Rumor mill has Penske
mulling a switch to Johnstone
By Jason Vondersmith©1996 The Columbian - Vancouver, WA
Used by permission
VANCOUVER, Wash. (July 4, 1996) - No doubt, Parker Johnstone has made himself one of the hot items on the PPG IndyCar World Series circuit, what with his exuberant personality, his knowledge of race cars and his proven driving ability.Rumors have the Redmond, Oregon native being wooed by Team Penske, which might see the defection of Al Unser Jr. and/or deposing of Paul Tracy.
Last weekend at Cleveland, Johnstone himself hinted that the Brix/Comptech Racing team may be on the verge of losing Motorola as its sponsor.
An Associated Press note said the team was to decide whether to stay together for next year. [No official announcement has been made as of yet.]
One week after placing fifth at Portland International Raceway, Johnstone's No. 49 Reynard-Honda suffered contact on lap 18 at Cleveland and went out. He finished 25th.
The team has been working all year, its first full year on the IndyCar circuit, with limited funds -- about $4 million. So, damaged equipment hurts.
The Brix/Comptech Racing publications man, Brian Wagner, spent Monday and Tuesday quashing talk of the team's demise. He said the team will finish the season and likely return next year.
After all, Johnstone did work with two Reynard-Honda cars at Cleveland and suspension damage suffered in the race was minimal.
"We've been talking with Motorola about this being a long-term deal -- standard midseason discussions," Wagner said. "Everybody hopes to keep it going. There's strength in continuity. Why change things midstream?"
Wagner says Johnstone has remained close to the Comptech owners Doug Peterson and Don Herb, as well as being associated with Honda for 11 years. He would have to break his ties with Honda, for example, to jump to Penske.
One thing to remember: Johnstone, being an excellent spokesperson, talks with such passion and long-windedness, some people may tend to misunderstand him.
