Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: LVMS may be off IRL slate in 2001

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

Las Vegas Motor Speedway's five-year-old Indy Racing League event may not be dead, but it's condition certainly can be considered critical.

IRL officials have said they hope to announce an expanded 2001 schedule sometime this month, yet LVMS general manager Chris Powell admitted Thursday that he has had no "substantive" talks with the series since the April 22 race here.

"We are busy putting a schedule together for 2001 -- we just don't know right now what role the IRL will play (in that schedule)," Powell said. "We're more than willing to entertain hosting the IRL next year."

But with strong speculation that the IRL will add a race at California Speedway in Fontana next season, the prospect of the series returning to Las Vegas -- where there has been less than strong fan support for the past four races -- appears to be dim.

The IRL already has added races next season at new speedways near Chicago and Kansas City, Kan., and likely will replace rival Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) at Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway in 2001. Series founder Tony George confirmed last weekend that he is exploring the possibility of running at Daytona International Speedway as well.

Even Powell conceded that "it very well might be that we're not a part" of the IRL schedule in 2001.

In the meantime, Powell said he was "measuring all of our options" to fill the Speedway's schedule next season, which may or may not include CART and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events.

Powell also said he was working with the NHRA to secure a second NHRA national event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, although he called a published report "off-base" that LVMS would host an all-star event similar to -- or in place of -- the Winston Showdown.

However, Powell said he would not be against adding an NHRA non-points event as long as "all the stars of the sport" would participate.

This season, Gaughan has left all five Winston West races and all three truck races in which he has competed with his vehicles intact. As a result, he is leading the NWWS points standings and has three top-13 finishes in the NCTS going into Saturday's Sears 200 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash.

"It's called broken ribs," Gaughan said of the difference between last year and this year. "When you hurt yourself, it tends to smarten you up a little bit. I got banged up last year a bunch and I finally started to slow down.

"A lot of it is what happened last year ... from being sore, and the rest of it is the team that we've got going. I feel like I've got one of the better teams not only in the Winston West Series, but we've got a great team in the truck series." ...

Scott Pruett will assume driving duties for Anthony Lazzaro in PPI Motorsports' Busch Series car in future races that coincide with Winston Cup events. Pruett will continue to drive PPI's No. 32 Tide Ford in all Winston Cup races. ...

Robby Gordon has decided to skip this weekend's Winston Cup race at Dover, Del., to "focus and restructure" his effort for the remainder of the season. Gordon said Team Gordon will compete in seven of the next 11 races through August.

After opening the season with top-10 showings at Homestead and Long Beach, the 27-year-old Las Vegas resident has finished 13th, 15th and 19th in his past three races.

"I have said since the start of the season that there are going to be times when the going gets a bit rough and you have to be able to deal with the adversity," Tagliani said.

"The last two races have been tough but there were still quite a few positives, especially the tremendous pit-stop work by the Player's team at Nazareth that put us right in contention."

Tagliani is second to Team Rahal's Kenny Brack in the CART Rookie of the Year standings.

Rival open-wheel series CART and the Indy Racing League have pulled together for a good cause -- one that will benefit paralyzed IRL driver Sam Schmidt of Henderson.

Firestone Racing is putting up for Internet auction a tire signed by more than 100 drivers, owners and dignitaries in both the FedEx Championship Series and Indy Racing Northern Light Series. All proceeds from the winning bid will go to the Sam Schmidt Family Trust.

The authentic Firestone Firehawk racing radial display tire has been signed by nearly every current CART and IRL driver as well as Mario Andretti, Al Unser, A.J. Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Paul Newman, Ashley Judd, Sylvester Stallone and Anthony Edwards.

To bid on the tire, go to www.ebay.com and use the general search for "Firestone Indy display tire." The minimum bid on the collectible is $10,000 and bidding runs through June 10. ...

Jeff Andretti, son of racing legend Mario Andretti and brother of CART star Michael Andretti, will join Walker Racing's IRL team beginning with the race in Atlanta on July 15.

Force defeated teammate Tony Pedregon in the Funny Car final for his third straight victory.

"I'm happy to have it over with," Force said of the chase to match Glidden's record. "It's kind of hard to claim a victory and jump up and down cause I never raced Bob Glidden in my life, but I congratulate him for setting a record that we all had to chase.

"Now my deal is to stay focused and do everything I've done for the last 10 years of winning and maybe I can keep winning a little bit longer." ...

Jeg Coughlin, driver of the Jeg's Mail Order Oldsmobile Cutlass, has dominated Pro Stock competition this season with six victories in seven races. It is the first time a driver in that category has gotten off to such a successful start since 1980, when the late Lee Shepherd won six of the first seven to open the season. ...

Angelle Seeling extended her lead in Pro Stock Motorcycle last week by 20 points -- despite losing to Matt Hines in the final round of the Castrol Nationals in Dallas. Seeling's lead is 59 points over Hines heading into this weekend's Fram Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Ill.

LVMS also will host a "Summer Bash," complete with children's bicycle races and a full program of NASCAR Weekly Racing Series competition, Saturday night at the 3/8-mile paved oval. Gates open at 5 p.m. and racing starts at 6. ...

Las Vegas racing brothers Ed and Tim Herbst will be seeking their third straight Trophy-Truck title this season in Saturday's 32nd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500 Desert Race in Ensenada, Mexico.

Brian Collins of Las Vegas will debut his new Chevy Trophy-Truck in the 500 while brothers Billy and Robbie Goerke will take over driving duties in Collins Motorsports' Class 8 entry. ...

Las Vegas attorney Marc Risman successfully represented veteran driver Willy T. Ribbs in the driver's protest of April's Trans Am race finish in Long Beach, Calif.

Although Ribbs made several passes on the final lap to move into second place, Trans Am officials credited him with eighth place after ruling the last lap had begun after the race's one-hour time limit. Following an inquiry into Ribbs' protest, Trans Am officials elected to count the last lap and let stand Ribbs' second-place finish.

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