellow York-sponsored boat, with George Stratton serving as team manager and backup driver.

Weber piloted the U-10 in all three races last season after serving as relief driver for Bernie Little's Miss Budweiser -- and helping Little win the national championship after driver Dave Villwock was seriously injured -- in 1997.

Although Weber has had a taste of running for the well-funded Miss Budweiser team, the St. Clair Shores, Mich., resident said he couldn't be happier with his present situation.

"I haven't really been this excited since I started my rookie year," Weber said of his association with Gregory and the U-10 team. "It's a new team and everyone is working together really well.

"I was rookie of the year in 1997 and I was fortunate enough to get hired by Fred Leland with the U-99 team. Then Dave got hurt and Bernie hired me. I never had the opportunity to settle in with a team and I'm now doing that. This is where I want to be and this is where I think I need to be. I'm real happy here ... and I wouldn't trade it right now for anything."

After working in the high-pressure atmosphere of Little's organization, Weber admitted that driving for the low-key Gregory is a breath of fresh air -- but that's not to say that Weber doesn't want to win every time out.

"I put a lot more pressure on me than Kim does," Weber said. "When Kim hired me, he told me there were three rules or we would have problems: One, that the boat would leave the dock, two, it was to return in the same condition as it left, and the third was to have fun. He said, 'That's it.'

"There's really no pressure from that standpoint. The competitive nature of being a racer, I put a tremendous amount of pressure on myself. I'm very critical of myself, but I want to be the best."

Weber's goals for the 11-race season are relatively modest. He said he wants to make the finals at each race and finish the season third in points.

"There's a lot of competition this year," Weber said, referring to Miss Budweiser and the return of legendary driver Chip Hanauer to the sport after a three-year absence. "You have Miss Budweiser and Chip Hanauer in the Miss Pico. Budweiser is the best team and with Pico, you have the best driver.

"Realistically, a top three at the end of the season is me pushing it a little bit, probably."

Gregory concurred with Weber's assessment, with a qualifier.

"Anything higher than a fourth-place finish on total points at the end of the year would be a pretty good accomplishment -- I think we can do that," Gregory said. "I would be real tickled with that, and I think we'll be better than that.

"I think the boat could actually get a second- or third-high points ... I'd love to say first but I think Bernie Little would have something to say about that."

The Las Vegas-based U-10 team will be co-sponsored by Lake Havasu City for this weekend's race only, and will be known as "York presents Miss Havasu."

* NASCAR: When a recent Associated Press series tabbed three-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon as the best stock-car driver of the century, it may have raised a few eyebrows.

What about Richard Petty and his 200 career wins and seven series championships? Or Dale Earnhardt and his 72 wins and seven championships? Or David Pearson and his 105 wins?

Actually, Gordon has won more races in less time than any driver in NASCAR history. Gordon, who made his 200th start last weekend in Richmond, has won 45 races. In Petty's first 200 races, he had only 23 wins. Earnhardt only had 13 victories in his first 200 starts. ...

Last weekend wasn't a good one for the points leaders in NASCAR's three top series. Jeff Burton (Winston Cup), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Busch) and Stacy Compton (Trucks) each lost their points lead to Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth and Ron Hornaday, respectively.

* CART: Roberto Moreno will continue to fill in for the injured Mark Blundell in PacWest Racing's CART entry. Blundell suffered a fractured cervical vertebra in a testing crash earlier this month at Gateway International Raceway and is expected to be sidelined for another six to eight weeks. ...

Greg Moore is rumored to be the leading candidate to drive for Cal Wells' NASCAR Winston Cup team, which will be sponsored by McDonald's. Wells will be running in the Busch Series next year and is expected to move up to Winston Cup in 2001, when McDonald's sponsorship agreement with Bill Elliott expires. ...

Construction is progressing at the new Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero, Ill., in preparation for the Aug. 22 CART race. The one-mile oval is due to be paved next week. More than 30,000 tickets already have been sold for the inaugural race.

* IRL: NASCAR Winston Cup regular Tony Stewart, a former IRL champion, is hoping to make an early qualifying attempt Saturday for next Sunday's Indianapolis 500. The qualifying draw will be held tonight.

Stewart has to leave Indianapolis by 2:30 p.m. Saturday to be in Charlotte, N.C., for Saturday night's The Winston all-star race. If he doesn't qualify for the Indy 500 on Saturday, Stewart will hop on a plane following The Winston and attempt to qualify for Indy on Sunday.

"I really don't feel the pressure," Stewart said of qualifying for Indy. "I'm going to have a good enough car underneath me that we're not going to have to worry about that. I think we can get in the show pretty solid.

"The biggest thing that's going to hurt us right now is a lack of track time ... that's what's going to hurt us the hardest."

Stewart is attempting to become the first driver to complete all 1,100 miles in the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 Winston Cup race on the same day. ...

ABC Sports has signed a five-year agreement with the IRL to carry all of its races live on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The deal gives ABC Sports broadcast rights for the Indy 500 and five other races, while the remainder of the races will be carried on ESPN or ESPN2.

* BACKMARKERS: Brendan Gaughan drove his Orleans Hotel/Casino Chevrolet to a 10th-place finish in last weekend's NASCAR Winston West race at Pikes Peak International Raceway. It was Gaughan's best finish in the series this season. ...

Late Model Sportsman, Limited Late Model, Grand American Modifieds and Legends will compete on the 3/8-mile oval at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday night. Gates open at 5 p.m., qualifying begins at 6:05 and racing begins at 7:45.

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