Six hired guns take aim at Infineon Raceway

SONOMA, Calif. -- Remember that scene in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" where Butch and Sundance are being chased by the posse and they keep asking, "Who are those guys?"

Fans may be thinking the same thing about the six "hired guns" taking on the NASCAR Winston Cup regulars in Sunday's Dodge/SaveMart 350 at Infineon Raceway this weekend.

Ron Fellows, P.J. Jones, Paul Menard, Johnny Miller, Scott Pruett and Boris Said. Who are these guys?

Just like the alphabet-soup racing series they've run in -- IMSA, SCCA, CART, USAC -- the guys who make a living turning right as well as left are as varied as the 11 turns of the track that used to be known as Sears Point International Raceway.

A three-time winner in the NASCAR Busch Series and two times in the Craftsman Truck Series, it may only be a matter of time before Fellows visits Victory Lane in a Winston Cup car.

RON FELLOWS  Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario  Age: 43  Career Highlight: 2002 American Le Mans Series GTS Champion  Fast Fact: Worked in natural gas pipeline industry before his racing career took off  Winston Cup Starts: 8  Best Finish: Second (1999, Watkins Glen)

Certainly the No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet is capable, since Steve Park finished first at Watkins Glen in 2000.

"I am excited beyond belief," Fellows said. "This is something we've talked about doing for a long time. It's a dream come true for me to drive a Dale Earnhardt Incorporated car. It's a goal of mine to win a NASCAR Winston Cup race and this moves me one step closer to doing the that."

Fellows, a native of Canada, began racing open-wheel cars in the '70s, but a lack of funding forced him to take a job in the natural gas pipeline industry. He tried again in 1986, racing a showroom stock Camaro in the Player's/GM Challenge. Three years later, he dominated the series, winning the driver's championship.

His success continued in Trans-Am, where his 20 wins in 95 starts rank him fifth all-time. Fellows also co-drove a Corvette to GTS class victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Pruett is probably the most well-known of the bunch, particularly after spending an entire season in Winston Cup as driver for Cal Wells' PPI Motorsports in 2000. That year was literally a soap opera, as Wells and Pruett "invaded" from CART, swooped down and acquired Ricky Rudd's Tide sponsorship and promptly finished 37th in the points, including 11 DNFs.

SCOTT PRUETT  Hometown: Wenatchee, Wash.  Age: 43  Career Highlight: Two-time SCCA Trans-Am champion  Fast Fact: Gambled entire life savings on an IndyCar start at Long Beach  Winston Cup Starts: 31  Best Finish: Sixth (2002, Watkins Glen)

However, that's not indicative of Pruett's abilities as a driver. A six-time driving champion -- two in Trans-Am, two in IMSA GTO -- the 44-year-old California native rolled to a sixth-place finish at Watkins Glen last season in his only pinch-hit appearance. That's one reason why Chip Ganassi will put him in a fourth team car this weekend.

"Scott has a proven track record on road courses and has had great finishes with our team in the past two years," Ganassi said.

Early in his career, Pruett dominated in go-karts and sports cars. But when he gambled his entire life savings on a CART one-race lease ride in Long Beach in 1988, his career took off. A two-time winner in CART, Pruett now serves as a broadcaster for that series' races.

He also returned to the Trans-Am Series for the first time in seven years, dominating the St. Petersburg event in February. The drivers who finished second and third that day -- Said and Miller -- will also be attempting to qualify.

BORIS SAID  Hometown: Carlsbad, Calif.  Age: 40  Career Highlight: 2002 Trans-Am Series champion  Fast Fact: Serves as professional driving coach  Winston Cup Starts: 7  Best Finish: Eighth (2001, Watkins Glen)

Said is the current Trans-Am champ, having scoring eight wins in 12 races in 2002. Like Pruett, Said cut his teeth in sports cars, running everything from Trans-Am to IMSA GT and the American Le Mans Series. In addition, he's started races in all three major national NASCAR touring series, including seven Winston Cup races, with a career-best eighth in the 2001 Global Crossing @ The Glen.

Said will be subbing for Mike Wallace in the No. 01 U.S. Army Pontiac.

"My goal is to be a full-time Winston Cup driver and I am not giving up on that," Said said. "I wait all year for the two Winston Cup road races. It's like a starving kid who has never seen a ice cream sundae.

"I love to drive fast, and in the past, I've had a tendency to be a little too aggressive and sometimes that hurt me. But I am getting better each time I go out there in a Cup car."

P.J. JONES  Hometown: Scottsdale, Ariz.  Age: 33  Career Highlight: 1993 IMSA GTP Series runner-up  Fast Fact: Flies his own plane to races  Winston Cup Starts: 11  Best Finish: Fourth (2002, Watkins Glen)

The same could be said of Jones, whose midget car background belies his talent on road courses. The son of legendary Indy 500 champ Parnelli Jones, P.J. quickly climbed the career ladder in the Firestone Firehawk, Indy Lights and IMSA GTP Series, earning him a six-race audition for Melling Racing in 1993.

After running both Winston Cup road course races in 1994, he returned to open-wheel racing in 1996, earning two top-10 finishes in the CART Series.

He finally broke into the Winston Cup top 10 last year at Watkins Glen, where he piloted A.J. Foyt's No. 14 car to its best finish of the season, fourth behind winner Tony Stewart.

Cars aren't the only thing Jones pilots. He owns a 609A Aero Commander, which he flies to and from races.

"All the stuff I own lies around in that plane somewhere," Jones said. "I use it like an old station wagon going across the country."

JOHNNY MILLER  Hometown: Johnson City, Tenn.  Age: 37  Career Highlight: Current Trans-Am Series points leader  Fast Fact: Won 1984 Chrysler-Dodge National Collegiate driving championship  Winston Cup Starts: None

The final two hired guns will be attempting to make their first Winston Cup start.

Miller, the current Trans-Am Series leader, used some hometown connections to secure his ride with the No. 4 Kodak team this weekend. He lives no more than 20 miles from the team's race shop and has had a long relationship with Morgan-McClure Motorsports.

"This is tremendous," Miller said. "This is just a great opportunity. I'm truly honored to race with these guys. The team is very competitive and that gives me a lot of confidence.

"Larry McClure, Kodak and the guys on the team have given me this opportunity, and I just want to do the best that I can for them."

PAUL MENARD  Hometown: Eau Claire, Wis.  Age: 22  Career Highlight: Seventh in 2002 NASCAR ReMax Challenge Series standings  Fast Fact: Father owns chain of home improvement stores  Winston Cup Starts: None

Miller is working a streak of five consecutive seasons in which he's finished no worse than seventh in the Trans-Am standings. In 94 career starts, the 37-year-old Johnson City, Tenn., native has recorded two victories, 36 top-five and 62 top-ten finishes.

Menard, son of the home improvement chain magnate, has driven stock cars and sports cars in his short racing career. The 22-year-old Menard had four top-10 finishes in the Trans-Am Series and won two Grand-Am races in his class last season. In addition, he's driven in ARCA and the NASCAR RE/MAX Challenge Series.

The Eau Claire, Wis., native lists go-karting and ice racing as two of his hobbies.