Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Pruett latest driver to make Cup jump

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

Perhaps open-wheel racing should ban its drivers from competing in the all-star International Race of Champions series.

Scott Pruett, the latest open-wheel driver to jump to NASCAR's Winston Cup Series, said it was his IROC experiences that persuaded him to get into stock-car racing.

Pruett announced earlier this fall that he was leaving the CART FedEx Championship Series to join team owner Cal Wells on Wells' new Tide-sponsored PPI Racing Winston Cup team.

"That's what gave me the real interest in coming here, was racing in the IROC," Pruett said during a break in testing Wednesday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

"Getting out there with the Earnhardts and the Gordons and Labontes and Rudds and Wallaces and so on ... it's good racing, it's fun racing."

It's also a much different form of racing than Pruett has been used to driving the open-wheel Champ cars for the past 10 years.

"It's totally different racing," Pruett acknowledged. "For these (NASCAR) guys, the draft is such a key and it takes years and years to perfect. In (CART), the draft is not your friend. That in itself is a big change.

"Then there's the fact that you do have the ability to lean on each other -- and (in CART), we don't -- we can't -- touch each other. Well, you can, but ..."

Pruett, who has competed in virtually every auto racing discipline, admits he faces a steep learning curve as he prepares for his inaugural Winston Cup season.

"I'm just starting to get a feel for all of this," Pruett said. "It's just a lot different -- the roof, the body, the fenders, the whole scope of it. We're trying to get up to speed with a new team, a new group of guys."

Pruett said his goals will be relatively modest next season. As a new Winston Cup team, PPI will not have the luxury of getting into races via provisionals next year.

"The first thing is just (qualifying for) the races," he said. "There are going to be two races for us -- the race to make it into the race, then the race itself on Sunday.

"Our goal will be to qualify for every race. Even for (existing) teams right now, that's a pretty tall order. Once we get out there and go racing, we can see what we can do about trying to work our way to the front."

The one thing not foreign to Pruett next season will be the fact that he will be a rookie at the age of 39.

"When I came into (CART), I was 29 years old my rookie season," Pruett said. "And I was one of the younger drivers."

That has changed in recent years as the trend in the FedEx Championship Series is for teams to bring in younger talent. At 39, Pruett was CART's oldest driver. But that had nothing to do with Pruett's decision to leave the open-wheel series for NASCAR.

"My decision was based purely on what I wanted to do and where I saw myself going," he said. "I have been very fortunate over the years to have driven just about everything and I've won in just about everything I have driven. The last frontier for me is Winston Cup.

"What Cal is doing, and Tide, the opportunity was there that I just couldn't turn down. I still had two years left on my Indy-car contract, so it was a pretty difficult decision. My decision was based purely on selfish reasons."

* NASCAR: The day after Sunday's Winston Cup season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Mark Martin will undergo surgery to fuse two lower vertebrae in his back.

Martin, 40, put off the surgery for a year while trying alternative treatments, but said his back wasn't getting any better. He said he is not looking forward to the surgery or the rehabilitation.

"I dread it," he said. "I really dread being crippled again and having to rehab again and fight my way back from being helpless. It takes a lot of your manhood away when you're handicapped like that.

"I'm having to knowingly set myself back for an undetermined period of time with the hopes that I may be better after the recovery. I have to be ready to drive the Valvoline Ford in the Daytona 500 next February. I'm taking a step back, with the hopes of making an improvement." ...

Las Vegans Brendan Gaughan, Doc Faustina and Wayne Jacks will compete in the NASCAR Winston West series finale this weekend at Twin Ring Motegi superspeedway in Japan. The race is scheduled to be televised on a tape-delayed basis on Speedvision on Dec. 11 at noon (PST).

* CART: Robby Gordon announced this week that he will dissolve his CART team and will return to NASCAR's Winston Cup Series in 2000. It will be Gordon's second stint in NASCAR after a failed teaming with Felix Sabates in 1997.

Gordon, who does not yet have a sponsor, said he also plans to run the Indianapolis 500 and the off-road Baja 2000 next season. ...

Herdez, the Mexican food company which serves as the primary sponsor of Michel Jourdain Jr.'s car in the FedEx Championship Series, is partnering with Bettenhausen Motorsports for the 2000 season.

The Herdez-backed Bettenhausen team will campaign a Mercedes-powered Lola for Jourdain Jr., who will be entering his fifth year in CART after spending the previous four driving for Payton Coyne Racing. ...

Californian Bill Lester has been selected to take the next step in CART's African-American Driver Development Program -- a test session in an Indy Lights car on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix. ...

CART team owner John Della Penna will make his television debut on "Veronica's Closet" Monday night after purchasing the nonspeaking walk-on role at the Toyota Grand Prix Charity Ball in Long Beach earlier this year.

Della Penna Motorsports campaigns Henderson resident Richie Hearn in the FedEx Championship Series in a Reynard/Toyota. The team is seeking sponsorship for next year after primary sponsor Budweiser ended its association at the conclusion of this season.

* IRL: Henderson resident Sam Schmidt is back at home following a third surgery this week on his right foot, which was injured in a violent crash during the Oct. 17 season-ending IRL race at Texas Motor Speedway. ...

Larry Foyt, the youngest son of the legendary A.J. Foyt, this week passed his IRL rookie test at Texas Motor Speedway. Foyt completed the rookie orientation program in his father's No. 14 Power Team Racing G-Force/Aurora.

Also passing the rookie test this week was Ryan Hampton. Both the younger Foyt and Hampton competed in the US F2000 Series this season. ...

Scott Goodyear and Pennzoil Panther Racing have agreed to continue their relationship through the 2000 season. Goodyear won two races and finished ninth in points.

* BACKMARKERS: A total of $2,455,000 in season-ending awards was distributed at the American Le Mans Series Banquet in Las Vegas, including prize money in the series' Privateer Points Fund and "2 out of 3" bonus program.

The breakdown totaled $955,000 in privateer awards, split among each of the prototype, GTS and GT classes.

The "2 out of 3" program called for a bonus award for a team or manufacturer winning two of three flagship events -- the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Petit Le Mans.

BMW Motorsport's BMW V12 LMR prototype captured both the Sebring and Le Mans events to take the $750,000 bonus. Dodge Viper Team ORECA won the Le Mans and Petit Le Mans races to claim a $475,000 GTS bonus. Manthey Racing also won at Le Mans and the Petit Le Mans to earn $275,000 in the GT class.

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