Elkhart 1996 PPG Indy Car World Series

Race No. 14

Texaco/Havoline 200
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
August 16-18, 1996

Sunday Quotes from drivers and managers at Road America:
Index of Quotes available
MICHAEL ANDRETTI MARK BLUNDELL JUAN MANUEL FANGIO II
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ GIL DE FERRAN ROBBY GORDON
MAURICIO GUGELMIN BRYAN HERTA PARKER JOHNSTONE
DAVY JONES JAN MAGNUSSEN GREG MOORE
BOBBY RAHAL ANDRE RIBEIRO AL UNSER JR
JIMMY VASSER ALEX ZANARDI DAVID LETTERMAN

Vasser Pict #12 Target
Chip Ganassi Racing
Reynard Honda

JIMMY VASSER

[finished sixth]: "I had a lot of trouble overtaking people on the straights. Maybe we had too much downforce." [On coming into closed pit road on yellow and driving straight through]: "That's what ruined our race. We could never recover from that." [On what happened to Al Unser Jr.]: "I do feel sorry for him. Obviously, I'm glad for the entire Target/Chip Ganassi Racing team. I can't even imagine how I would feel if that happened to me." [On thoughts going into Vancouver and possibility of clinching PPG Cup there]: "It will be business as usual."

Moore Pict #99 Forsythe
Player's/Indeck
Reynard Mercedes-Benz

GREG MOORE

[finished 23rd]: "I picked up a few positions early in the race when a few of the front-runners dropped out. The car felt really good, there was no doubt about it. I was just waiting my time for the tires to take and to run down a little fuel.

"Andre got by me on a restart, but a few laps later I had a clear run at him and was completely beside him. He put me into the fence at 190 mph and that's something that you just don't do. As soon as I hit the wall it ripped the whole right side of and I was just a passenger. I don't like that feeling and don't want to go through it again."


Magnussen Pict #3 Marlboro
Penske Mercedes

JAN MAGNUSSEN

[finished 26th]: "I can't help but be disappointed. We had a good starting position and the car was set up beautifully for the race. When Zanardi and de Ferran tangled [on the first lap], there was a lot of dust flying and I pulled out to go around. Someone ran over my right front wheel. There was a lot of action going into that turn. I guess I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. I moved to avoid a problem and made a new one, I guess."

Andretti Pict #6 Kmart/Texaco/Havoline
Lola Ford Cosworth XD

MICHAEL ANDRETTI

[finished first]: "We had a lucky day today. We have to win the next two races to have any chances, so I'm going to just keep plugging away. It's great to win a sponsor's race. In fact, all of my wins [Nazareth, Milwaukee and Detroit] have been sponsor or owner-related.

"This was a shame for Al, and Christian, too. In 1989, I ran out of fuel in the exact same spot as Junior. I don't think I could have caught either one of them. As for the decision to use the harder compound tires, the yellows hurt our choice. We needed a long stint. A long time without a yellow would have been in our favor.

"One of the problems with all the shunts and stuff is that competition is so intense. When all of the drivers are so close, things are going to happen. All we needed a long stint. I was a sitting duck on the restarts. On every restart, I got passed."


Unser Pict #2 Marlboro
Penske Mercedes

AL UNSER, Jr.

[finished 10th]: "This track is just flat unlucky for me. The black cloud started in 1982, when I first raced here in a Can-Am race. I sat on the pole and was leading the race when I broke on the second lap. Then, in 1985, I had a 20-second lead and ended up breaking my leg. If I can ever make it past Canada Corner [Turn 12] on the last lap when I'm leading the race, then, I know I'll be in victory lane.

"Marlboro Team Penske gave me super stops, a super car, and Roger had great strategy on the radio. I couldn't have asked for a better car or team. This was the most fun I've had all year. I had no indication at all that the engine was going to break. It was unfortunate, but what are you going to do? That's racing."


Blundell Pict #21 PacWest
Reynard Ford Cosworth

MARK BLUNDELL

[finished 20th]: "Ribeiro come out while I was up on the outside. I was braking for around 25 feet behind him, so I came up on the inside. He was beaten. I think he must have then touched Mauricio [Gugelmin], who then took me into the barrier."

de Ferran Pict #8 Pennzoil Special
Reynard Honda
Hall Racing

GIL de FERRAN

[finished 25th]: [On his early exit from the race] "My perspective of this is the reality of what happened. I don't know what his [Zanardi's] problem was. He just decided to move over and knock me out. It was not as if I just came on the scene. There was plenty of room for both of us and he knew that and he knew I was there. I just don't understand what he was thinking.

"They should have black-flagged him for that stunt. I'm out, and he should be, too. It was unsporting and the worst blatant action I've seen in my two years on the circuit. We were side- by-side and he takes me out. It was stupid. I'm not going to talk to him about it. That's the stewards' job, but in my opinion, he should have been disqualified."


Herta Pict #28 Shell
Reynard Mercedes-Benz
Team Rahal

BRYAN HERTA

[finished fifth]: "I still don't know what happened on the first pit stop. I was running in third and I came in for the stop. Then, my guys sent me back out and we lost a lot of positions. I was hard to work our way back towards the front. My car was very good today. I could have raced with the leaders but we had to come back through the field."

Johnstone Pict #49 Motorola
Reynard Honda
Brix Comptech Racing

PARKER JOHNSTONE

[on his last lap accident]: "I don't even do those kind of snap rolls in my acrobatic airplane. Not recommended in a vehicle designed to keep all four corners on the ground. I took the inside line and left plenty of room. Gave him the whole outside of the track. The hit was hard enough to lift my car off the ground."

Zanardi Pict #4 Target
Chip Ganassi Racing
Reynard Honda

ALEX ZANARDI

[finished third]: "To be honest, I don't know how I did it. We simply didn't have what we had yesterday. I was strong in the braking areas, but I didn't have anything on the straights. It's great to go home with a third-place finish. I would have liked to score a third place in another way. I would prefer to pass than to see someone stopped on the track."

Ribeiro Pict #31 LCI International
Lola Honda
Tasman Motorsports Group

ANDRE RIBEIRO

[finished 19th]: "The track is slippery and that made it very, very difficult. There was just no grip out there. At Canada Corner Mark [Blundell] overtook me and on the exit, I tried to get back in front of him. I didn't see Mauricio [Gugelmin], and our front wheels touched. [On the incident with #99 Greg Moore] "He tried to put his car where there was no space. I didn't see him because he was behind me."

Fernandez Pict #32 Tecate Beer/Quaker State
Lola Honda
Tasman Motorsports Group

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ

[finished 13th]: "The car was pushing a lot at the beginning of the race. We managed to move up, but mainly through attrition. After my second pit stop, I was caught out by cold tires and lost it under braking. That was the end of us, really. But there are still two races to go. Hopefully, we can catch up and move up in the points."

Gordon Pict #5 Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special
Reynard Ford

ROBBY GORDON

[finished 17th]: "Walker Racing did a hell of a job. The car handled beautifully in the corners. But, we just can't hang with these guys in the straights. [Bobby] Rahal got me in the straight. Our guys did a dynamite job in the pits. I mean, they did an 11-second stop, and we got by a couple of people then. It's unfortunate that this happened. It looks like the alternator quit. We thought we could have gotten a victory here. We had a great car today."

Davy Jones Pict #10 Delco Electronics
High Tech Team Galles
Lola Mercedes

DAVY JONES

[finished 24th]: [Regarding the incident which took him out of the race] "It's really pretty silly. There was a full course yellow, and when Tracy went off the track, he kicked up a lot of dirt. I had a lot of wheel spin, and as I attempted to correct it, the car went off the track and into the inside grass. The nose went into the tire barrier head-on and caused me to flip over. It looked worse than it really was!"

Rahal Pict #18 Miller Racing
Reynard Mercedes-Benz
Team Rahal

BOBBY RAHAL

[finished second]: "The car was a very good car. I think we did a 43.4 or something the second-last lap which was only a couple of 10ths off where we qualified. The car was really hooked up. With all the problems we had today, it had to be. It was a very good car."

"I lost the clutch on the first pit stop. I came into the pits for the first stop and then CART closed the pits. So I had to drive through the pits and come back in for my stop. We went from third to 15th and the car was good throughout the race. I have to give my crew credit. We ran a low downforce setup and that made us fast on the straights. I made a good run at Michael at the end but I couldn't get him. My heart goes out to Al. He had us covered today. We had a car to win today. I think Bryan [Herta, Rahal's teammate] ran well too. Our team has really come together in the second half of the season."


Gugelmin Pict #17 Hollywood
Reynard Ford

MAURICIO GUGELMIN

"[finished 21st]: "When Ribeiro hit me, he sent me into Mark [Blundell]. He just didn't look where he was going. He seemed to make contact with Mark and then just came straight into my racing line."

Fangio Pict #36 Eagle Mk-V Toyota

JUAN MANUEL FANGIO II

[finished a season-high eighth]: "It feels really fantastic to finish eighth and get some points. I was really looking for a good finish and the Eagle Toyota was working great during the full race, so I'm very pleased. It was possible to be consistent and that's what I was hoping for. I'm really pleased about the finish and thankful to Toyota, TRD [Toyota Racing Development] Castrol and the entire All American Racers team."

Dave Pict Team Rahal
Co-owner

DAVID LETTERMAN

"That was exciting. I couldn't believe how hard the guys were driving today. The competition in IndyCar is incredible. It was fun to be here and see Bobby back on the podium. I'm also promoting Hertamania. I think Bryan drove a tremendous race, too."