Pruett Takes Pole In Portland, But Conditions Favor Fittipaldi

Auto racing

The rain let up just in time Saturday for Scott Pruett to outduel Gil de Ferran for the pole in the Budweiser-G.I. Joe’s 200 Indy-car race in Portland.

Christian Fittipaldi, driving with a 14-inch steel rod in his left leg in his first race since he was seriously injured in a crash two months ago, qualified third, a six-place jump from his position after Friday’s provisional qualifying.

De Ferran, who took the pole away from Pruett in the second day of qualifying for the Detroit Grand Prix two weeks ago, almost did it again with a 119.126 mph lap near the end of the qualifying session.

On the very next lap, Pruett’s Ford-powered Reynard took the pole back at 119.246.

Both broke the Portland International Raceway road course record of 118.834 mph set by Pruett in Friday’s first qualifying session.

When it was over, Pruett, with the second pole of his Indy-car career, climbed out of his car in the winner’s circle and hugged de Ferran.

“For the fans, I think that was an awesome show,” Pruett said. “At least for us, in my seat, it was tough, it was tense and your nerves are on edge.”

California 500 debuts at new track

Despite all the competition for the Southern California time and dollar, the hottest ticket this weekend was for today’s inaugural California 500, a $2 million NASCAR Winston Cup event at the California Speedway, a gleaming new $110 million auto racing palace built in Fontana by Entrepreneur Roger Penske.

All the seats have been sold for some time and a capacity crowd of about 85,000 was expected.

“Back in the ‘80s, when we were here before, auto racing hardly caused a ripple,” three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip said. “There’s just too much to do out here, and we weren’t a priority item.”

The last time the Winston Cup cars ran on an oval in this neighborhood, it was at Ontario Motor Speedway, 4 miles from the new track, which was built without sufficient funding. It closed in 1980 and was torn down.

Riverside International Raceway, a historic road course also near the new track, was the victim of encroaching housing developments and the escalating value of land and was closed in 1988. It was replaced with a shopping center.

Martin wins again in IROC

Mark Martin’s risky pass three laps from the end paid off with a victory on Saturday in the third round of the 1997 True Value Firebird International Race of Champions.

The win on the new California Speedway oval put the NASCAR Winston Cup star into an almost insurmountable lead in the four-race all-star series that features 12 drivers from stock car, Indy-car and road racing series competing in identically prepared Pontiac Firebirds.

Martin, who started last in a field inverted by series points, quickly moved through the traffic and took the lead from fellow NASCAR star Terry Labonte on the seventh of 50 laps on the 2-mile, high-banked track.

Bobby Labonte came on strong, taking second place from Terry on lap eight and passing Martin for the lead on lap 23.

Hornaday wins Craftsman Truck event

Ron Hornaday stayed out in front, and away from trouble, as he led flag to flag in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Loadhandler 200 at Bristol, Tenn.

Hornaday notched his second victory of the 1997 season, worth $37,975, in edging series points leader Rich Bickle by 1.536 seconds.