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©1999 SpeedCenter Publishing Portland, Ore. - In his first 14 races of the 1997 CART season, Target/Chip Ganassi Racing'sJimmy Vasser visited the podium just twice. In the final three races of that season,Vasser placed second in Vancouver, first at Laguna Seca and second in Fontana to claimthird place in the PPG Cup point standings. After the first seven races of 1999, Vasser has yet to finish in the top three, but heknows he's capable of putting together a string of great races, just like in 1997, andjumping right into the thick of the race for the PPG Cup championship. If his race at the Miller Lite 225 is any indication, Vasser is very close to turninghis season around. Vasser, who finished fourth in Milwaukee, led the race for 55 laps and was preparing to overtake teammate Juan Montoya for the lead when fuel worriesforced him into the pits for a splash-and-go, resulting in an eventual fourth-place finish. "That was one of the toughest ones I've been involved in," said Vasser, referringto the Miller Lite 225. "It was a great race. Juan and I were battling it out forthe lead and I thought it would come down to the two of us going for the checkeredflag. But it doesn't always work out the way you think. We made the decision topit, but everyone knows we could have won that race. That race has made our desireto win even stronger than before, and I know we'll see the checkered flag soon. Wecan't wait to get to Portland and put the last race behind us. I'm hoping thechange of pace with a road course will help us turn the comer." Montoya, Vasser's rookie teammate, is also excited to race in Portland.The 23-year-old Colombia native, who grew up driving on street and roadcircuits, tasted success on the recent stretch of four straight oval races(he won in Nazareth and Rio), but he is anxious to hit the road. "Overall, I'm happy with the first seven races," said Montoya, who still leads the PPGCup point standings with 73 points. "Our team has done better than anyone predicted, sothat's good. But after the past two races (I1th in St. Louis and 10th in Milwaukee), it will be nice to have a change from going in circles." Like his teammate, Montoya also experienced disappointment in Milwaukee. He led 84 laps andwas leading the race when he too was forced to swing into the pits for a splash of fuel. Whenthe checkered flag waved, Montoya sat in fifth place. After a six-hour deliberation, CARTofficials determined that Montoya passed Adrian Fernandez during a yellow-flag lap, and he was penalized one lap, putting him in 10th place. We were running so well in Milwaukee that 10th place is a disappointment," Montoya said."Our team knows that we're better than 10th place. We'll prove it next weekend. We had a goodtest in Portland and I really liked the track. I think we'll be a little happier followingthe Portlandrace than we were after Milwaukee." Source: Target/Ganassi Racing | ||
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