Penske’s Palace Is Reality After Years of Pipe Dreams

The successful opening of Roger Penske’s California Speedway last week did more than bring a world-class racing venue to Southern California. It ended decades of anxiety over the future of racing in the area.

Even when Ontario Motor Speedway attracted an opening-day crowd reported as 180,000, and when Riverside International Raceway was creating massive traffic jams with well-attended races, there was always an underlying feeling that neither would last. And neither did.

Ontario was doomed from the start when pre-construction projections of attendance proved wildly exaggerated. Riverside, though capably managed by Les Richter and Roy Hord, never escaped ownership problems. A succession of owners never spent the money to make it better.

The story at Riverside was that once grass was planted, to combat swirling dust storms, the track was headed for big things. Only one token patch of grass was planted.

At Fontana, Penske opened his track with grass, flowers and palm trees everywhere there weren’t asphalt or grandstands. And after last Sunday’s race, the anxiety was replaced by the feeling that racing is here to stay.

The track also puts to rest the endless rumors of new facilities that seemed to crop up daily once it was announced Ontario was closing in 1980. They became so commonplace that in many circles stories persisted that even Penske’s dream would never be fulfilled.

Frank Arciero was building one in Palm Springs, then in Moreno Valley. The late Mickey Thompson had a lease on a secret parcel in the City of Industry. Cary Agajanian was building one in Lancaster, then Fontana (the same site as Penske’s) and then Victorville.

Dan Greenwood, the last president of the Riverside track, worked for years searching for a replacement site. Every time he showed up, the rumor mongers had a new track rising--in Perris, Alberhill, Corona and Prado Dam. San Bernardino County officials proposed a track for Glen Helen Park. One was planned for Simi Valley.

The escalating value of California real estate always had been a factor. Riverside gave up to a Moreno Valley shopping mall, Ontario to what was expected to be an industrial park. Even Carrell Speedway, in Gardena, was doomed by a freeway.

“Trying to find 500 acres to buy in California, and then getting environmental approval to build a race track scared off investors,” said Penske, who found his parcel of land on deserted steel mill property owned by former Kaiser employees who needed a revenue-producing project to help finance their pensions.

For years, there were more stories about tracks closing than there were about the actual building of facilities.

The Long Beach Grand Prix has been a successful street race, but its up-and-down, instant construction never offered any stability to the racing scene.

For every Perris Auto Speedway built, there was an Orange County Raceway, a Saugus Speedway, an Ascot Park, and drag strips at Irwindale, Wilmington, Fontana and San Fernando that were lost forever to increased population and land use.

It was the same back in the ‘20s when the great board tracks of Beverly Hills, Playa del Rey and Culver City were plowed under to make way for tract homes and businesses.

Now, for the first time, racing fans can relax and enjoy themselves without worrying if it might be the last time around.

CART

With a good foundation of rubber laid down by the Winston Cup stock cars last weekend, four CART cars took over California Speedway this week in tire tests that indicated high speeds for the season-ending Marlboro 500 on September 28.

Paul Tracy, who holds a narrow lead over fellow Canadian Greg Moore for the PPG Cup World Series championship, had an unofficial lap of 230.4 mph with a trap speed high of 234 mph in his Penske Mercedes. As with the stock cars, the speeds and lap times are comparable with Michigan Speedway, where CART will hold its U.S. 500 on July 27.

Tracy and Gil de Ferran’s Reynard Honda were testing Goodyears, with Moore’s Reynard Mercedes and Max Papis’ Reynard Toyota running Firestones.

VINTAGE CARS

Long Beach did it, so why not Los Angeles?

On Labor Day weekend, 400 or more vintage cars will race through downtown Los Angeles in the first Ford Los Angeles Grand Prix. A 1.9-mile course will take them past City Hall, Union Station, Olvera Street and Chinatown in a three-day festival of racing. Twelve races a day are planned for Aug. 30-31 and Sept. 1.

The show is being produced by the Vintage Auto Racing Assn., whose members run regularly at sites such as Willow Springs, Phoenix, Pomona, Buttonwillow and Tustin.

IRL

Scott Sharp, A.J. Foyt’s No. 1 driver, will return to racing Sunday when the Indy Racing League makes its debut at the Pikes Peak International Raceway, a one-mile oval in Fountain, Colo., near Colorado Springs. Sharp suffered head injuries in an accident during practice for the Indianapolis 500. He tested last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway in preparation for the Samsonite 200 at Pikes Peak. . . . Another injured driver, John Paul Jr., may also return after suffering injuries to both legs in another Indy accident. . . . Marco Greco has switched from Team Scandia to Galles Racing and will run the remainder of the season with Kenny Brack as a two-car team. Jimmy Kite, winner of the USAC Silver Crown race during the Copper World Classic at Phoenix last February, will replace Grego with Team Scandia.

A puzzling question: Where is Jeff Ward, the former motocross champion who finished a strong third in the Indy 500? He didn’t race at Texas and he’s not entered at Pikes Peak.

FORMULA ONE

Approaching Sunday’s Grand Prix of France, undoubtedly the surprises of the season are seeing Ferrari leading Williams-Renault in the manufacturers’ standings, 51-43; and Michael Schumacher leading Jacques Villeneuve, 37-30. The race on the Nevers Magny-Cours circuit is the eighth in a 17-race schedule.

Jarno Trulli will make his Formula One debut with the Prost Mugen Hodan team, replacing the injured Olivier Panis. One reason for the Williams-Renault decline is that the team has yet to have a one-two finish, a feat Damon Hill and Villeneuve achieved six times last year.

NHRA

Did you notice who was driving one of the limos carrying VIPs to California Speedway last weekend? It was John Force. When Rusty Wallace saw him, he said, “You’re a six-time [funny car] champ and driver of the year, what are you doing driving a limo?”

Said Force: “Somebody’s gotta do it! I bought a new Ford limo and my driver came down sick last Thursday when I had a lot of sponsors coming into town. So I took the limo and shuttled them back and forth to the race track.”

Force may be preparing for another job. He hasn’t won a funny car national event since switching from Pontiac to a Ford Mustang seven races ago. He and the other hot rodders will be at Chris Pook’s refurbished Gateway International Raceway this weekend, racing in the shadows of the St. Louis Arch, in the Sears Craftsman Nationals.

NASCAR

With the Winston Cup carnival taking almost two weeks off after Jeff Gordon’s win in last Sunday’s California 500, attention will be focused on the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour and its Wrangler Jeans Firecracker 100 Saturday night at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield. At stake will be the Gatorade Front Runner Award, given to the driver who leads in points at the halfway point of the season, which is Saturday’s race. All Chris Raudeman of Redding needs to do to win is make the starting field. Last year, he also led going into the deciding race only to lose to his older brother, Craig, who is second again this year.

LAST LAPS

Sleepy Tripp will continue his search for a record 100th U.S. Auto Club midget win Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway. Tripp, a three-time national and seven-time Western Regional champion, won No. 99 last July at Ventura Raceway. This will be his first time on Perris’ half-mile clay oval.

Points leader Ricky Shelton, Wally Pankratz, Rick Hendrik and Scott Hansen will offer competition.

The Unsers and the Mearses, two of the most famous names to run the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, have joined forces for the 75th running of the Race to the Clouds on July 4.

Robby Unser, 29, son of three-time Indy 500 winner Bobby Unser, will drive a Chevrolet truck built by Roger Mears Racing. Robby has eight of the 37 wins by an Unser on Pikes Peak.

Roger Mears has won three times. Roger Mears Jr., winless in five tries, will try to join the family victory parade in a Chevy Camaro.