PPG Cup Race Tightens Up In Toronto

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PPG Cup Race Tightens Up In Toronto
©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
Only 16 points separate top five contenders
The heat of early summer has nothing on the heat being generated in the PPG CART World Series.
As the series heads to Toronto for Sunday’s Molson Indy (3 p.m. ET, tape delay, ABC-TV), the top five drivers are bunched within 16 points, and all retain realistic hopes of winning the PPG Cup championship.
At the top, as he has been since his May 11 victory at Rio de Janeiro, is Paul Tracy (Marlboro Penske Mercedes). Tracy, who collected consecutive wins at Nazareth, Rio and Gateway International Raceway, has 106 points and history on his side. Every one of the five drivers who has won three consecutive PPG CART World Series races (Al Unser Jr. has done it in two different seasons) has gone on to win the PPG Cup championship.
Tracy has scored PPG Cup points in each of his past seven starts, but hasn’t finished higher than sixth in any of the past three, which has opened the door for those drivers in pursuit. Greg Moore (Player’s/Indeck Reynard Mercedes) has parlayed six top-five finishes – including his first two career victories, at Milwaukee and Detroit – into second place, with 95 points. However, Moore’s average finish in the four races in which he hasn’t scored has been 19th. Native Canadians Moore and Tracy figure to have a supportive crowd behind them as the PPG CART World Series makes its first of two visits to Canadian asphalt.
The driver of the moment in the PPG Cup race is Gil de Ferran (Valvoline/Cummins Special Reynard Honda), who stands third with 94 points. De Ferran has earned podium finishes in four of the past five events, has scored in seven consecutive races and owns six top-five finishes for the season.
Michael Andretti (Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford) has collected five podium finishes on the way to fourth place with 91 points. He has enjoyed spectacular success at Toronto, with five career victories (1989, ’91, ’92, ’94 and ’95) and a pole position in 1991.
Alex Zanardi (Target Reynard Honda) rounds out the top five drivers with 90 points. He comes to Toronto off his fifth PPG CART World Series career victory and second of the season in the Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland. Zanardi was runner-up at last year’s Molson Indy and scored 115 of his 132 PPG Cup points during the second half of the season. He has scored points in 11 of his past 13 PPG CART World Series road course starts, and five of the remaining seven races in the series are on road courses.
Below the top five contenders are a number of drivers who should not be counted out of the championship. Scott Pruett (Brahma Reynard Ford) stands sixth with 71 points and broke a brief two-race scoreless streak with an eighth at Cleveland. Defending PPG Cup champion Jimmy Vasser (Target Reynard Honda), meanwhile, looks to get back in the scoring column after back-to-back finishes out of the points for the first time since early 1995. He is seventh with 69 points.
Raul Boesel (Brahma Reynard Ford) follows Vasser with 61 points, and has scored in seven of 10 events this season, including four of five on road courses. Mauricio Gugelmin (Hollywood PacWest Mercedes), ninth with 56 points, owns 13 consecutive top-10 qualifying performances, including nine in the top five.
Al Unser Jr. (Marlboro Penske Mercedes), 10th with 49 points, has struggled uncharacteristically this season, but comes off a strong fourth-place performance at Cleveland for his second-best finish of the season. He is a two-time winner at Toronto (1988, ’90). Bobby Rahal (Miller Lite Reynard Ford) won the inaugural PPG CART World Series event at Toronto in 1986. His third-place finish at Toronto last year began a streak of three podium efforts in five races, and he comes off a season-high fifth-place finish at Cleveland.
Rahal’s teammate, Bryan Herta (Shell Reynard Ford) made the Cleveland event a great one for Team Rahal by collecting his fourth career podium finish with a third-place effort. Christian Fittipaldi (Kmart/Budweiser Swift Ford) continued his impressive return from a broken right leg with a sixth at Cleveland. In two races since his return, he has improved from 30th to 16th in the PPG Cup standings.
After collecting the first victory of his PPG CART World Series career at Portland, Mark Blundell (Motorola PacWest Mercedes) followed with an eighth place at Cleveland, tying his second-best finish of the season. Parker Johnstone’s (KOOL Reynard Honda) 10th-place finish was a career best for Cleveland.
The top two rookies in the series both scored at Cleveland as Dario Franchitti (Hogan Motor Leasing Inc. Reynard Mercedes) finished 11th and Patrick Carpentier (Alumax Reynard Mercedes) finished 12th. Carpentier holds a 27-7 lead over Franchitti in the rookie race.
Adrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State Lola Honda) comes to Toronto as defending champion of the Molson Indy. He earned his first career PPG CART World Series victory at last year’s event, a victory tempered by the deaths of rookie driver Jeff Krosnoff and volunteer course worker Gary Avrin during a late-race accident. Andre Ribeiro (LCI/Marlboro Reynard Honda), Fernandez’ teammate with the Tasman Motorsports Group, makes his second start in a Reynard chassis after driving it to 14th place at Cleveland.
PJ Jones (Castrol-Jockey Reynard Toyota) has posted his best two qualifying efforts of the season in the past two events, highlighted by an 18th at Portland. All American Racers teammate Juan Fangio II (Castrol-Jockey Reynard Toyota) has improved from start to finish in six of 10 events this season.
Hiro Matsushita (Panasonic/Duskin Reynard Toyota) has posted top-20 finishes in each of his past five starts after opening the season with none in his first five. Richie Hearn (Ralphs-Food 4 Less Lola Ford) makes his second start at Toronto, one of three venues he competed at last year.
Drivers making their first career appearances at Toronto include Max Papis (MCI Reynard Toyota), Gualter Salles (INDUSVAL Reynard Ford), Michel Jourdain Jr. (Herdez/Mexlub/Viva Mexico! Reynard Ford) and Arnd Meier (J.A.G./Marcelo/Hawaiian Tropic Lola Ford).
Qualifying for the Molson Indy will be broadcast 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN2, and will re-air 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday. ESPN2’s “On the Grid” program airs at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, 30 minutes prior to ABC’s race telecast of the scheduled 95-lap, 169.48-mile Molson Indy. The CART Radio Network, presented by PPG and Toyota, will broadcast the Molson Indy live at 2 p.m. ET to more than 140 radio stations across the country.
The PPG CART World Series continues with its third race in as many weeks, the second U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota, on Sunday, July 27 at Michigan Speedway.
Source: CART News Service


		NOW AVAILABLE! — The Official Directory for CART Racing

		PPG Cup Race Tightens Up In Toronto ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Only 16 points separate top five contenders The heat of early summer has nothing on the heat being generated in the PPG CART World Series. As the series heads to Toronto for Sunday’s Molson Indy (3 p.m. ET, tape delay, ABC-TV), the top five drivers are bunched within 16 points, and all retain realistic hopes of winning the PPG Cup championship. At the top, as he has been since his May 11 victory at Rio de Janeiro, is Paul Tracy (Marlboro Penske Mercedes). Tracy, who collected consecutive wins at Nazareth, Rio and Gateway International Raceway, has 106 points and history on his side. Every one of the five drivers who has won three consecutive PPG CART World Series races (Al Unser Jr. has done it in two different seasons) has gone on to win the PPG Cup championship. Tracy has scored PPG Cup points in each of his past seven starts, but hasn’t finished higher than sixth in any of the past three, which has opened the door for those drivers in pursuit. Greg Moore (Player’s/Indeck Reynard Mercedes) has parlayed six top-five finishes – including his first two career victories, at Milwaukee and Detroit – into second place, with 95 points. However, Moore’s average finish in the four races in which he hasn’t scored has been 19th. Native Canadians Moore and Tracy figure to have a supportive crowd behind them as the PPG CART World Series makes its first of two visits to Canadian asphalt. The driver of the moment in the PPG Cup race is Gil de Ferran (Valvoline/Cummins Special Reynard Honda), who stands third with 94 points. De Ferran has earned podium finishes in four of the past five events, has scored in seven consecutive races and owns six top-five finishes for the season. Michael Andretti (Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford) has collected five podium finishes on the way to fourth place with 91 points. He has enjoyed spectacular success at Toronto, with five career victories (1989, ’91, ’92, ’94 and ’95) and a pole position in 1991. Alex Zanardi (Target Reynard Honda) rounds out the top five drivers with 90 points. He comes to Toronto off his fifth PPG CART World Series career victory and second of the season in the Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland. Zanardi was runner-up at last year’s Molson Indy and scored 115 of his 132 PPG Cup points during the second half of the season. He has scored points in 11 of his past 13 PPG CART World Series road course starts, and five of the remaining seven races in the series are on road courses. Below the top five contenders are a number of drivers who should not be counted out of the championship. Scott Pruett (Brahma Reynard Ford) stands sixth with 71 points and broke a brief two-race scoreless streak with an eighth at Cleveland. Defending PPG Cup champion Jimmy Vasser (Target Reynard Honda), meanwhile, looks to get back in the scoring column after back-to-back finishes out of the points for the first time since early 1995. He is seventh with 69 points. Raul Boesel (Brahma Reynard Ford) follows Vasser with 61 points, and has scored in seven of 10 events this season, including four of five on road courses. Mauricio Gugelmin (Hollywood PacWest Mercedes), ninth with 56 points, owns 13 consecutive top-10 qualifying performances, including nine in the top five. Al Unser Jr. (Marlboro Penske Mercedes), 10th with 49 points, has struggled uncharacteristically this season, but comes off a strong fourth-place performance at Cleveland for his second-best finish of the season. He is a two-time winner at Toronto (1988, ’90). Bobby Rahal (Miller Lite Reynard Ford) won the inaugural PPG CART World Series event at Toronto in 1986. His third-place finish at Toronto last year began a streak of three podium efforts in five races, and he comes off a season-high fifth-place finish at Cleveland. Rahal’s teammate, Bryan Herta (Shell Reynard Ford) made the Cleveland event a great one for Team Rahal by collecting his fourth career podium finish with a third-place effort. Christian Fittipaldi (Kmart/Budweiser Swift Ford) continued his impressive return from a broken right leg with a sixth at Cleveland. In two races since his return, he has improved from 30th to 16th in the PPG Cup standings. After collecting the first victory of his PPG CART World Series career at Portland, Mark Blundell (Motorola PacWest Mercedes) followed with an eighth place at Cleveland, tying his second-best finish of the season. Parker Johnstone’s (KOOL Reynard Honda) 10th-place finish was a career best for Cleveland. The top two rookies in the series both scored at Cleveland as Dario Franchitti (Hogan Motor Leasing Inc. Reynard Mercedes) finished 11th and Patrick Carpentier (Alumax Reynard Mercedes) finished 12th. Carpentier holds a 27-7 lead over Franchitti in the rookie race. Adrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State Lola Honda) comes to Toronto as defending champion of the Molson Indy. He earned his first career PPG CART World Series victory at last year’s event, a victory tempered by the deaths of rookie driver Jeff Krosnoff and volunteer course worker Gary Avrin during a late-race accident. Andre Ribeiro (LCI/Marlboro Reynard Honda), Fernandez’ teammate with the Tasman Motorsports Group, makes his second start in a Reynard chassis after driving it to 14th place at Cleveland. PJ Jones (Castrol-Jockey Reynard Toyota) has posted his best two qualifying efforts of the season in the past two events, highlighted by an 18th at Portland. All American Racers teammate Juan Fangio II (Castrol-Jockey Reynard Toyota) has improved from start to finish in six of 10 events this season. Hiro Matsushita (Panasonic/Duskin Reynard Toyota) has posted top-20 finishes in each of his past five starts after opening the season with none in his first five. Richie Hearn (Ralphs-Food 4 Less Lola Ford) makes his second start at Toronto, one of three venues he competed at last year. Drivers making their first career appearances at Toronto include Max Papis (MCI Reynard Toyota), Gualter Salles (INDUSVAL Reynard Ford), Michel Jourdain Jr. (Herdez/Mexlub/Viva Mexico! Reynard Ford) and Arnd Meier (J.A.G./Marcelo/Hawaiian Tropic Lola Ford). Qualifying for the Molson Indy will be broadcast 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN2, and will re-air 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday. ESPN2’s “On the Grid” program airs at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, 30 minutes prior to ABC’s race telecast of the scheduled 95-lap, 169.48-mile Molson Indy. The CART Radio Network, presented by PPG and Toyota, will broadcast the Molson Indy live at 2 p.m. ET to more than 140 radio stations across the country. The PPG CART World Series continues with its third race in as many weeks, the second U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota, on Sunday, July 27 at Michigan Speedway. Source: CART News Service