Notebook

IROC ready to roll with hope of improving races

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The International Race of Champions is making several changes this year in hopes of improving races.

The opener is Friday at Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR driver Ryan Newman drew the pole position Wednesday for the 40-lap, 100-mile race -- the first of four in the annual series now sponsored by Crown Royal.

IROC officials have added a new twist, including an automatic yellow flag at lap 25 that will allow the field to realign itself behind the leader. The second-place driver has the option of moving to the inside or outside of the lead car, but staying a row back. Each driver in running order behind the second-place car then has the choice of moving to the inside or outside lane.

Other changes include: car numbers have been carried over from each driver's respective series and will remain the same for all four races; car colors will remain the same, too, and will be the same as the driver's color on his regular series; races will be broadcast live for the first time; and the 12-car field is split evenly between six open-wheel drivers and six NASCAR drivers.

CART champ angered by snub

Defending CART champion Paul Tracy is angry he wasn't invited to race in the IROC series.

"It is something that I would have liked to have done," Tracy told the Toronto Sun. "I feel slighted that I wasn't even given consideration or given a call."

IROC spokesman George Signore said Tracy wasn't invited because, at the time IROC put its schedule together, officials didn't know if CART would be in existence this year. CART declared bankruptcy and its assets were sold. Signore said IROC didn't know what CART's eventual schedule would be, and was afraid a conflict would force Tracy out of its 12-driver field.

Tracy said he didn't buy that explanation.

"IROC knew our first race wasn't until April," he said.

McMurray, Mears fastest on Wednesday

Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears of Ganassi Racing had the fastest two speeds Wednesday in the final practice for the Daytona 500 qualifying races.

McMurray didn't think it meant much.

"The speed chart doesn't really represent anything here," McMurray said after turning a lap at 191.290 mph.

Handling is more important at restrictor-plate tracks like Daytona, as is a driver's ability to draft well and find good drafting partners. Drafting, of course, doesn't come into play much during practice.

Another Dodge driver, Brendan Gaughan, had the third-fastest time in practice. Six of the top nine speeds were posted in Dodges, which countered the conventional wisdom that redesigned Fords got the biggest boost coming into this season.

France: Little room for expansion

With 36 official and a few more unofficial events on the schedule, NASCAR CEO Brian France conceded there is little room left for expansion to new areas.

In the long-term quest to expand its once-Southern sport throughout the nation, NASCAR has put Nextel Cup races in Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Phoenix, Las Vegas, California and New Hampshire over the years.

The Northwest and Colorado are a couple of the major glaring absences, but getting races there won't be so easy, France said, largely because of the schedule. The Nextel Cup season lasts from February through November with just three weeks off, including the traditional dates of Mother's Day and Easter.

"If someone is thinking about going to the Northwest or whatever, they're going to have to think about realignment as part of the puzzle," France said.

Waltrip still longing for respect

Michael Waltrip has won the Daytona 500 twice, yet he still struggles for respect.

The defending Daytona champion has four career victories -- all since 2001, and all at Daytona and Talladega, the two restrictor-plate tracks.

"We haven't shown from Race 1 to Race 36 that we are deserving of being championship contenders," said Waltrip, who hasn't finished higher than 12th in the points standings in 19 years. "But I've proven to myself we can do it."

In 2001, Waltrip won the Daytona 500, but the victory was overshadowed by the death of Dale Earnhardt. Last year, Waltrip won a race that went only 277 miles due to rain.

The muted celebrations after those victories, plus his inability to win at other tracks, may explain why Waltrip is not getting much buzz this year.

Instead, much of the hype is about his teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and the drivers in Robert Yates Racing, who have had the best qualifying and test results thus far.

"I like it that way," Waltrip said. "It's kind of like being down here and hearing all the talk about Yates and Dale Jr., and I'm over in the corner saying, 'Hey, they're not talking about old Mike.' "

Newman tabbed Cup's preseason favorite

Third-year driving star Ryan Newman has been selected by motorsports writers as the preseason favorite to win the 2004 Nextel Cup championship.

Newman led NASCAR's top series with 11 poles and eight victories in 2003 but finished sixth in the points.

The 26-year-old Indiana native, who drives a Dodge for Penske Racing South, collected 1,915 points with 27 first-place votes in the balloting conducted by NASCAR.

Newman's biggest problem last season was failing to finish races. He crashed or dropped out with mechanical problems seven times.

"Unfortunately, picking us as the favorite will not make any difference to how our season will turn out," Newman said. "But our team has learned a lot and we can now apply what we've learned to our 2004 season. Our objective is to make as few mistakes as possible and never make the same mistake twice."

Twenty-eight drivers received votes from more than 100 motorsports writers. Drivers received 20 points for a first-place vote, 17 for second, 15 for third, 13 for fourth, 11 for fifth, nine for sixth, seven for seventh, five for eighth, three for ninth and one for 10th.

FX's new series: NASCAR: Drivers Unscripted

The FX television network has ordered up eight episodes of an unscripted series featuring some of NASCAR's top drivers.

The weekly, one-hour show tentatively called NASCAR: Drivers Unscripted is scheduled to premiere in May. The show will primarily focus on the lives of nine drivers off the track, their families and teams.

The drivers currently scheduled to take part are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Jeremy Mayfield, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, Tony Raines, Brian Vickers and brothers Kenny and Rusty Wallace.

"NASCAR drivers are fearless, larger-than-life stars who participate in a high-risk sport," FX Networks president Peter Liguori said. "This series aims to explore the dramatic, sometimes funny and entertaining day-to-day lives of these colorful personalities."

Castroneves garners People's attention

ELIGIBLE GUY: Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves is featured in People En Espanol's special "25 Hottest Bachelors" issue, which hits newsstands this week.

The 28-year-old Brazilian joins 24 other unmarried Latino men, including actor Wilmer Valderrama, singer Adam Rodriguez and NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia.

"What an honor," Castroneves said. "I guess when you do something that you love, you have passion. And when you have passion, that's sexy."

Castroneves, who drives in the Indy Racing League for Marlboro Team Penske, will race in Friday's opener of the International Race of Champions series at Daytona International Speedway.