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Thereconfigured oval at the Miami-Dade HomesteadMotorsports Complex promises to yieldrecord-obliterating speeds when the FedExChampionship Series opens its season March 13-15,with the Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presentedby Toyota.
Paul Tracy's 1996 track record of 198.590 milesper hour is expected to crumble under an assaultby as many as 29 FedEx Championship Seriesdrivers when qualifying for the Grand Prix opensSaturday, March 14. A total of 28 driversexceeded Tracy's track record speed during CART'sthird annual Spring Training at Homestead Feb.4-5, topped by Jimmy Vasser (Target ReynardHonda), who averaged 212.039 mph on his quickestlap of the 1.5-mile, continuous radius oval.
Qualifying speeds figure to go even higher onrace weekend, and the reconfigured oval shouldallow for more side-by-side racing once the greenflag falls.
"Homestead is very different than it used to be,"said Andre Ribeiro (Marlboro Penske Mercedes),who averaged 208.245 mph during his quickest lapof Spring Training, with a top speed of 214 mphat the ends of the straightaways. "Originally, wehad four sharp turns and now we have two longcorners. The track is much nicer and allows formore passing. It's also safer because now, wedon't have walls facing us at a bad angle. Thereconfiguration is definitely an improvement."
Mauricio Gugelmin (Hollywood PacWest Mercedes),was third fastest during the two-day session at210.682 mph, despite limited prior testing andhis team's concentration on race setup.
"I'm really happy with the performance of the carand the team because I only had about 150 milesof testing before we came here," said Gugelmin, acareer-best fourth-place finisher in the 1997 PPGCup championship. "Basically, right until the endwe worked on our race setup. We weren't here toqualify, but it was nice to show we can do aquick time when we need to.
"I think we're going to have a better race thanlast year despite the fact that we're going morethan 10 miles per hour faster."
Patrick Racing driver Scott Pruett (VisteonReynard Ford) is scheduled to test at HomesteadWednesday and Thursday. It will be the 14th andfinal test of the preseason for the Patrick team,11 days of which have been spent on the Homesteadoval. Pruett's teammate, Adrian Fernandez(Tecate/Quaker State/Labatt Reynard Ford) hasalso participated in the tests.
"We are very pleased with the way our off-seasontesting program has progressed," said Patrickteam manager Steve Newey. "The Ford engine hascontinued to develop and our Firestone tire testshave been very productive. Scott, Adrian and theentire team have put in a lot of hard work to getus ready for the start of the season."
Source: CART News Service
