Dale Wins But Hendrick Motorsports Leads Pack

NASCAR’s 50th season opened February 15 with the roar of new engines and a flock of four-door Fords (Taurus) slamming doors and scrubbing rubber to grab the Daytona 500 crown before 185,000 standing and screaming spectators. The crowd favorite and eventual winner Dale Earnhardt finally broke his 20-year curse, taking his first Daytona 500 checkered flag and earning a hand-slapping row of congratulations from the NASCAR pit crews. An untold number of fans, machinists and Haas dignitaries also rooted for the Haas-sponsored Hendrick Motorsports team as they returned to defend their remarkable 1-2-3 finish at last year’s running.

The pack accelerated to speed as the starter gave the green flag to Terry Labonte in the Haas-sponsored Hendrick Motorsports Kellogg’s Monte Carlo (#5).

Defending NASCAR Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon (Hendrick Motorsports DuPont Monte Carlo #24) then began his incredible run up to the front from the rear of the pack to eventually take over the lead on lap 59, showing the rest of the 43-car field what to expect in ’98.

Gordon maintained the lead (with a break at lap 107 when Hendrick teammate Labonte took over for two laps) for a total of 54 of the 200 scheduled trips around the celebrated Florida track. Gordon’s challenge finally faltered when he dropped a piston in the final few laps, sending him back to a sputtering 16th-position finish behind teammates Labonte in 12th, and Ricky Craven (running the Hendrick #50 Bud Monte Carlo) in 14th.

Keep an eye on the winner’s circle at the upcoming NASCAR races and you’ll probably see quite a few return visits by the Haas-sponsored Hendrick Motorsports team. The Hendrick trio of Chevrolet Monte Carlos carry the “HAAS CNC” sticker directly in front of the rear wheels on either side of the cars.

PacWest CART: PacWest’s Mercedes-powered 
Reynards will carry the Haas logo in ’98

Haas has joined PacWest Racing Group as a Technology Partner/Sponsor in support of PacWest’s ongoing FedEx Championship Series competition. Haas will supply PacWest with two CNC vertical mills, two lathes, and technical support. The Haas logo will appear on the Reynard/Mercedes-Benz cars driven by Mauricio Gugelmin (#17) and Mark Blundell (#18) that PacWest campaigns in the FedEx Championship, as well as the PacWest entries in the PPG Dayton Indy Lights Championship.

“Haas is thrilled with the opportunity to partner with PacWest Racing Group,” said Gene Haas. “The design capabilities of the PacWest engineering and technical staff and the precision of Haas CNC machine tools will produce a winning combination. PacWest will provide the ideal laboratory to showcase the Haas product line.”

PacWest is recognized by the racing community as one of CART’s most competitive teams. In 1997, the team claimed four victories and three pole positions with a total of 18 “Top 10” finishes.

“Having the best and most advanced equipment is a prerequisite in racing,” said John Anderson, PacWest’s Vice President of Race Operations. “The addition of the Haas CNC equipment will be a great asset to the PacWest design and technical team. The benefits of being able to design and manufacture ‘in-house’ are immeasurable.”

For the 1998 season, PacWest will continue with the same successful racing platform used in 1997, running a Reynard chassis powered by the advanced Mercedes-Benz engine on Firestone tires.

PacWest Wire

“Big Mo” Mauricio Gugelmin took to the track with two minutes left in the final session of spring training at Homestead, Florida, and ran a series of fast laps culminating in the best lap of the session.

“We weren’t here to qualify,” commented Mauricio, “But it was nice to show we do a quick time when we need to.” With the top runners lapping 10 mph faster than last year, he finished the session just 0.164 seconds behind overall fast time. “Big Mo” ended up third overall and said, “The car and the new Mercedes engine have a lot of potential.”

Blundell’s track time was cut short due to some minor problems, but he said he ran some productive laps in the morning.

C&C Motorsports SCRA (Sprint)

Joe Custer, in partnership with Troy Cline, is entering his second year of involvement with Haas Automation sponsorship in local Sprint Car Racing Association (SCRA) events.

With 37 race dates scheduled for the ’98 SCRA calendar, plans are currently in the works to host a special “Haas Nite” for team supporters, at one or both of the race dates at the Ventura Raceway, May 30 and September 5. Look for “The Haas Pit” hospitality station in the pits and give a collective cheer for Custer and Cline as they carry the Haas Automation name to yet another automotive victory.

South Africa: “Group N” Opel Astra

International competition finds the Haas Automation South Africa logo carried on the South African Group N Opel Astra of Gary Marais. Marais is a very popular driver, known for his aggressive driving techniques (shown here making good use of his competitors in a rather unorthodox cornering maneuver). Marais, a former Rookie-of-the-Year award winner, was also sent to Europe, where the car competed in a number of saloon car races.

Haas South Africa Opel (left, or is it  above?) finished 2nd in class and 3rd  overall in South African Group N saloon  car competition.

Super Series Off Road

Off-road racing fans in the Southern Hemisphere have no trouble seeing the Haas SA sponsorship on Buks Carolin’s Chenowth VW buggy. Front-runners are always the cleanest competitors, and Buks, already a national off-road champion, earned the crown as short course champion of the South African Total Super Series at AA Kyalami. Carolin’s tube-framed dirt slinger claimed the Super Special category title for tube-framed cars with a trio of wins.

MTS/Trinity ATV Racing

Machining Time Savers (MTS), Haas’ distributor in Southern California, has entered into a sponsorship agreement with Trinity Racing, backing the team’s multiple-vehicle involvement in major national and international all-terrain vehicle (ATV) events. The six-rider pro team competes in Grand National Motocross and TT, Grand National Cross-country, PACE Stadium Series, SCORE and “Best in the Desert” events.

Trinity Racing riders are supported at events by the team manager, engine tuner, suspension specialist and a chassis consultant. Operating out of a custom-painted, 45-foot enclosed trailer, the “Trinity Racing Team” will in effect promote the many ATV products and services the Trinity Racing name represents, including the fabrication of numerous billet bolt-on mods to the building of full-on racing engines.

Riding identically prepared Suzuki 500 ATVs utilizing a Lonestar chassis and Trinity-modified motors, all of the race vehicles will use the same brand products and run the same color scheme and sticker placement to assure team recognition on the circuit.

Trinity Racing presently is using Haas CNC machines (three mills and a lathe) in its Anaheim, California shop, where experienced technicians prepare some of the hottest running power plants around. The operation is also well known for fine-tuning race-prepped engines used in jet skis and other forms of watercraft.

“We’ve known and depended on Trinity for a number of years now with our own ATCs,” says Gary Sladek, manager of MTS. “We’re looking forward to enhancing our relationship with this exciting partnership.”

[ Home ] [ Sizeable Cuts ] [ Industry News ] [ Race Report ] [ PrecisionBikes ] [ Speedway Eng ] [ Swift Racers ] [ Aircraft Engg ] [ CAD/CAM ] [ Cutting Fluids ] [ New Products ] [ Back Page ] [ Spring98.pdf ]