Team Kool Green at the Top of Their Game ©1999 SpeedCenter Publishing Putting pressure on the Ganassi organization By Dan Proudfoot In the wake of Dario Franchitti's 22-point performance in Australia, Juan Montoya and Chip Ganassi are struggling to come to grips with a new word in their vocabulary and that word is failure. Montoya's crash will invite suggestions the rookie is folding under pressure. But there is more to the situation than that. The tightly wired Ganassi and the cocksure Montoya have operated all season as though it's the team's destiny to become the first to win four consecutive CART championships. It is true that except for one or two weeks mid-summer, Montoya was in command in the points standing as his seven wins obliterated the rookie record Nigel Mansell established when he raced on this side of the ocean while he was Formula One's reigning world champion. But the Colombian's brilliance has obscured the fact the Target/Chip Ganassi organization has not distinguished itself. Apart from questionable calls in the pits that more than once left Montoya short of fuel or losing track position, a more telling development has been the team's failure to field two front-running cars. Jimmy Vasser's season has been a horror story. Team Kool Green's consistent presence at the front of most races -- with not only Franchitti but Paul Tracy a threat to win -- distinguishes it, not Target/Ganassi, as the most efficient in this year's CART FedEx Championship. As in Formula One with McLaren and Ferrari, teams on top of their game typically can win with either of their drivers. The Newman/Haas team with Michael Andretti and Christian Fittipaldi (or Roberto Moreno while Fittipaldi was sidelined by a head injury) has come closest to matching TKG in this. In recent races, Bobby Rahal's organization has blossomed with Max Papis and Bryan Herta. Make no mistake, Montoya still may overtake Franchitti in the final race on the California Speedway super-oval. If he does, it will be because of his own brilliance, and that of engineer Morris Nunn. Whoever wins the championship, 1999 will have been notable for Team Kool Green having been in ascendency, Target/Chip Ganassi treading water. Source: Canada Online, used by permission

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