Race No. 14
Texaco/Havoline 200
Elkhart Lake — Wisconsin
August 15 — August 17, 1997
Sunday Quotes from drivers and managers at Road America: | Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
| Photo: Scott Hughes JIMMY VASSER | |
| "The car had a bent steering arm after I was pushed off course in turn five. I struggled after that, and hung on as best I could. We finished eighth, which considering the kind of weekend we had, a top ten result is in the ballpark." | |
 | Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes-Benz |
| GREG MOORE | |
| "We could have been a third-place car, but pure and simple, I madea mistake. I got inside of Bob [Rahal] and slid off into the gravel." | |
 | Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
| PAUL TRACY | |
| "I've been racing since I was seven [years old], and I've neverbeen upside-down. It's a sad day for the Marlboro team. It was a casewhere it was one way or another to avoid [Gualter] Salles [who spun], and Ichose the wrong way. We can't buy any luck lately. We had a lot going ourway early in the year, and I guess were paying for it now." | |
 | Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford Cosworth XD |
| MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| "I got caught off-guard in that corner. I went into the Canadian Corner and I braked the same place I had, maybe even a little earlier. The braking hadn't been that bad in the wet. I was braking in the same places as I was in the wet in the other corners. And for whatever reason the backend snapped out, and I tried to save it but couldn't.I got in the kitty litter and that was it. That was the right choice in tires, because my tires were going. When Alex [Zanardi] passed me back I knew I had to make the change, because the Firestones were getting better as it got drier. I was going to start losing a lot of time. I don't regret making the decision, I regret making the mistake." | |
 | Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
| AL UNSER, Jr. | |
| "The Marlboro car just had a little too much downforce [after thetrack started to dry], which caused us to lose speed down thestraightaways. My guys did a great job getting me in and out of the pits,and we were able to hang in there today and finish. We all did theabsolute best job we could under the circumstances, and that's whatcounts." | |
 | Ralphs/Food 4 Less Della Penna Racing Lola Ford |
| RICHIE HEARN | |
| "It was great to finish while we were competitive. I had a great race with Bryan [Herta]. I really enjoyed it. The car for once was really able to be driven the way I want to drive it. We just guessed right for the conditions.I was good in the real wet and when it dried out, but not in the intermediate wet. I had quite a bit of downforce and my split between fifth and sixth gear was a little off. That's where Bryan and Jimmy were killing me at the end of the straights. I was also running real lean at the end, so I really couldn't do much more. The track is so long I didn't want to cut it too close and run out of gas. This finish is like a podium for us. Just being competitive and running with the guys that I respect and feel I should be competing against made today enjoyable." | |
 | Kmart/Budweiser Swift Ford Newman/Haas Racing |
| CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI | |
| "The car was awesome early and I was moving up. The popoff valve was open all the time. Every time I had to shift a gear, I had to lift. The electronics were not working correctly to shut off the engine temporarily in order to shift through the gears. The last 25 laps I had to lift. The whole first part of the race was great, but I want to run a race trouble-free. The car was very strong in the race. I think we could have finished in the top three. I think Firestone still has an advantage over us, but we were lucky to start the race under damp conditions. If we had started under real wet conditions, I think it would have been worse." | |
 | MCI Arciero Wells Reynard Toyota |
| MAX PAPIS | |
| "I think that this morning we ran quite well. We found the set-up that equaled how we did when we tested here. This morning, being only one-tenth off of Al Unser Jr. is like putting my Toyota car on pole position for me. We stand a good chance for tomorrow's race. We can not be very competitive, but what we can do is take the car to the end. I think we have a great chassis, one of the best set-up wise." | |
 | Pennzoil Special Reynard Ford Davis/Craig Racing |
| GUALTER SALLES | |
| [on contact with #3, Tracy]: "I did the corner side by side with Vasser. He kept closing in on me from the inside. When we touched I lost control of the car and I spun. Tracy just came and had no where to go but over my front wing. I am very sorry for him, because he had no fault in it. I stalled another time avoiding [Max] Papis and [Adrian] Fernandez. The car was running very well. It was just a bad day with bad things happening. It was a learning experience." | |
 | Shell Reynard Ford Team Rahal |
| BRYAN HERTA | |
| "I just ran out of brakes right when I caught Vasser. I fell back because I tried to pass Pruett down into [turn] one. It wasn't on, he moved me down, and I tried to get out of it but it was wet on the inside line. And so I got it sideways and I went across the rumples and lost a bunch of spots there. I tried to stay on the outside of Jr. another time and fell back losing a bunch more there. So it was a back and forth type day. I'd get under people and have nothing under braking." | |
 | Team Kool Green Reynard Honda |
| PARKER JOHNSTONE | |
| "Al [Unser Jr.] and [Bobby] Rahal had taken an inside line into turn five and I passed them on the outside. Jimmy [Vasser] had already moved to the middle and I went to pass him on the outside, too. He moved back toward me and we touched. I'm very disappointed for the team, because the guys worked hard all weekend to prepare a competitive car. It just kept getting better and better as the track dried." | |
 | Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
| ALEX ZANARDI | |
| "I am very happy with this win. This was a lucky day for us. I spun twice, but was able to recover and I don't see how my guys can possibly get any better in the pits. The last pit stop they asked me if I wanted new tires, and the Firestones were wearing so well that we just added fuel, some more front wing and went for it. I was told after Cleveland not to do doughnuts, and maybe I will be fined for this, but the fans waited here in the cold and wet so long, and were so loyal, that I just had to do something for them." | |
 | Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group |
| ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | |
| "We had a problem of some kind with the car, I really don't know what it was, but the car was really loose. Then someone hit me in the back, I don't know who. Fortunately, the corner workers were able to get me going again with a push start and we salvaged a point." | |
 | Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Reynard Ford |
| GIL de FERRAN | |
| "Yes, we haven't won this year, but being second in the championship helps. This is such a competitive series this year that you just have to have everything right in your package. We have been in a winning position twice this year: Long Beach and Homestead, but not quite today. In the wet, I was a little conservative with the tires. But on slicks, believe me, I drove as hard as I knew how. There will come a time when we have the best package, our day will come." | |
 | Bettenhaused Racing Alumax Aluminium Reynard Mercedes-Benz |
| PATRICK CARPENTIER | |
| "We had the big shunt on Friday, so we had the back-up car for therest of the weekend. I felt like we would be good in the race, but I lostfourth gear right away, and then the gearbox seemed to get worse. Once itstarts to go, it just creates other problems in the gearbox." | |
 | Miller Lite Reynard Ford Team Rahal |
| BOBBY RAHAL | |
| ""We made a change in the second stop that definitely made the car quick in the straight-aways. It was through the whole race really. We were able to take some more downforce out at the second stop and I was a lot quicker than [Al Unser] Jr. in the Mercedes. We caught up from 10 seconds or so behind [Scott] Pruett to within one or two, but just ran out of time. We set the second fastest time of the race on the last lap, so the car was good. Patience was the key earlier on, especially when we put the slicks on. You really had to be careful. As much as you wanted to outbrake someone on the inside you really couldn't because it was damp. You had to wait for the track to get better." | |
 | Hollywood Reynard Mercedes |
| MAURICIO GUGELMIN | |
| "The car worked very well in the wet early in the race. Then thehandling seemed to go away, and I couldn't keep up with Mark [Blundell] orAlex [Zanardi]. We got a pole here and another second place, and you betI'm gonna win one soon. In the dry conditions, the car was good but not asgood as Mark. We held on all day, and we got another second place." | |
 | Panasonic/DUSKIN Arciero/Wells Racing, Reynard Toyota |
| HIRO MATSUSHITA | |
| "We had the car nearly to our Portland rain set up, so I was anticipating a good race. PJ spun ahead of me coming out of Turn 11, and I went to the outside to move around him. Just as I was going by, his car slid backwards and clipped my right rear tire. We were on the lead lap and the car was getting better as the racing line dried. It is disappointing since this ended our streak of completed races at nine." | |
 | Brahma Sports Team Reynard Ford Cosworth |
| RAUL BOESEL | |
| [on contact with #31 car, Ribeiro]: "We got side by side in the braking area, my car got out of control and we touched. I think the track was starting to dry out. But the problem was with overtaking: you go off-line and it was still wet there. That's a tricky situation." | |
 | Hasseroder Project Indy Lola Ford Cosworth |
| ARND MEIER | |
| "Through the whole race I had a lot of understeer. Jimmy Vasser was behind me giving a lot of pressure. I didn't want to make the race bad for him, so I was trying to get around the corner quickly. It was very difficult to follow the car ahead of me. This rain made it very hard for me, too slow and not much fun." | |
 | Hogan Racing Reynard Mercedes |
| DARIO FRANCHITTI | |
| "I feel extremely bad for the team. They were all workingextremely hard and putting in long hours for us, and we didn't come up bigtoday. I just feel bad for everyone putting in such a big effort." | |