Isn't modern technology wonderful? Due to a glitch in the email system, my regular column didn't make it into Sunday's paper. So what you're going to get is a midweek dose of motorsports trivia and opinion, kind of a grab-bag of miscellaneous topics.
I do have to start out by saying that the Appeal is losing its Sports Editor. Jeremy Littau has given his notice. Fortunately, the Appeal has had a series of Sports Editors during my tenure who, while not huge motorsports fans, were at least tolerant of our sport. You don't know how fortunate we've been in Carson City, as some major metropolitan dailies have sports editors who are strictly stick-and-ball guys and will brook no motorsports intrusion into their pages. I don't know who my new boss is going to be, but I hope our string of good luck continues.
One nice thing about writing a column midweek is that I get to reflect on the past weekend's racing. I got a dose of live action Saturday night, announcing the Legends show at Reno-Fernley Raceway, and of course I watched both the Winston Cup and CART Champ Car shows on the tube Sunday. ABC for once decided not to tape-delay the CART race, so I had my picture-in-picture fired up and my remote at the ready so I could watch two simultaneous events. I'm glad I did, because both races had storybook finishes. I was on the edge of my seat for the last 15 laps of the CART race ... in case you missed it, Michael Andretti and Juan Montoya went wheel to wheel the whole final segment, with
Montoya using the draft from a lapped car to squeeze out a .04 second win. The Winston Cup finish was just about as good, but you had to feel sorry for poor Jeremy Mayfield. Teammate Rusty Wallace put on an awesome display of "mirror driving" to keep Jeff Burton behind him the last 10 laps, but neither one could have caught Mayfield without his tire going flat.
One other aspect of the CART race that I liked was Memo Gidley's top-ten finish for the Della Penna team. I've known John Della Penna since he raced Formula Atlantics in club races in California, and have followed Memo's career since he was tearing up go-kart fields as a teenager. I hope he gets a
full-time ride next season.
Another youngster whose career I've been following, young T.J. Bell of Sparks, had a disappointing finish in Toronto weekend before last, finishing 21st after being sidelined by an accident on lap 16 of the 34-lap event. I'm hoping to get a chance to interview T.J. at the CART Mid-Ohio round, as I will be there announcing for the American City Racing League.
While it's not strictly a motorsports event, I highly recommend checking out the Silver Dollar Car Classic at Mills Park this weekend. This is the show's sixth year, and it's a nice alternative to the crowds and hassle of Hot August Nights. I've been involved with the show myself since year one (I was looking for an announcing gig and got shanghai'd onto the organizing committee). It's a nice low-key event, with lots of beautiful and unique cars. We're expecting 300 entries this year ... yeah, I know that's about five percent of what Hot August Nights will get, but how many '57 Chevys can you see before you start to go cross eyed? There's a pancake breakfast both Saturday and Sunday, served up by the Dayton Kiwanis, a street dance at the Carson Nugget Friday night, the Show 'n Shine Saturday, a drive-in movie at Mills Park on Saturday night (the feature is the classic Thunder Road), burnouts at Silver State Raceway, and lots of other fun stuff. Listen to KPTL radio, 1300 AM and 102.9 FM for live updates all weekend long.
Are you plugged into the Internet? If you'd like a giggle, check out this web site for racing's answer to the "Survivor" TV show: http://www.valvoline.com/racing/track/doors.asp
Finally, the quote of the week, from Formula 1 driver Jacques Villeneuve, asked about the improvement in his starts this year: "It's all the cheating we are allowed to do, basically."
Roger Diez is the Nevada Appeal motorsports columnist