Article from La Cañada Outlook
    La Cañada High School graduates Eric Olberz and Tommy Kendall were teammates during a recent auto racing competition held at California Speedway in Fontana.
    Olberz, a 1980 LCHS grad, teamed with Kendall (class of 1984) and Robert Dalyrimple in the Tribute To Le Mans Enduro four-hour race. The local team, racing in a metallic pearl-orange 2000 Porsche GT3R, led the race much of the way. “We were hoping for a top-three finish,” Olberz said. “I could never have imagined that we would be in first place at the 2-hour, 40-minute mark (of a four-hour race) with our ‘hot shoe’ Tommy Kendall taking over driving duties” for the final one-third of the race.
    Kendall, a four-time Trans-Am champion, unfortunately never got the opportunity. Just as the local team’s car was set to go out for Kendall’s portion of the race, the car was unable to continue because of transmission failure. “We were done,” Olberz said. “What a disappointment that was. There is a lot of wear and tear on a car during the race.
    “But I was really thrilled how well the pit stops went, how well we qualified, and how good our start was. This was my first major event and to come this close to winning made me very happy. “Racing is physically demanding. My heart rate increases to about 150 beats per minute; the normal rate is about 70. You get sore back muscles, sore legs and sore neck muscles. Some of the soreness comes in fighting G forces and also mashing the brake pedal as hard as you can.”
Kendall, a former La Cañada Flintridge resident who currently lives in Las Vegas, was quite impressed with the event. “It’s almost the pinnacle of amateur racing,” he said. “Our car was probably the class of the field. I met Eric 10 or 15 years ago and I know about his passion for cars. I was extremely impressed with his ability; he is very analytical and intense. The times he ran were very impressive.”
Olberz concluded the weekend with a stellar performance in winning the Porsche Cup Sprint race. Fourteen cars entered the 15-lap race, with Olberz winning by a convincing 27-second margin over the runner-up driver.
    “I guess I wanted to make a statement after the letdown in the previous day’s Enduro race,” Olberz said. “I raced pretty aggressively and virtually mistake-free, and this was my first race win.”
    Olberz, who also won the “Fastest Time of the Day” honor by outperforming 66 cars in all classes, seemed pleased to have joined Kendall in Saturday’s race.
    “Tommy is an unbelievable racer,” Olberz said. “It was neat to see how quickly he got the car up to speed. He’s a real champion and really professional, and he’s also a down-to-earth easygoing guy who doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder. It was good to be with him.”

(Credit: Dana Coates)

Team: Rocketsports Racing
Car: #11 Jaguar XKR
Teammates: Tomy Drissi & Paul Gentilozzi
Championship: 2nd (tied in points with Gentilozzi, but lost the championship due to having two wins to Gentilozzi’s five)

From left to right: Chris Pook, Paul Gentilozzi, Alex Tagliani, Jim Liberatore, Jim Michaelian & Tommy Kendall (Credit: LAT)

 
Grand Prix of Long Beach Race Weekend: RACER Magazine Party

 
Left: With Paul Tracy; Right: With Jimmy Vasser and Paul Tracy (Credit: LAT)

 
End-of-Season Awards Banquet in Palm Springs

With Rookie of the Year Sebastien Bourdais (Credit: LAT)

From left to right: Bob Varsha, Calvin Fish, Scott Pruett, Derek Daly, Tommy Kendall
(Credit: SPEED TV)

CART TV Team Ready
Article by Robin Miller (February 2002)
 
    Tommy Kendall, his hat on backwards and that wicked grin creeping over his face, eyeballed the assembled media and exclaimed: “I had settled into a reclusive lifestyle and I was getting comfortable with unemployment and that white-trash persona.
    “But this job was too good to pass up.”
    Kendall’s slighted jaded but always refreshing persona will be on display all season as the color analyst for CART’s telecasts on CBS, FOX and SPEED Channel.
    And the atmosphere should be entertaining as the former IMSA and Trans-Am champion is teaming with Bob Varsha and Derek Daly in the booth, while Scott Pruett and Calvin Fish handle the pit coverage of the FedEx Championship Series.

    “We’ve got to have some fun while keeping people informed and I really think this group can keep things lively,” said Daly, who called CART races for several years on other networks before joining SpeedVision four years ago. We’re going to be very much personality driven.
    “FOX will bring a refreshing attitude to CART and we’ve all got a passion for this series. It’s unmatched in the world of motorsports.”
    This group also brings the voice of experience.
    Daly competed in CART and Formula One, Pruett won twice during his 10-year CART career and Fish was an accomplished road racer like Kendall.
    “I lived and breathed CART racing when I was a youngster and I never made it into the series thanks to my genetics,” said Kendall, referring to his 6-6 frame. “So this is the closest I can get and I’m passionate about it because I believe in it.”
Fish said he thought CART was the best series “on the planet” and he welcomed the opportunity to cover it for the next nine months. “There’s a lot of positive energy about this series and I think this team will click,” he said.
    Pruett, fresh from a GT victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona, used his life savings to secure his initial CART ride in 1988 and then suffered career-threatening injuries in 1990 before bouncing back to win one of the most thrilling finishes in CART history at Michigan in 1995.
    “The four of us share something besides a love for CART racing,” he laughed. “We all limp from our racing injuries.”
    Terry Lingner, the veteran motorsports producer who also drives in endurance events whenever possible, brings an impressive track record to CART and he’s impressed with the talent behind the camera.
    “We have an outstanding opportunity with this talented lineup and it’s not going to be boring, I assure you,” said Lingner, who helped create ESPN’s award-winning coverage of NASCAR.
    “We had a well-oiled team in those days and my first memo to these guys will challenge them to be even better.”
    Lingner said that giving CART 60 percent more coverage than in the past also provides the opportunity to be more creative and let the viewers enjoy the whole race and victory lane.
    FOX’s Doug Sellers said Daly will host a Friday night magazine show on CART and there will be a two-hour qualifying show on Saturday and a 30-minute pre-race show on Sundays.
    “SPEED Channel is now in 48 million homes and continues to grow monthly,” said Sellers. “We are the destination for racing fans and FOX is a promotion and marketing machine. We feel this is the right marriage at the right time.
    “CART is cool and it’s cool to watch. That’s the message we need to get out.”

 
The Bet
Article excerpt from ESPNmag.com
    Danica Patrick doesn’t back down on the track – or in the dog-eat-dog pits. The 20-year-old racer couldn’t resist a friendly wager before the Long Beach Pro/Celebrity Race (the undercard to CART’s Long Beach GP). “We made a bet in the drivers’ meeting,” Patrick explains. “I’m sitting next to Tommy Kendall, and he says, ‘Let’s raise the stakes. Whoever wins gets to lead the other down pit lane by a leash and collar.’ “
    Tommy should have known better.

 
Left: Following through on the bet with Danica Patrick
Right: With celebrity competitor Mark Paul Gosselaar

 
The following quotes are from a press conference before the 2003 Long Beach event. Tommy Kendall is moderating the event (the voice of the questions) and he is talking with Champ Car driver Paul Tracy and Toyota Atlantic rookie A.J. Allmendinger. He and A.J. compare their experiences losing to Danica Patrick.

Q. Now, A.J., this time last year I was taking a lot of grief about losing to Danica Patrick.
A.J. ALLMENDINGER: She’s a good driver. But you look better with the collar around your neck more than anything, walking around the pit area with your leash.

Q. Which leads me to my next question which is about Monterrey. What would Paul have to say about getting beaten by Danica? And in all seriousness, advice on what went down in Monterey?
A.J. ALLMENDINGER: I mean, it was just a rookie mistake, not being in the series not racing with the guys, I didn’t expect Luis (Diaz) to break when he did for turn one. And you know, it’s his call, he’s leading the race on turn one, and I just got caught off guard and got caught in the back of him. For me it was still a great weekend because it was the first race with the team, the team’s first race in the series, and I was up in the top two the whole weekend time-wise. And I figured that I could have finished on the podium, and even had a chance to win the race during the race because the car was really good in long runs and if the tires got worn down more.
We had a good day of testing yesterday and I’m really looking forward to Long Beach and continuing the success we started. For Danica’s part, she did a great job. There’s no doubt, a podium in her first race, she made no mistakes all weekend and I give her a lot of credit as I’m sure everybody else did. She’s just another competitor on the track, not that she’s a girl or anything, just another competitor and hey, you got beat by her, too. I mean, you had more experience, a lot more experience, so I don’t know what your excuse was.
PAUL TRACY: Hey, Tommy (Kendall), how come you didn’t use a chrome horn?

Q. She asked me that the other day, she came out early for Long Beach and said: “I’ve been meaning to ask you something, you had that one chance to get rid of me and got caught up in traffic and didn’t.” I didn’t have an answer for her. So I felt much the way you did.