Race No. 13

Miller 200
Lexington — Ohio
August 8 — August 10, 1997

1996 Pole Winner: Alex Zanardi
1996 Race Winner: Alex Zanardi
1996 SpeedCenter Report
Mid Ohio Weather Forecast
Mid Ohio Area Map

Zanardi Leads a Tight Pack to Mid-Ohio
Miller 200 to Host Close Race for Points Lead
by Ray Sprouse

©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.

Johnny Rutherford won the first CART race held at Mid-Ohio on July 13,1980, driving a Chaparral-Cosworth. In all, the course encompasses atotal of 330 acres which includes the track, buildings and parkingareas.

The '96 version of the Mid-Ohio Miller Genuine Draft 200 was a tragedyof attrition for the PPG CART World Series. Only fourteen cars wererunning by the end of the race, and only eight of the fourteen remainedon the lead lap. This with only three caution flags for a total of tenlaps.

Alex Zanardi drove a commanding race from the pole, leading 79 of 83laps in the event. He relinquished the lead only twice for pit stopsduring the race, and each time to his teammate Jimmy Vasser, who ledtwice for two laps each time.

"This is a very good win. It was more work than Portland because I hadthat 'red' car [Vasser] behind me the entire time," said Zanardi, whoaveraged 104.358 miles per hour. "If he tries a move, it is difficult toblock your teammate. Iām very happy he could finish second and score alot of points for the championship."

As a comparison, here's what the points battle looked like going toMid-Ohio as of August 11, '96, and going into the Mid-Ohio race in '97:

'96 '97Jimmy Vasser (112) Alex Zanardi (127)Al Unser, Jr. (111) Paul Tracy (121)Gil de Ferran (92) Gil de Ferran (108)Christian Fittipaldi (87) Michael Andretti (103)Michael Antretti (73) Greg Moore (95)Alex Zanardi (72) Scott Pruett (82)Greg Moore (72) Jimmy Vasser (75)Andre Ribeiro (71) Mark Blundell (72)Scott Pruett (62) Mauricio Gugelmin (72)Paul Tracy (59) Raul Boesel (66)

Not only has Zanardi wrested the points lead from Tracy, who had held itfor seven events, since the May 11 Hollywood Rio 400 at Rio de Janeiro,he also is embarking on a portion of the schedule where he enjoyedconsiderable success in 1996. Zanardi is the defending champion from thepole on the 2.25-mile permanent road course at Mid-Ohio and also scoredpodium finishes at Road America (third) and Laguna Seca (a victory),three of the remaining five venues in the series.

"We know that the opposition is very tough and it is going to take allwe can to try to beat it," says Zanardi, with three victories (LongBeach, Cleveland, and the US 500) and seven top four finishes en routeto the PPG Cup lead. "There are teams out there who are capable of doingthe same kind of job that we have been doing. But we definitely areconfident that if we can get the best out of [ourselves], we are goingto be close to the lead."

The one very notable missing piece of this '97 puzzle is the name of AlUnser, Jr. Unser had qualified a poor fifteenth in the '96 Miller 200,but had fought his way back toward the front until an incident withParker Johnstone on lap 81 left him with a DNF...and no post-racecomment. Unser's misfortunes in the '97 season seem to be a constant.Little Al has not been able to consistently finish in the points, andhis chance to capture the PPG Cup this year is unlikely.

With Zanardi having won the US 500 on July 27, and returning to Mid-Ohioas the defending champion, he has to be considered a huge favorite.Michael Andretti also began his charge to the front from this point lastyear. As you see above, he came to Mid-Ohio last year with only 73points, yet finished the season in Laguna Seca with an outside chance towin the PPG Cup, and a total of 132 points.

Andretti, Bobby Rahal (Miller Lite Reynard Ford) and Al Unser Jr.(Marlboro Penske Mercedes) are all two-time winners at Mid-Ohio, all inback-to-back fashion. Rahal won at Lexington in 1985 and '86, Andrettiin '90 and '91 and Unser Jr. in '94 and '95.

A winning streak could launch any of the top six drivers into the lead,but the liklihood that Zanardi, Tracy, de Ferran, and Andretti will notgain points during this road/street course stretch is remote.

Tracy owns three runner-up finishes (1992, '94 and '95) in four careerstarts at Mid-Ohio. Gil de Ferran (Valvoline/Cummins Special ReynardHonda) has recorded five podium finishes in his past seven starts, tyinghim with Michael Andretti (Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford) for theseason-long series lead. As a result, de Ferran, third with 108 points,and Andretti, fourth with 103, are in the thick of the PPG Cup race aswell.

Qualifying for the Miller 200 will be broadcast at 5 p.m. ET Saturday,Aug. 9 on ESPN2 and will re-air at 3 a.m. ESPN2's "On the Grid" programwill air 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 10, one-half hour prior to ABC'sbroadcast of the 83-lap, 185.8-mile Miller 200. The CART Radio Network,presented by PPG and Toyota, will broadcast the Miller 200 live at 3p.m. ET to more than 140 radio stations across the country.

Incidentally...in testing sessions earlier this year, Alex Zanardi wasable to eclipse his record time set during the qualifying session atlast year's Miller 200 by over a second. I think I'll go make my Pick12choices!!