Motorola to PacWest
The Motorola sponsorship has moved from Brix-Comptech to PacWest according to Tom Crawford, manager of sports marketing for Motorola. Mark Blundell's '97 Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone will carry its purple and orange colors in the 17-race CART/PPG series.

In addition, PacWest owner Bruce McCaw, who also fields a car for Mauricio Gugelmin (sponsored by Hollywood cigarettes), has added Allen McDonald, Jim Hamilton and Roberto Trevisan to his technical staff.

Tony Cicale confirmed at Team Green
Barry Green has scored a major victory by securing Tony Cicale as chief engineer for Parker Johnstone's '97 effort with the Kool '97 Reynard/Honda/Firestone. Cicale, who who also engineered CART championships for Mario and Michael Andretti before helping rookie Jacques Villenueve win the '95 title, will be joined by veteran engineer John Dick and Scott Graves.

CART Star To Race Chili Bowl
PPG CART World Series driver PJ Jones will campaign this weekend at the world-famous Chili Bowl sprint car race in Oklahoma. Jones, like his father, Parnelli, cut his teeth racing in sprint car and midget competition before joining ranks with All American Racers and Toyota in IMSA GTP competition. Last season as an Indy car rookie, he registered Toyota’s first-ever top-10 CART finish with a ninth at Detroit.

Fangio’s Fast Time Highlights AAR Testing
Juan Manuel Fangio II registered a 29.2-second lap on the oval at the Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex Sunday to highlight All American Racers two-day test session. The nephew and namesake of the late five-time Formula One World Champion drove his Castrol/Jockey 96 Reynard Toyota to the third-fastest time overall of the eight drivers testing. Fangio’s AAR teammate PJ Jones registered a fast lap of 29.8 seconds. Combined, the duo logged more than 700 miles in the two days at Homestead despite Fangio’s Monday morning crash that put his car out of commission.

After converting the remaining chassis to a road course configuration on Tuesday and Wednesday, Fangio and AAR will begin two days of testing on the road course at Sebring International Raceway on Thursday, January 8.

Unser And Team Penske Look For Strong 1997
Al Unser Jr. and Team Penske completed a successful four-day test at the Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex earlier this week. After a winless 1996 season, the team is putting its new Penske PC26 Mercedes IC108D through a thorough test program aimed to put them back in the PPG Cup winner’s circle in 1997. Both Unser and teammate Paul Tracy drove during the Homestead test which included two days on the road course and a pair of days on the 1.5 mile oval.

"Paul and I are working together very hard and we’re both looking forward to a great ’97 season," Unser said. "We all know we didn’t have the best season last year. We’ve been backed in a corner before and we’ve always come out swinging. This year will be no different, and our number one concentration will be the PPG Cup."

Both Tracy and Unser have been pleased with the new Penske chassis and latest Mercedes motor.

"Nigel Bennett and John Travis have done a great job with the design of the new car," Unser said. "We’ve put plenty of miles on the car and so far it has been great. The main difference between this year’s car from last year is the ’97 Penske Mercedes has real good mechanical grip. Obviously we won’t have our final answers on how we stack up until race day at the Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami, but so far we’re very pleased."

Team Penske will test again at Homestead before the season opens including CART Spring Training where fans can see Unser, Tracy and the other stars of the PPG Cup in action. The event is scheduled for January 30 through February 1. Check the EVENTS button on the CART.com front page for ticket information.

"I really enjoy Spring Training because it gives us a preliminary chance to measure up against the competition," Unser said. "It will also give us a chance to compare ourselves with the other teams and how they’ve dealt with the new changes in the rules and the new changes to the Homestead track."

Others testing at Homestead the same time as the Penske group included 1996 PPG Cup champion Jimmy Vasser for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, Patrick Racing teammates Scott Pruett and Raul Boesel, Parker Johnstone and Team KOOL Green and AAR teammates Juan Manuel Fangio PJ Jones. Vasser was reported unofficially fastest of the eight drivers on the Homestead oval while Fangio was uninjured after hitting the wall in Turn Three on Monday.