Putting away his basketball and jumping into a race car, NBA player Tom Hammonds will open his season this weekend in Englishtown, N.J.

	Hammonds

The Minnesota Timberwolves' forward is entered in the Pro Stock competition at the Matco Tools SuperNationals.

"My passion for motorsports probably goes all the way back to when I was in middle school," said Hammonds, who qualified for his first race in the 1997 Keystone Nationals. "I grew up watching guys like Lee Shepherd, Bob Glidden, and Warren Johnson, and I became enamored with Pro Stock.

"My dad used to race as well, and that's how I got started. I was involved with drag racing pretty much throughout high school and even when I was in college at Georgia Tech."

The 34-year-old player plans to run a full Pro Stock schedule when he retires from the NBA.

"I think it's progressed pretty nicely," he said of his racing career. "We haven't been able to spend as much time in the sport as we would have liked, but that's getting ready to change here pretty soon. This is a sport I really want to make my mark in."

Smiling Salazar
Chile's Eliseo Salazar finally has something to smile about after crashing twice and failing to secure a spot in the Indianapolis 500.

Kari Salazar gave birth to the couple's first child Tuesday in Miami. Eliseo Salazar VI, weighing 10 pounds, 6 ounces and measuring 20½ inches, was delivered by Cesarean section.

The 45-year-old driver then returned to Indianapolis to begin preparations for another qualifying attempt Sunday, the last of three days of time trials for race May 27.

Team owner A.J. Foyt, whose other entry, driven by Robby Gordon, is qualified on the outside of the front row, is readying two cars for Salazar to work with.

"Most new fathers hand out cigars," Salazar said. "But I have something bigger in mind. On May 27th, I hope to give my son a sip of the winner's milk from this year's Indy 500."

He has three top-six finishes -- including third last year -- in five previous Indy starts.

Intimidating ride
Kerry Earnhardt, the late Dale Earnhardt's oldest son, will drive a car sponsored by minor league baseball's Kannapolis Intimidators in this week's ARCA race.

The No. 2 Chevrolet, owned by Dale Earnhardt Inc., will feature the Intimidators' colors and logo in Saturday's EasyCare 100 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

The South Atlantic League team, formerly known as the Piedmont Boll Weevils, changed its name to honor Dale Earnhardt last year when he joined his hometown club's ownership group.