Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Money still an issue, but CART high on LVMS

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

Although there appears to be interest on both sides, no headway has been made in the past several months to bring a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) event to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2001.

During a trip to Las Vegas this week to attend his series' winter meetings, CART chairman and CEO Andrew Craig reiterated his interest (in the strongest possible terms) of including Las Vegas Motor Speedway on the 2001 schedule.

"We hope to be racing here very, very soon," Craig said. "We love the Speedway and we very much want to be here."

Chris Powell, LVMS general manager, said he, too, would like to resume discussions to bring the open-wheel series to his 1.5-mile superspeedway, but added he had not been contacted by Craig this week.

"We're not engaged in any conversation right now about bringing a CART race to Las Vegas, but at the same time that doesn't mean that won't soon happen -- the talks, that is," Powell said. "I'm glad to hear that they're (still) interested because we certainly would be interested.

"We have not talked in several months ... (but) we will always try to investigate what's best for the Speedway."

The sticking point in a potential agreement between CART and LVMS continues to be the sanctioning fee the series is asking -- a staggering $2.5 million. It is believed that would represent the highest such fee on CART's 20-race circuit. (The Cleveland Grand Prix, after dumping CART and agreeing to stage an Indy Racing League event this year, eventually re-upped with CART for a reported $1.9 million a year).

Powell said he would be interested in holding a CART race, if the two sides can agree to terms, in the late summer or early fall.

"We would be looking at the second half of the calendar year, given that our NASCAR Winston Cup and Busch events are in March ... and the Indy Racing League will be here in (April)," Powell said. "That is where we would focus in on with CART if we ever sat down to discuss a date."

CART is expected to add a race in Germany and perhaps Mexico City in 2001, and Craig has said for more than a year that Las Vegas would be one of the top American cities into which he would like to expand.

* NASCAR: Rusty Wallace missed this week's two-day test session at Talladega Superspeedway -- but it had nothing to with a snow skiing accident last month that left Wallace with a hairline fracture of his right shoulder blade.

Wallace, saying he has completely recovered from the accident, spent this week in Tucson, Ariz., flying Air Force fighter jets. Buddy Baker put Wallace's Miller Lite Ford Taurus through its paces at Talladega.

"Physically, I'm in fine shape and ready to go," Wallace said. "But, the jet flight training ... has been on the schedule for six months now.

"I feel like I'm a hundred percent right now and I'll be back in the car for the Daytona testing that we have scheduled for the 20th and 21st of (January)."

Wallace fractured his shoulder while snow skiing with his sons Greg and Stephen near their mountain home in Banner Elk, N.C. ...

NASCAR has added former All-Pro NFL running back Joe Washington to serve in an advisory role to assist the company with its diversity initiatives.

Washington has been a team owner in NASCAR since 1998 and is a co-owner with basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving of the No. 50 Dr. Pepper Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Tony Roper in the Busch Series.

"NASCAR is such a great sport ... it is a pleasure for me to help get the message out," Washington said. "This is a sport that everyone can enjoy and it is my hope that I can help increase the number of people who are introduced to it. Once that happens, I have no doubt they will become fans."

Washington will work closely with NASCAR to execute several initiatives in 2000, including the creation of a diversity council that will hold its first meeting this spring and the development of an internship program for NASCAR's three offices. He also will work with teams, sponsors, tracks and licensees and the implementation of a diversity training program. ...

Winston Cup Series sponsor R.J. Reynolds has increased the 2000 prize fund to a record $10 million and will increase the champion's share from $2 million to $3 million.

* CART: Richie Hearn of Henderson set a quick lap of 51.0 seconds while testing his Della Penna Motorsports Reynard/Toyota Champ Car at Sebring International Raceway. He completed 350 miles over the two-day test session earlier this week.

"We had a good run on both days," Hearn said. "We learned quite a bit about the car. This was my first real opportunity to work with (new engineer) Diane (Holl) and I was extremely impressed. She's very bright and easy to work with. The method that Diane approaches her job with is efficient and effective, so we really get a lot accomplished in a short amount of time."

Team owner John Della Penna was equally impressed.

"We made solid progress throughout the two days," Della Penna said. "The Toyota engine ran strong and showed continued development. Overall, I'm very happy with the results. This time is the fastest we've ever run at Sebring and is competitive with the times other teams have posted here during testing."

Della Penna Motorsports plans to conduct its first oval test later this month at Phoenix International Raceway.

* IRL: Henderson resident Sam Schmidt may be transferred from Orlando Regional Medical Center to a rehabilitation center as soon as this weekend, according to a source close to Schmidt's family.

The family has been researching rehab facilities in New Jersey, Florida and Denver that specialize in paralysis, the source said. Schmidt's family also has been in contact with actor Christopher Reeve's foundation to get recommendations on the best facility.

Schmidt remains paralyzed from the neck down and on a respirator but doctors have not ruled out the possibility that he could someday regain some movement following his testing crash last week. ...

Eddie Cheever, the 1998 Indianapolis 500 winner, has been invited to join fellow IRL driver Mark Dismore in the 2000 International Race of Champions series.

Also named to compete in the all-star racing series were NASCAR Winston Cup drivers Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart. The first event of the four-race series will be held Feb. 18 at Daytona International Speedway.

* NHRA: Ray Alley, a veteran of more than 40 years in drag racing, has been appointed NHRA's director of Top Fuel and Funny Car racing.

In his new capacity, Alley will be responsible for working directly with Top Fuel and Funny Car teams to enhance the quality of the show and enforce the new rules outlined earlier this year, according to NHRA president Tom Compton.

Prior to joining the NHRA, Alley served as crew chief for the past year with Jerzees Racing, owned by Bob Vandergriff, Jr. He also has served as crew chief and consultant for a number of other nitromethane teams and has maintained a 30-plus year relationship with longtime NHRA driver Kenny Bernstein.

* BACKMARKERS: The top freestyle motorcycle dirt jumpers in the world will meet for a showdown in the desert at TheEdgeSports.com FreeRide Moto-X Championships on Jan. 22 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's motocross track.

Many of the stars of ESPN's X Games and NBC's Gravity Games will compete in the event, in which riders will leap over 90-foot gaps and display an array of maneuvers.

This will be the final event of the three-stop FreeRide Moto-X Championship tour. Riders are competing for a $25,000 purse and a $5,000 championship bonus for winning the overall FreeRide Moto-X Championship.

Tickets for TheEdgeSports.com FreeRide Moto-X Championships are $20 for adults and $12 for children under 13. Children under 5 are admitted free. For tickets, contact Ticketmaster at 474-4000 or visit their website at www.ticketmaster.com. Gates open at 11:30 a.m., and the event starts at 1 p.m. ESPN2 will televise the event.

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