On the right track

Will Long Beach Showcase the Next Champion?
Sunny California to follow the snow show at Nazareth

A recent FedEx Championship Series trendcontinued last year when Juan Montoya of Target/Chip Ganassi Racing drove tovictory in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and then went on to capturethe FedEx Championship Series championship.

Montoya's victory, the first of his FedEx Championship Series career, madehim the fifth driver in the past six years to win at Long Beach en route tothe championship. He joined Al Unser Jr. (1994), Jimmy Vasser (1996) andAlex Zanardi (1997 and '98) in accomplishing the Long Beach/serieschampionship double.

Montoya (Target Toyota Lola) also scored Target/Chip Ganassi Racing's fourthconsecutive victory at Long Beach. Now, after scoring his first point of theseason by winning the pole at Nazareth last week before snow postponed raceday, Montoya prepares to defend his crown in Sunday's second round of thechampionship (5 p.m. ET, one-hour tape delay, ESPN).

The postponement of the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix Presented by Toyota atNazareth Speedway (rescheduled for Saturday, May 27) has shifted the LongBeach stop to the second round of this year's championship chase, itsearliest appearance since 1991. Team Rahal driver Max Papis (Miller LiteFord Reynard) arrives with the championship lead, courtesy of his firstcareer FedEx Championship Series victory in the March 26 season opener atHomestead.

Papis comes to Long Beach looking to improve on his career-best finish ofninth at the venue, established last year. He holds a four-point advantage,20-16, over Patrick Racing's Roberto Moreno (Visteon Ford Reynard), whoserunner-up performance at Homestead matched his career-best finishestablished at Laguna Seca last year.

Team KOOL Green driver Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard), third in thechampionship, made his first career FedEx Championship Series start at LongBeach in 1991. He is one of four former Long Beach winners in the field(1993), joining Montoya, Vasser and Newman/Haas Racing's Michael Andretti(Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola), who won in 1986.

Tracy's 14 championship points lead Vasser (Target Toyota Lola) by two whilePatrick Carpentier (Player's Forsythe Racing Team Ford Reynard) and Gil deFerran (Marlboro Honda Reynard) are two further back with 10 each.Carpentier seeks his first scoring performance in his fourth career start atLong Beach while De Ferran has captured two poles (1996, '97), ownsrace-high laps-led totals of 100 in '96 and 51 in '98, and has a pair oftop-six finishes (5th in '96, 6th in '99).

Following the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the FedEx Championship Seriesmakes its first of three trips outside of North America for the Rio 200, onSunday, April 30 from the Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway at Nelson PiquetInternational Raceway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

WHO'S HOT

By claiming the pole position for the postponed Bosch Spark PlugGrand Prix Presented by Toyota at Nazareth last week, defending FedExChampionship Series and Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach champion JuanMontoya (Target Toyota Lola) has now earned a victory, a pole position, orboth in 12 of his 22 career FedEx Championship Series events.

Team Rahal driver Max Papis (Miller Lite Ford Reynard), who leadsthe FedEx Championship Series points race for the first time in hisfive-year career, brings a string of five top-four finishes into Sunday'sToyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The streak began last year with his firstcareer podium result (third) at Laguna Seca and was followed by a fourth atHouston and runner-up efforts at Australia and California Speedway. Papisthen continued the run with his first career victory at the season-openingMarlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota. Papis has finished fifthor better in nine of his past 12 starts, dating to last year's fifth at RoadAmerica.

Dario Franchitti (KOOL Honda Reynard) of Team KOOL Green brings arun of 11 consecutive points-paying finishes to Long Beach, the longestactive streak in the FedEx Championship Series. It began with a victory atToronto last year and includes subsequent wins at Detroit and Australia.Franchitti, runner-up in the 1999 FedEx Championship Series, recentlyrecovered from a fractured pelvis and brain contusions sustained in asingle-car accident during CART Spring Training at Homestead in February. Hefinished 11th in the season-opening Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presentedby Toyota.

Christian Fittipaldi (Big Kmart/Route 66 Ford Lola) of Newman/HaasRacing has scored points in eight of his past nine FedEx Championship Seriesstarts, dating to last year's 12th-place finish at Cleveland and includinghis first career victory at Road America. The run was interrupted asFittipaldi missed five events while recovering from a subdural hematomasustained in a testing accident at Gateway in August. He finished seventh inthe season-opening Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota.Overall, Fittipaldi has scored in 16 of his past 18 starts, dating to athird-place finish at Australia in 1998.

Tony Kanaan (Hollywood/Mo Nunn Racing Mercedes Reynard) of newlyformed Mo Nunn Racing has scored in six of his past seven FedEx ChampionshipSeries starts, dating to an 11th-place finish at Chicago last year, andeight of 10 dating to his first career victory at Michigan Speedway. Kanaanfinished 10th at Homestead and is the defending pole-sitter at Long Beach.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

Michael Andretti (Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola) owns ninetop-10 finishes in 15 career starts at Long Beach, including a victory in1986. He is also tied with his father, Mario, for the most pole positions atthe venue with three (1991, '92 and '95), and has qualified outside the top12 only once, last year, when he started 13th. He has led 113 laps at thevenue during his career, topped by 47 en route to his 1986 victory.

Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Honda Reynard) has won two pole positions atLong Beach (1996, '97) and has led at least one lap in three of five careerappearances at the venue, for a total of 188. He led 100 of 105 laps in 1996before being victimized by a disconnected turbocharger hose. His 188 lapsled at Long Beach represent 26.4 percent of his career total laps-led of710, which ranks 16th on the CART career list.

Dario Franchitti owns consecutive runner-up efforts at Long Beach(1998, '99) and a string of three consecutive points-paying performances,including 12th in 1997.

Bryan Herta (AVEX Honda Reynard), subbing for the injured ShinjiNakano of Walker Racing, has a pair of podium finishes in five starts atLong Beach (third in 1998 and last year). He has also scored championshippoints in four consecutive appearances, including 12th in 1996 and sixth in'97.

Jimmy Vasser (Target Toyota Lola) owns five top-10 finishes in eightappearances at Long Beach, including a victory in 1996, seventh in '92,ninth in '97, eighth in '98 and 10th last year.

Adrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing Ford Reynard)has scored in four consecutive starts at Long Beach, comprised ofback-to-back fourth-place finishes in 1998 and last year, sixth in '96 and11th in '97.

Mauricio Gugelmin's (Nextel PacWest Mercedes) runner-up finish in1997 is the best of four points-paying results that he has posted in sixcareer appearances at Long Beach. Also included are finishes of seventh in1994, fifth in '95 and 10th in '98.

MANUFACTURING SUCCESS

Honda arrives in Long Beach with a streak of 14 consecutive FedExChampionship Series victories on temporary street circuits, dating to thestart of the 1998 season. The last non-Honda-powered driver to win on atemporary street circuit was Mauricio Gugelmin, who guided a Mercedes tovictory at Vancouver in 1997. Honda has also won the past four FedExChampionship Series events contested on the streets of Long Beach as itpowered Jimmy Vasser (1996), Alex Zanardi (1997 and '98) and Juan Montoya,last year, to victory.

MILESTONES

Michael Andretti's next triumph will allow him to set a CART recordfor most seasons with at least one race victory. Andretti(Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola) is currently tied for the top spot withRick Mears, each with 12 seasons with at least one victory. Andretti beginshis 17th season of FedEx Championship Series competition this weekend.

NOTEWORTHY

Walker Racing announced Monday that Bryan Herta, a seven-yearveteran of the FedEx Championshp Series, will substitute for injured rookiedriver Shinji Nakano in the team's Avex Honda Reynard at both this weekend'sToyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and the April 30 Rio 200 in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil. Nakano is recovering from several small brain bruises sustained in aMarch 31 testing accident at The Milwaukee Mile. He is currently under thecare of neurologist Dr. Terry Horner, in consultation with Dr. Steve Olvey,CART Director of Medical Affairs. Herta, who remains under contract toForsythe Championship Racing, has been loaned to Walker Racing for the nexttwo FedEx Championship Series events. "Bryan is a winner and was a naturalchoice to use as a substitute driver for Shinji," team owner Derrick Walkersaid. "We were very fortunate to be able to find a driver of his caliber whowas also available. We owe Forsythe Racing, and Gerald Forsythe inparticular, for allowing us to use Bryan." Herta has made 94 career startsin a FedEx Championship Series career that began in 1994 and it has beenhighlighted by two wins, seven poles and nine podium finishes. Two of thosepodiums, back-to-back third-place finishes in 1998 and last year, have comeat Long Beach. He also won the pole at the venue in 1998. "I was definitelyitching to get back in the car," Herta said. "So when Derrick presented mewith this opportunity, it was a good chance for me to do some competitiveracing while giving the Forsythe team some time to sort out its situation.I'm grateful to Derrick and Gerald for allowing me this opportunity and atthe same time I wish Shinji the best in his recovery and I look forward toturning the car back to him in good condition."

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach also marks the debut of a newteam entry in the FedEx Championship Series and the return of a young andpromising driver. Swift Engineering has entered a Panasonic-sponsored Swiftthat will be driven by Brazilian Tarso Marques. Marques made six starts forMarlboro Team Penske during his rookie season last year, with a top startand finish of eighth and ninth, respectively, at Rio de Janeiro. He alsostarted 19th and finished 25th at Long Beach. The power plant for the Swiftentry has yet to be announced.

Dale Coyne Racing announced at Nazareth that Panasonic would besponsoring the Ford Lola driven by Gualter Salles in the Toyota Grand Prixof Long Beach and the Rio 200. Panasonic's sponsorship is a renewedrelationship. The team campaigned a car for Panasonic and driver HiroMatsushita in 1996. "I am happy that Panasonic will be supporting us at LongBeach," said Salles, whose career-best qualifying effort of fourth, came atthe venue in 1998. "We hope to give them a very strong showing at a trackwhere we have a good history."

The CART Hi-Tech Forum will conduct its inaugural meeting Saturdayfrom 4-5 p.m. in the Ballroom Foyer of the Long Beach Convention Center. Allsponsors and supporters from the CART community who are involved in ahigh-tech industry are invited to attend the executive-level mixer, whichhas been scheduled to provide networking opportunities for the numeroushigh-tech partners of the FedEx Championship Series. For furtherinformation, contact Wes Simpson at the CART offices, (248) 362-8800 or atwsimpson@cart.com .

CART Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Craig will be afeatured speaker at "Sport Business 2000: A Century of Progress of Future ofPromise" being held Thursday through Saturday at the Queen Elizabeth IIConference Centre in London. Craig will participate in a panel discussion,"Financing Sport's Development," Thursday morning. Other participants willinclude Charles Aster, Partner at Coudert Brothers, New York; AdamShutkever, Managing Director of the Consumer and Leisure Group, DeutscheBank AG; Charles Tate, Partner at Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst; and DarrenVenn, Consultant at ENIC. The panel will be moderated by Fred Kempe, Editorand Associate Publisher of the Wall Street Journal, Europe.

ON THE AIRPole qualifying for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach airs 1 a.m.ET Sunday on ESPN2. "CART 2Day" airs 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday on ESPN2 whileESPN's one-hour tape-delayed broadcast begins 5 p.m. ET Sunday.

TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH "QUOTEBOARD"

    MICHAEL ANDRETTI (Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola), on ending astreet-circuit victory drought: "We finished seventh last year so we wouldlike to move up another six spots. That's our goal. It's been a whilesince the Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline team won on a street course. The laststreet or road race I won was in 1996, which is definitely too long ago. Ihave always liked racing in Long Beach because it is special to me since Iwon my first CART race there. You never forget your first one. Last yearwe had a tough time there since it was our first street race on Firestonetires and we just didn't know enough about the tires yet. We were justhappy to leave with some points but this year, we want more than just a fewpoints. The challenge with Long Beach is that it is right between six ovalraces and most teams aren't 100 percent prepared for racing on a streetcourse since they have been concentrating on oval set-ups. The fans aregreat in Long Beach. The fans have really supported the race over theyears. The track allows for passing and good racing which is nice for boththe fans and the drivers. The Long Beach race is a very important part ofwhat the CART FedEx Championship Series is today. This race helped grow oursport. Everyone loves racing here. The Long Beach area has changedunbelievably over the years since we started racing here. The buildings onthe front straight used to be boarded up X-rated theatres and today its is anice metropolitan area and I think the race had a lot to do with the rebirthof the area."

    PAUL TRACY (KOOL Honda Reynard), on the challenges of the first street raceof the season: "We're off to a decent start and it's important for us tocontinue that trend this weekend at Long Beach. Everyone on this team isperforming well and we're going there expecting to score some big points.It's a tough race to win because you don't get to test at Long Beach andit's the first non-oval race of the year. Fortunately, Team KOOL Green hasbeen strong on streets the past couple years and we're going to Long Beachwith what we think is a good setup. Passing opportunities on track are at apremium here. We're going to have to win the battle in the pits again.(Tracy's crew won the Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge in '99 and leads so farin 2000)."

    DARIO FRANCHITTI (KOOL Honda Reynard), on his enjoyment of the Toyota GrandPrix of Long Beach: "Long Beach is one of those races that I look forward toeach year. It's a nice little racing circuit, but what makes it so specialis the fans - they're just incredible. It seems like all of SouthernCalifornia comes out to the race and the whole atmosphere of the place isreally something. But like any other race, there's a job to do. And that'sto get the car sorted out in practice, qualify up front and then run a fast,error-free race. If you do that, then maybe you put yourself intocontention for victory. We've come close the past two years here, but felljust a little short (runner-up in '98 & '99). Team KOOL Green has shownwe're the team to beat on the streets, and Long Beach is the only streetrace in the series I haven't won, so I'd like to fix that this weekend."

    CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI (Big Kmart/Route 66 Ford Lola), on last year's ToyotaGrand Prix of Long Beach: "I think Long Beach was one of my best raceslast year. People say, 'But you finished fifth. How could you think thatwas one of your best races.?' It was our first race on a street course withFirestone tires and we weren't very strong so we qualified 11th. I passedeverybody on the race track and finished in fifth. We were about the onlycar that passed people on the track rather than in the pits. It was a greatrace from the passing standpoint. I hope the Big Kmart/Route 66 car isdoing all of the passing again this year, but I hope we start in front. Thefirst street race is always a big question mark. You end up not doing asmuch testing on a road course as you would like by the time you arrive intoLong Beach. You think you will be good but you end up slow, or vice versa.I'm pretty sure we will be competitive this year based on our testing inSebring. We were the quickest car there when we first tested and then wewent back after the Homestead race and had another good test. Long Beach ismore challenging than a road course because of the walls. If you make amistake on a road course, you just go off on the grass. You're not so luckyin Long Beach. The only place there is to go is into the concrete, which isnever a good idea. The smallest mistake will cost you. My races at LongBeach have all been pretty exciting for one reason or another."

    HELIO CASTRO-NEVES (Marlboro Honda Reynard), on the new track configurationat Long Beach: "I always look forward to the Long Beach race because it'ssuch a fun atmosphere. There are so many fans and they really enjoy ChampCar racing. The track layout has been changed to allow for more passing,which should improve the racing. We've had successful tests at the Sebringroad course so I feel the Marlboro car should be competitive this weekend.I led my first laps and earned my first points at Long Beach in my rookieseason in CART so it would be a great place to capture my first win aswell."

    GIL de FERRAN (Marlboro Honda Reynard), on Long Beach "owing" him one: "Ifyou look at my racing history, Long Beach is very much like Miami for me inthat I've been in the position to win the race two or three times already.I like the track, and if you add these factors with our pre-seasonroad-course testing performance, one would have to say our chances are quitegood of putting together a reasonable showing."

    MAURICIO GUGELMIN (Nextel PacWest Mercedes), on the challenges of LongBeach: "Long Beach is certainly a track where both Mark and myself wouldlike to do well. The circuit is demanding and allows little room formistakes. The event always attracts a huge crowd and it's a venue where wehost one of our largest groups of corporate guests for the season. With allthe improvement we have made to our package, maybe this will be the year."

    MARK BLUNDELL (Motorola PacWest Mercedes), on the strength of his 2000equipment package: "I still believe the basic package we have with Reynard,Mercedes, and Firestone is the best one available. We know this team iscapable of winning races and hopefully we can do just that this weekend. Ourpre-season testing went extremely well, we've had great reliability, and I'mreally impressed with the progress that Mercedes-Benz has made. The goodthing is that we definitely know it will not be snowing this weekend."

    NORBERTO FONTANA (Della Penna VideoMatch Toyota Reynard), on making hisfirst street-course start in the FedEx Championship Series: "I'm lookingforward to Long Beach. The street courses are much closer to by backgroundthan the ovals are, and hopefully the results from the weekend will reflexthat. We've had two very good road course tests at Homestead and Sebring toprepare for this event, and I think we have a strong baseline set-up tostart the weekend."

    LUIZ GARCIA, JR. (Hollywood/Embratel-21/Tang/Banco Sofisa Mercedes Reynard),on his affection for Long Beach: "I like everything about Long Beach. Ilike the city, the people, the superb atmosphere and I like the track. I'mlooking forawrd to running there and hope I get the chance to run the 2000car. Last year was a difficult race for me, as it was my first time on astreet circuit in a Champ Car. This year, I'll be in better shape."

FAST FACTS FOR THE TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH

INSTANT REPLAY

Juan Montoya became the first rookie since 1996 to win a FedEx ChampionshipSeries event as he led Target/Chip Ganassi Racing to its fourth consecutiveToyota Grand Prix of Long Beach crown. Montoya (Target Honda Reynard), inonly his third series start, ended a rookie drought which had reached 38races following Alex Zanardi's 1996 victory at Laguna Seca. Montoya led thefinal 40 laps after Tony Kanaan (McDonald's Championship Racing HondaReynard), who had earned his first career FedEx Championship Series poleposition, made contact with a tire wall while leading the 46th of 85 laps.Montoya went on to a 2.805-second victory over Dario Franchitti (KOOL HondaReynard) while averaging 87.915 miles per hour. Bryan Herta (Shell FordReynard) finished third, 7.003 seconds behind Montoya. The victory was thefirst of three consecutive for Montoya, who later added triumphs at Nazarethand Rio de Janeiro, three of a series-high seven wins he would collect enroute to the FedEx Championship Series championship. Greg Moore (Player'sForsythe Racing Team Mercedes Reynard), who finished eighth, exited withLong Beach with 39 points and the championship lead, followed by AdrianFernandez (Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing Ford Reynard) and Gil deFerran (Valvoline/Cummins Special Honda Reynard) with 33 each.

Vital Race Statistics

Time of Race: 1 hour, 45 minutes, 48.688 seconds.
Average Speed: 87.915 mph.
Margin of Victory: 2.805 seconds.
Caution Flags: 5 for 19 laps.
Lap Leaders: Tony Kanaan, 44 laps; Juan Montoya, 40; Bryan Herta, 1.

LONG BEACH RACE HISTORY
(16 Events)

Year      Race Winner       Pole Winner1984      Mario Andretti    Mario Andretti1985      Mario Andretti    Mario Andretti1986      Michael Andretti  Danny Sullivan1987      Mario Andretti    Mario Andretti1988      Al Unser Jr.      Danny Sullivan1989      Al Unser Jr.      Al Unser Jr.1990      Al Unser Jr.      Al Unser Jr.1991      Al Unser Jr.      Michael Andretti1992      Danny Sullivan    Michael Andretti1993      Paul Tracy        Nigel Mansell1994      Al Unser Jr.      Paul Tracy1995      Al Unser Jr.      Michael Andretti1996      Jimmy Vasser      Gil de Ferran1997      Alex Zanardi      Gil de Ferran1998      Alex Zanardi      Bryan Herta1999      Juan Montoya      Tony KanaanVictories              Pole Positions        1. Al Unser Jr.     6  1. Mario Andretti   32. Mario Andretti   3     Michael Andretti 33. Alex Zanardi     2  3. Danny Sullivan   24. Michael Andretti 1     Al Unser Jr.     2   Danny Sullivan   1     Gil de Ferran    2         Paul Tracy       1  6. Nigel Mansell    1   Jimmy Vasser     1     Paul Tracy       1   Juan Montoya     1     Bryan Herta      1                          Tony Kanaan      1


Results courtesy Swiss Timing

SpeedCenter FedEx Championship Series News And Information Service is an independent electronic publication and is not affiliated with, or sponsored by Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc., FedEx, or any other series sponsor.

Feedback Email Click Here
Media Sales/Advertising Contact Niles Anders