Much has been justifiably written and said about the improvements to The Milwaukee Mile track, and the historic first of racing under the lights, but the real history makers are the topnotch drivers who will race here this weekend.
Defending champ Paul Tracy leads an impressive field of CART Champ Car World Series drivers in what will be the first night race at the 1.032 mile oval at State Fair Park.
Tracy and Brazilian driver Bruno Junqueira share the point lead on the Champ Car circuit. Junqueria has had success on the short ovals, having won his first Champ Car pole on the tight Nazareth track and earning his first top-5 finish in his initial Milwaukee appearance in 2001.
Michael Jourdain sits directly behind the two co-leaders and started a run of four straight top-5 finishes with a fifth place at Milwaukee last year.
{INSERT_RELATED}Rookie Sebastien Bourdais of France has climbed to fourth in the point standings after an outstanding performance on a recent European swing. Jimmy Vasser, fresh off his run in the Indianapolis 500, will also be in the race and has the 1998 Milwaukee race championship on his resume.
Mexico's Mario Dominguez is another strong contender in the field. Patrick Carpentier holds the track record with a 185.50 mph lap in the 1998 race.
All these racers and the other men in the 19-car field will still be chasing Tracy, who has three previous wins in Milwaukee. "I'm looking forward to defending my Milwaukee championship this year," Tracy said. "One of my incentives is to get win number 4 there, and that would be the most wins that I have at any track in the series.
"I know that they have made quite a few renovations at The Milwaukee Mile, but to me is will always have that certain quaintness and uniqueness. Milwaukee has a racing atmosphere that you can practically taste."
The Milwaukee Mile Centennial 250 will start at 8 p.m. Saturday. Qualifying will be held Friday night.
Many of the future stars of the series will be on display when the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship and the Barber Dodge Pro Series are run Saturday before the main race.
State Fair in Racing Biz
Let's hope the move announced this week leads to even better things for The Milwaukee Mile. The State Fair Board announced that it is buying the rights to the oval from Carl Haas Racing Ltd., which had a 20-year contract to run races at the venue.
The move essentially means that the State Fair is back in the racing promotion business, after decades of contracting with private promoters. Board members apparently hope revenue from the races will help close a projected $1.4 million deficit for the State Fair facility. For race fans, they just want assurance that they will still see quality events like the Centennial 250.
The Brew Crew Review
GM Doug Melvin should be commended for trading outfielder Alex Sanchez earlier this week. Sanchez has been a problem in the Brewers' clubhouse for the last two years.
He was involved in a fight with pitcher Ruben Quevedo last season and rubbed several other players the wrong way. He regularly committed baserunning mistakes and other mental errors. Former managers Davey Lopes and Jerry Royster coddled Sanchez, in part because they wanted his speed in the lineup.
Current manager Ned Yost didn't hesitate to bench Sanchez, however, when he didn't take to instruction and generally didn't work very hard. When Scott Posednik hustled his way into the center field job, Sanchez became expendable.
Who knows if the two minor leaguers obtained for Sanchez will ever make the Brewers' roster? The point is that sometimes a ballclub can get add something through subtraction. Trading Alex Sanchez is a good example.
Now, Jeffrey Hammonds will present the next challenge. The often-injured outfielder has produced little for his $7-million-plus salary and is virtually untradeable because of his fragile physical makeup. Some believe the Brewers should simply release Hammond and eat his salary, but Melvin would be wiser to either trade him even if the Crew still has to pick up most of his salary or simply hang on to him and try to get some production from him the rest of the season.
Beyond Milwaukee Sports
The UW-La Crosse men's track team won its third straight NCAA Division III championship last weekend. Andrew Rock set a outdoor national record with 45.29 in the 400-meter dash and also won the 200. Rock earned the male athlete of the meet in Canton, New York ... UW-Oshkosh was eliminated in the NCAA Division III baseball tournament after losing, 6-1, to Chapman and 12-2 to Eastern Connecticut State. The Titans beat Trinity (Conn.), 5-4 in the double elimination tournament at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute. Chapman won the championship, scoring 30 runs in its final two wins.
The Name Game
Wave United's Todd Dusosky was picked the A-League Player of the Week after scoring goals in wins over Charlotte (2-0) and Minnesota (2-1) last weekend ... California high school outfielder Delmon Young, the brother of Detroit Tigers' player Dmitri Young, and Southern University infielder Rickie Weeks are said to be at the top of the Brewers' list in the upcoming June Free Agent Draft ... Packers' backup quarterback Craig Nall completed 22 of 32 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns in Scottish Claymore's recent 31-20 win over Amsterdam in the World Football League.
Hot Tix
If you're not going to the historic races this weekend, you can watch the Friday night qualifying and the Saturday night race on the SPEED Channel at 8:30 and 8 respectively. You also can listen to live internet audio for both the qualifying and main race at champcarworldseries.com.
Wave United hosts the Syracuse Salty Dogs at Uihlein Field at 6:05 p.m. Sunday.
The Brewers are in L.A. this weekend, trying to get revenge for the Dodgers' three-game sweep at Miller Park last weekend. The Crew remains on the road until next Friday, when it returns home to face the Boston Red Sox in inter-league play.
Gregg Hoffmann writes The State Sports Buzz every Friday on OMC.
