RIBEIRO REALIZES FANTASY.

Byline: BILL SCHLOTTER / Motor Sports

Andre Ribeiro doesn't know much about American baseball. But when he slips on his racing suit for Sunday's Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami, he'll know what it feels like when a young baseball prospect puts on the uniform of the New York Yankees and trots onto the field at Yankee Stadium.

Ribeiro will make his first drive for Marlboro Team Penske - the most successful team in CART racing history - Sunday. And he will be wearing the uniform of his childhood idol, fellow Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi.

``We were testing in Japan when the uniform arrived,'' said Ribeiro, who replaces Paul Tracy on the Penske team this season. ``I put it on and I couldn't believe it. I said to myself, `I am wearing Emerson Fittipaldi's suit.' It was pretty amazing.''

Ribeiro, in his fourth season on the CART circuit, has a way to go to equal the success of his hero, who has won season championships with both CART and Formula One.

But despite running three years with a Tasman Motorsports team restrained by funding, Ribeiro has managed three wins and caught the eye of Penske.

Such is the status of Ribeiro's new team that his former teammates and owners at Tasman could only wish him well when Penske beckoned.

``Everybody from the junior mechanics to (owner) Steve Horne said they felt proud of me and what we had accomplished together,'' Ribeiro said. ``They were just very happy for me. They said, `We grew up together and now you are going to the most prestigious team in motor racing.' ''

Ribeiro won't be the only one in a new situation Sunday in Miami.

After his firing by Penske, Tracy landed on his feet with Team Green. Rookie of the year Patrick Carpentier moved from Bettenhausen Motorsports to Players and Ribeiro's former Tasman teammate Adrian Fernandez joined Scott Pruett at Patrick Racing.

The entire CART Series has a new look, resulting from its association with its new major sponsor, FedEx.

Beginning of the end: Sunday's Miami Grand Prix will be one of the final races for retiring veterans Bobby Rahal and Hiro Matsushita.

Rahal, who announced late last year that the 1998 campaign would be his last, will make all the stops on this year's schedule, seeking to add to his 24 CART victories.

Matsushita, who announced his pending retirement this week, said he will run through the season's fifth race in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and then retire.

No word who will take Matsushita's place with the Arciero Wells team, though Robby Gordon is under contract as a test driver.

The hereafter: Preparing for his life out of the driver's seat, Rahal has joined former Trans-Am and Formula Atlantic competitor Tom Gloy in ownership of a NASCAR Craftsman Truck team.

Sponsorship will come from Miller Brewing, which also sponsors Rahal's CART team. Driving the team's Ford pickup will be Dave Rezendes.

Rahal said he hopes to eventually take the effort to the Winston Cup circuit.

Rain, rain: The rain-postponed NHRA Gatornationals will run this weekend in Gainesville, Fla. Qualifying is today, finals Saturday.

Meanwhile, this weekend's NASCAR Winston West stop in Altamont has been rescheduled for June to allow the Northern California track time to repair rain damage.

Disappointment in Castaic: Winners of the Skip Barber Karting Scholarships were announced this week and Castaic's Kevin Manning was not one of the winners.

Named to all-expense rides on the Barber 2.0 Formula Dodge Series were four other drivers, including three-time IKF national champion Philip Giebler of Oxnard.

Disappointment in Las Vegas: The Protruck Stadium Series got off to a slow start, drawing just under 10,000 fans to its debut performance in Las Vegas.

``They had hoped to have at least 25,000,'' said tour spokesman Dominic Clark.

Clark said cold weather and head-to-head competition with UNLV basketball were the biggest reasons for the disappointing turnout.

The tour's second stop is the Coliseum on March 28.