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NASCAR/CART/SCCA: Cindric Leaves Rahal for Penske * Talking Parrott * Seat Shuffling

29 October 1999

By Press Snoop, RacingPR.com

Just before the Australian CART race, Team Rahal's team manager, TIM CINDRIC, resigned. The team managed fairly well without him. MAX PAPIS finished second, after starting 11th, and his teammate, BRYAN HERTA started second and finished fourth.

Papis, whose runner-up finish was his career-best, dedicated the finish to "his good friend, GONZALO RODRIGUEZ." For the first time, his team owner, BOBBY RAHAL, 'called' the race for Papis, and Papis credited him for the aggressive fuel strategy call. Papis is fifth in the standings with 133 points, and he still leads the CART stats for laps (2400) and miles (3896.3) completed, and is second in running finishes - 17. Herta is now 11th in the standings with 84 points.. His race was "called" by SCOTT ROEMBKE.

Team Rahal is restructuring its personnel for next season. Herta's contract with Team Rahal is up at the end of this season, and it wasn't renewed. A team spokesman said Wednesday that the new driver will be announced some time in November.

In the meantime, Cindric surfaced in Reading PA Wednesday as the new President of Penske Racing. His management responsibilities will include Marlboro Team Penske, Penske Cars Ltd., and Racing Experience, Inc.

Young Cindric is the son of CARL CINDRIC, who was an engine builder with HERB PORTER of HP Engine Developments, and worked with Penske Racing on the Offenhauser Indy engines in the late sixties and early seventies.

At California Speedway in Fontana next weekend Rahal will have both of his teams there, competing in their finale races. He co-owns the CART team with DAVID LETTERMAN. He co-owns his NASCAR Craftsman Truck team with TOM GLOY. The No.55 Icehouse Ford Truck team recently let go its driver, RON BARFIELD. Two races ago TONY ROPER, the team's former driver, raced for Gloy at Louisville; and last weekend BORIS SAID, a former Gloy Trans-Am driver, competed. But at Fontana, Said is racing with his own Truck team, owned by ERNIE IRVAN and MARK SIMO. Gloy hasn't yet named a Truck driver for the finale race; and it could be the last Gloy Truck race, as he has the equipment up for sale.

Last Sunday Said drove at Sebring International Speedway in the season's finale BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am race, with BRIAN SIMO, twin brother of Said's NASCAR team owner. Said's car had been qualified by DORSEY SCHROEDER as Said was racing Trucks for Gloy at Texas Motor Speedway. Simo finished second in the race and in the standings, behind PAUL GENTILOZZI who won both. Said finished the Trans-Am right behind Simo, in third place.

Said then stayed in Florida and Wednesday he tested his Irvin-Simo NASCAR Winston Cup Ford at Homestead-Miami Speedway in preparation for the 14 November 1999 Winston Cup Pennzoil 400 race. He was testing along with three Busch series drivers, who have been testing for two days to get ready for the HotWheels.com Busch Series race 13 November 1999: STEVE PARK who will race his DEI-owned Chevrolet in the Winston Cup race as well as a new Busch Chevrolet for TED MARSH; RON HORNADAY/Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet, and STEVE GRISSOM. Hornaday is prepping for his full-time assault on the Y2K Busch Series, and Grissom was testing a Ford for the new Busch team, co-owned by Cup Points leader DALE JARRETT and BRETT FAVRE, quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.

And speaking of Jarrett - his Winston Cup crew chief TODD PARROTT was fined $5000 by NASCAR Wednesday for his slip of the tongue on the radio to Jarrett. Ordinarily his profanity would only have been heard by his No.88 Quality Care Ford team and those who scanned his transmissions during the race. However, ESPN had technical difficulties Sunday with its one-second delay feature at the NASCAR Winston Cup race at Talladega, and everyone watching the broadcast heard Parrott also. NASCAR wasn't amused at his speech which they said violated Section 12-4 A of this year's Winston Cup rules, "Any member who performs an act or participates in actions deemed by NASCAR Officials as detrimental to automobile racing or to NASCAR...use of improper language."

The Green Bay Packers are the favorite team of RICH BICKLE, and he goes to extraordinary lengths to watch them, including the Super Bowl. Well, Bickle has been replaced in MARK MELLING's No.9 Ford for what's left of the season, and the latest driver is to be STACY COMPTON this weekend at Rockingham for the Pop Secret 400 Winston Cup Race. The sponsor isn't Cartoon Network any longer either. Compton's Rockingham graphics will be WCW/Melling Engine Parts. Owner Melling said he'd have Compton for all the remaining races if he could. Compton's last Truck race next weekend doesn't conflict with Winston Cup, since Cup finally has a weekend off after going flat out all summer. Compton still has an outside chance of winning the Truck series from his fourth position in the standings. He's a factory Dodge driver and no doubt is being considered for a Dodge Cup ride down the road.

Bickle in the meantime has landed a Rockingham ride in No.91 Little Joe's Autos Chevrolet, which also has had a variety of drivers.

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