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EL m0 "A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, September 9, 1998 - 21 Sg, PORT PERRY STAR Off To The Races Race fans could see Winston Cup cars at Mosport next summer thanks to Caesarea's Ron Moore By Chris Hall Port Perry Star Racing enthusiasts could see even more great action at Mosport next season if a Caesarea man is successful in getting Winston Cup cars to the Bowmanville track. Ron Moore, a 35-year racing veteran, is currently working on making the local track the official Canadian home of the MBNA Cup Lites series, a circuit featur- ing three-quarter scale NASCAR rides. The original idea of the Cup Lite cars came from New York state's Tim Bender, who drove the #17 Kraft Foods car in the Busch Grand National Series (BGN) last year, says Mr. Moore. While his time was consumed driving in the feeder circuit for the popular NASCAR series, he suddenly found him- self with plenty of spare time after he sustained back injuries during a collision during the 1997 season. While recuperating, Mr. Moore says the BGN driver continued to look more seriously into the possibility of smaller Cup cars. That's where the Scugog man came into the picture. "I used to live in North Carolina and at the time I was working with Oshawa's Randy McDonald who was the first Canadian to get a Winston Cup ride," he said, adding that things didn't work out with the Canuck driver but that he opened a store in Mooresville, NC. "Tim called me and from there we just worked on it together. We got spon- sorship from MBNA Banks and from a Canadian company, Gray Tools, and we went from there." From there the two formed the MBNA Cup Lites Racing Series and started their inaugural season in July with 12 cars. "We had the prototypes constructed in May and two months later the actual cars were on the tracks. "We began with a dozen cars and now we're up to 16; next year we've already confirmed 28 races starting in April. It should be a good year for the series." The key to the MBNA series, says Mr. Moore, is to model it as close as they can to the Winston Cup NASCAR series, but to have its own touch as well. "We're not infringing on the rights of NASCAR or its drivers; the whole beauty of the series is to give people stock car racing in places that don't usually hold races and for drivers who can't afford the costs of Winston Cup. "We're bringing NASCAR to circuits that would never have a race... we're bringing it to Canada," he said. "This will inject new life into Canadian racing, which is at a crossroads right now." The Cup Lites series, he continues, will use NASCAR as a template and will try to give fans a taste of Winston Cup racing north of the CAN-AM border. "We're going to have everything they have. We already have drivers lined up who have their Cup Lites cars done up Turn to Page 22 Ted Griffen uses his five-iron to record an AC = g ace at Sunnybrae's sixth hole last week decades of waiting, Mr. Griffen'shot his first hole- in-one last week. Teeing off on the 142- yard, par three, sixth hole at Sunnybrae Golf Course, he let a shot go with his five-iron and was surprised By Chris Hall Port Perry Star For the first time in the 40 years he's played the game of golf, Ted Griffen says he finally has some- thing to celebrate. After more than four with the result. "I let it go'and it hit the green and rolled up the hill; it was a tough one," he said, recalling the shot ¢ CHRIS HALL / PORT PERRY STAR INTO THE SWING OF THINGS: With the 89th annual Canadian Open set to he made last Thursday begin tomorrow at Oakville's Glen Abbey Golf Course, golf enthusiast Dale (Sept. 3) afternoon. Turn to Page 22 Bradbury gets into the swing of things in the backyard of his Epsom home. Some of the PGA's best will make the trip to Canada for the event. Large... Port Perry's Todd Healey takes a look at today's world of sports Tis the season of contentment for Major League i ice the Jusiohed pu fa FA Jad produchs sales than llytinte es which saw an angry and disil- abil Yebel againstithe game and the J gl 8 by' ving away from the park i in droves. But cient history. lho, fans 1s have kissed and made up with the game 1 as the game is enjoying more popularity in that betrayed them, thanks in large part to the McGwire-Sosa homer binge which has caught the imagination of fans long-starved for a reason to feel good about the game again. However, because of the McGwire-Sosa hysteria, major stories, some good for 'the game and some bad, have gone largely unnoticed and deserve more recognition. Consider the New York Yankees. This team has won 100 games faster than any other team in the his- tory of the game and yet the majority of fans can barely stifle a yawn. And the Yanks aren't doing it with mirrors either. They have a very balanced, star- studded every day line-up, outstanding starting pitching, and a solid pen. If that isn't enough to ignite fan interest, they also boast the biggest collection of flakes this side of the Bad News Boars. what with Boomer Wells (he of the perfect game), Hideki Irabu, and Darryl Strawberry patrolling the clubhouse. Throw in the eccentric George Steinbrenner and you 'have a recipe, for season- Jong loyg:in with the fans and media alike, But, that hasn't happened. The Yanks have toiled in brilliant anonymity and should they fail to win the World Series, they will become merely a footnote to the McGwire-Sosa season and Baseball's the winner in McGwire-Sosa homer race the answer to a trivia question. On the other side of the ledger, Baseball dodged a PR nightmare with the Florida Marlin catastrophe, which would have been a much bigger story than it is if not for McGwire and Sosa. A spoiled rich-kid owner literally took his ball and went home, gutting his World Series winner as casually as making dinner plans, but not before raping a loyal fan base into buying season's tickets and box seats. The penthouse to outhouse fall for the Marlins is the worst in history for a defending champion. How about the individual performances that have been obscured this season? The ageless Ricky Henderson leading the majors in stolen bases, Greg Vaughn and Ken Griffey Jr. both pushing 50 homers in early September, and the eye-popping ribbie totals for Juan Gonzalez. As for.the pitchers, the 13-game winning streak and run at a sccond sorseruative Cy Young by Roger Clemens and the game an nd 17 - 2 record of David Wells would both cog mahd more attention in any other season. But basebal doesn't mind. They have their fans back ad the fans have something to cheer about. It couldn't haves come at a better time. mich, i iin "a