It’s a Time of Change for Gibbs, Wells Teams

Joe Gibbs is trading in his Winston Cup-winning Pontiacs for Chevrolets, and Cal Wells is leaving Ford to campaign Pontiacs in the coming Winston Cup season -- for what seem to be completely opposite philosophical viewpoints. And the season, starting with Daytona 500 qualifying, is only five weeks away.

Gibbs won Winston Cup championships with Bobby Labonte in 2000 and Tony Stewart in 2002, both driving Pontiacs.

“With more teams leaving Pontiac, we decided we needed a stronger benchmark for our side,” said Gibbs. “We needed more competition among our own class. When you finish out of the top five and are still the highest finishing Pontiac, it doesn’t give much feedback as to what we need to do.

“On the other hand, by switching to Chevrolet, we know we will have more strong cars to compare with in testing, practice and on the racetrack. With teams like Rick Hendrick with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, DEI [Dale Earnhardt Inc.] with Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip, and Richard Childress with Kevin Harvick and Robby Gordon, there’s plenty of benchmarks for us.”

On the other hand, Wells and his PPI team are changing from a busy manufacturer to Pontiac so Ricky Craven and the distinctive No. 32 Tide car will have less competition in its own class.

“We were quite happy with Ford -- Ricky won his first race for us with them -- but with Pontiac, we get higher up in the pecking order,” said a Wells spokesman. “There are about a dozen Fords and only five Pontiacs.”

With Ford, Wells would have had to compete with Roush Racing and its powerful five-driver team of Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle; Yates’ Dale Jarrett and Elliott Sadler, and the Wood Brothers’ Ricky Rudd.

Roger Penske, who campaigned Fords for Rusty Wallace and rookie of the year Ryan Newman, is switching to Dodge.

The whole debate over manufacturers may become moot, however, as NASCAR goes ahead with its decision to have a common template for all cars. Except for nose design and the tailpiece, Fords, Dodges, Chevrolets and Pontiacs will all look the same, starting with the Feb. 16 Daytona 500.

The idea is to keep teams from complaining when NASCAR takes off, or adds on, a fraction of an inch here and there, hoping to create parity, the lifeblood of Winston Cup racing.

Anaheim Supercross

In a confusing blend of world and national championship competition, the THQ World Supercross GP and AMA Supercross will share billing when the 2003 season opens Saturday night at Anaheim’s Edison Field.

The THQ consists of two European races, won last month by David Vuillemin and Chad Reed, and 15 of the 16 AMA events promoted by Clear Channel Entertainment. The Daytona Beach supercross is promoted independently, so it is not part of the world series -- but does count for the national title. Got that?

Even more puzzling is the rule that a rider cannot win the THQ championship -- even if he wins all 15 U.S. races -- unless he rode in the two European events. This eliminates Ricky Carmichael, the two-time reigning AMA champion, and such other favorites as Kawasaki’s Ezra Lusk and Suzuki’s Stephane Roncada and Travis Pastrana.

Carmichael, who followed his supercross championship season by winning all 24 outdoor national motocross events, will open defense of his stadium crown on the familiar No. 4 Honda CR 250R that he rode last season.

Vuillemin, who won last year’s opening race at Anaheim, is the THQ leader with 47 points. He won in Geneva, Switzerland, and was second to Reed in Arnheim, Holland. Reed has 41 points, followed by Grant Langston, 38; Tim Ferry, 37, and Mike LaRocco and Sebastien Tortelli, 34 each.

Seven-time AMA supercross champion Jeremy McGrath rode in both European races, but after returning home announced that he was retiring. McGrath, who won eight races at Anaheim, is expected to make ceremonial rides before this year’s supercross events.

All-America Team

The annual awards dinner honoring the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Assn. 2003 All-America team will be held Jan. 11 at the Sheraton Suites Fairplex in Pomona. Besides the team, legendary drivers Parnelli Jones and Hershel McGriff will be honored.

Highlight of the awards ceremony will be revealing the winner of the Jerry Titus Award, which goes to the driver who receives the most votes. The award is named for the late Jerry Titus, a journalist-driver. The candidates are drag racing’s John Force, who won in 1996, 1999 and 2000; Indy Racing League champion Sam Hornish Jr., and Winston Cup champion Stewart.

World of Outlaws sprint car champion Steve Kinser made the team for a record 15th time. Force made it for the 11th time.

The banquet is open to the public. Tickets are $50. Details: (818) 842-7005.

The team:

Open wheel -- Hornish, Cristiano da Matta.

Stock car -- Stewart, Mark Martin.

Road racing -- Ron Fellows, Boris Said.

Drag racing -- Force, Larry Dixon.

Short track -- Kinser, J. J. Yeley.

At large -- A.J. Foyt IV, Frank Manzo, Bryan Sellars.

Foyt? Manzo? Sellars?

Foyt, 19, A.J.’s grandson, won the IRL’s Infiniti Pro Series, a development series for would-be IRL drivers. Manzo, 50, won his eighth NHRA top-alcohol funny car championship. Sellars, 21, is the SCCA Formula Ford Zetec 2000 champion.

Also scheduled Jan. 11 is the CRA Reunion for old-time roadster fans. It will start at noon at Knott’s Berry Farm and is open to the public for $25. Details: (661) 269-2700.

Last Laps

Force, along with teammates Tony Pedregon and Gary Densham, will make autograph-signing appearances during the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show this weekend at the Convention Center. Force will be there 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Pedregon 11-1 on Sunday and Densham, 11-1 and 3-5 both days.

Les Richter, former Riverside International Raceway president and current vice president of International Speedway Corp., has been named to the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame board of directors.... John Watkinson, Grand American modified champion at Irwindale Speedway last year, was inadvertently left off a list of the track’s 2002 champions.

Irwindale Dragstrip will kick off its 2003 season with bracket racing Saturday on its eighth-mile strip. Racing will start at 4. The 2002 season ended less than two weeks ago.... California Dragway, in the California Speedway parking lot, will open its season Jan. 11-12 on a quarter-mile track. Karts will return to California Speedway on Jan. 18-19.

Johnny McDowell, Troy Ruttman and Einar “Swede” Lindskog, all legends from the Gilmore Stadium midget car racing era, are among 20 drivers who will be inducted into the National Midget Hall of Fame this year.... Sam Jackson, former SEMA vice president, is the new executive director of the NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona.... Max Jones, of Long Beach, has left Roush Racing to join Red Bull Cheever Racing as manager of Eddie Cheever’s IRL operation.

Passings

Gordon “Slugger” Cole, 77, a longtime participant in Southern California racing circles, died Dec. 20 of an apparent stroke while at work in Paramount. Cole campaigned Offy-powered midget cars in the early 1950s and was an Indy 500 crew chief. In the last days of Ascot Speedway, he served as Butch Dale’s assistant in preparing the dirt surface. A memorial will be held Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Edelbrock Private Museum, 510 Madrid Ave., Torrance.

*

Supercross

What: THQ world championship round 3, AMA supercross championship round 1, for 250cc motorcycles. Also AMA West round 1 for 125 cc bikes.

Where: Edison Field, Anaheim, on man-made dirt course.

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Attendance: 45,050 (sold out).

Defending champion: David Vuillemin, France, on a Yamaha.

Series champion: Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., on a Honda.