| | Associated Press
CICERO, Ill. -- Kenny Brack will continue to drive a car
sponsored by Shell for at least one more year.
The 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner, now a CART rookie, has reached
agreement on a contract extension with Team Rahal through the 2001
season. The announcement was made Friday at Chicago Motor Speedway,
where Brack and the rest of the CART drivers will compete Sunday in
the Target Grand Prix.
"The team and I are going through an adjustment period, but I
feel that we have been a factor in a number of races and I feel we
will break through to a win very soon," said Brack, who has three
top-five finishes, including a second in Japan, and is seventh in
the season points.
"This extension gives us the opportunity to continue building
on what we have already established," he added.
At the same news conference, Bobby Rahal, who co-owns the team
with TV personality David Letterman, announced that Shell has
extended its contract with Team Rahal through the 2002 season.
Shell first became a sponsor for Rahal's team in 1993 and has
been a primary sponsor on a team car since 1996.
Schedule in sight
Rahal, who is also acting as interim
president and CEO of CART, said Friday the long-awaited 2001 series
schedule is due out Wednesday.
Although he would not give any details, Rahal did say that the
schedule will give any CART team that wishes to participate in the
rival Indy Racing League's Indianapolis 500 the opportunity to do
so.
"We'll be keeping the race weekend open and we're going to make
it possible for our teams to race at Indy, if they want to," he
said. "I haven't heard any takers, yet, but it's still a long way
off."
CART kept two weeks open in May this year and Target/Chip
Ganassi Racing took its regular drivers to the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, where defending series champion Juan Montoya won and
Jimmy Vasser finished seventh.
Ganassi is expected to return to Indy in 2001. Walker Racing,
which fields cars in both the IRL and CART, will also be back, with
Team Penske also expected to take part in the 500.
Until Ganassi's return, CART's top teams and drivers had
boycotted Indy since it became an IRL venue in 1996.
Mr. Secretary
Ronald E. Slater, the U.S. transportation
secretary, was a visitor to the speedway on Friday to announce the
continuation of a program with Ford Motor Co., that promotes
highway safety.
For the third year, CART will help Slater and the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration spread the word about using
seatbelts and child safety seats and the importance of safe driving
as well as buying safe cars.
Drivers Montoya, Michael Andretti and Adrian Fernandez are being
used in public service announcements. The program also includes the
use of billboards and literature.
Rosalyn G. Millman, deputy administrator of the NHTSA, also was
on hand to present the Buckle Up America Champion award to the
Championship Auto Racing Auxiliary for providing about $500,000 to
nearly 100 communities and hospitals worldwide to buy child safety
seats for needy families.
Mary Lou Beaudry-Bogner, the director of CARA, accepted the
award for the organization and gave credit to Bridgestone-Firestone
for its financial help in the child safety seat effort.
Spark plugs
Gualter Salles of Brazil is the replacement this
week for Japanese rookie Takuya Kurosawa, who sustained a
concussion in a crash during qualifying last Saturday at Michigan
Speedway. It will be the first race for Salles this season. ...
Mauricio Gugelmin will move into a tie with Roberto Guerrero for
15th place on the career list with his 120th CART start on Sunday.
... Ford leads Honda 194-169 in the Manufacturer's Championship
heading into the 12th of 20 races this season. | |
ALSO SEE
Crash knocks Fittipaldi out of race, Stallone flick
Montoya back in CART title picture heading into Target Grand Prix
AUDIO/VIDEO
 John Kernan is joined by Kenny Brack and Mike Iribarron on RPM 2Night.
RealVideo: 28.8
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