Trcy almost had a shot to beat him

ANDRETTI SEEKS CANADIAN SWEEP AT MOLSON INDY VANCOUVER
 

DETROIT (August 29, 2000) - After a rare misstep in his quest for the Vanderbilt Cup, symbol of the FedEx Championship Series driving championship, Newman/Haas Racing driver Michael Andretti can take comfort that the series' next competitive stop comes north of the border.

Andretti (Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola) has enjoyed extraordinary success at FedEx Championship Series events contested in Canada and he looks to continue that trend this weekend as the streets of Vancouver, British Columbia host Round 15 of the championship, Sunday's Molson Indy Vancouver (4 p.m. ET, live, ABC-TV).

Last month, Andretti recorded the sixth of his 40 career FedEx Championship Series victories at Toronto, giving him more wins at that venue than at any other in his storied 17-year career. Now, coming off a scoreless finish at Road America - only his second in the past 12 events - Andretti, the championship points leader, visits Concord Pacific Place, where he has earned three victories (1991, '92 and '96) and three pole positions (1990-92) in nine career starts.

Andretti is chasing the Canadian double for the third time in his career, having won at Toronto and Vancouver in 1991 and '92. Al Unser Jr. is the only other driver to have won both Canadian events in a single season, that coming in 1990.

Andretti's scoreless finish at Road America allowed the championship race to tighten considerably as five other drivers are within 25 points of his lead. Andretti comes to Vancouver with 125 points, followed by Roberto Moreno (Visteon Ford Reynard) of Patrick Racing, who has 112. Other drivers in the hunt include Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Honda Reynard) of Marlboro Team Penske with 106 points; Adrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing Ford Reynard) of Patrick Racing with 103; rookie Kenny Brack (Shell Ford Reynard) of Team Rahal with 102; and Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard) of Team KOOL Green with 100.

Defending FedEx Series champ Juan Montoya (Target Toyota Lola) of Target Chip Ganassi Racing is also the defending Molson Indy Vancouver champion. Montoya recorded his CART rookie-record seventh triumph at Vancouver last year, one of three events he won from the pole.

Other previous Vancouver winners on this weekend's entry list include Dario Franchitti (KOOL Honda Reynard) of Team KOOL Green, who drove to victory in 1998, and Mauricio Gugelmin (Nextel PacWest Mercedes) of the PacWest Racing Group, whose first career FedEx Championship Series triumph came at this venue in 1997.

This year, for the first time in FedEx Championship Series history, all cars ride on Firestone Firehawks, the Official Tire of CART.

The Molson Indy Vancouver begins the stretch run to the FedEx Championship Series championship, which will play out over the final two months of the season. For the fourth consecutive season, the FedEx Championship Series concludes at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and for the third straight year, the season finale will pay the winner $1 million. Thanks to a partnership between Marlboro, Toyota, CART and California Speedway, the payday is the largest on the circuit. The day could be twice as nice for one lucky driver as the series champion also receives $1 million from the season-ending bonus fund.

The Molson Indy Vancouver begins a run of three consecutive event weekends for FedEx Championship Series competitors. The series continues with Round 16, the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Shell 300, Sept. 8-10 at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Calif.

WHO'S HOT

· Despite seeing a streak of six consecutive scoring performances come to an end with an 18th-place finish in the Motorola 220 at Road America, Michael Andretti (Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola) of Newman/Haas Racing continues to set the pace in the chase for the Vanderbilt Cup, emblematic of the FedEx Championship Series driving championship. Andretti has scored championship points in 10 of his last 12 starts, including victories at Japan and Toronto and podium finishes of second at Milwaukee, Michigan and Chicago. He leads the series in laps completed (1,847 of a possible 2,012) and miles completed (2,957.241 of a possible 3,309.751) and enters this weekend's Molson Indy Vancouver with a 125-112 championship lead over Roberto Moreno (Visteon Ford Reynard) of Patrick Racing.

· Adrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing Ford Reynard) of Patrick Racing has scored championship points in 11 of his past 12 FedEx Championship Series starts, and has moved from 26th to fourth place in the championship in that span. His scoring run began with a victory at Brazil and includes podium finishes of second at Toronto and Road America as well as top-five results of fifth at Nazareth and Chicago. With 103 points, he trails third-place Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Honda Reynard, 106 points) by only three and is just nine behind Roberto Moreno, his Patrick Racing teammate.

· Rookie Kenny Brack (Shell Ford Reynard) of Team Rahal comes to the Molson Indy Vancouver off his third podium finish of the season, a third-place result at Road America. He has scored championship points in 10 of his past 12 FedEx Championship Series starts, including podium finishes of second at Cleveland and third at Nazareth. He also owns finishes of fourth at Milwaukee and Chicago, fifth at Japan and Mid-Ohio and sixth at Portland. Brack has topped the 100 championship-point mark and stands fifth in the title battle with 102 points. He also holds a commanding 102-45 points lead over Alex Tagliani (Player's Forsythe Racing Team Ford Reynard) of Player's Forsythe Racing in the battle for the Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year Award.

· With his 10th-place finish at Road America, rookie Oriol Servia (Telefonica Toyota Reynard) of PPI Motorsports became the only FedEx Championship Series driver to have scored championship points in as many as six of the seven road or street course events contested this season. The remainder of Servia's run includes finishes of sixth at Long Beach, a career-best third at Detroit, eighth at Portland, 11th at Toronto and 10th at Mid-Ohio. He stands 16th in the championship with 44 points.

· Memo Gidley (DIRECTV Toyota Reynard) of Della Penna Motorsports comes to Vancouver off a sixth-place finish at Road America, a career best in 17 FedEx Championship Series starts. Since joining Della Penna Motorsports last month, Gidley has recorded four consecutive points-paying finishes, including 10th at Michigan and Chicago, and 12th at Mid-Ohio. Despite competing in only six of 13 events to date, Gidley stands 18th in the championship with 20 points.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

· Michael Andretti (Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola) owns three victories in nine career starts on the streets of Vancouver, in 1991, '92 and '96. He also won consecutive pole positions from 1990-92, and added podium finishes of third in 1994 and second in 1998. He is CART's career laps-led leader at Vancouver with 321, including 97 in 1992, 82 in '96 and 70 in '91.

· Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Honda Reynard) of Marlboro Team Penske owns top-four finishes in three of five career starts at Vancouver, with podium performances of second in 1995 and third in 1997. He also finished fourth in 1996.

· Mauricio Gugelmin (Nextel PacWest Mercedes) of the PacWest Racing Group recorded his only career FedEx Championship Series victory at Vancouver in 1997 and owns five top-six efforts overall in six career starts at the venue. The run includes finishes of fourth last year, fifth in 1994, and sixth in '96 and '98.

· Jimmy Vasser (Target Toyota Lola) owns two podium results in his past three appearances at Vancouver, with results of second in 1997 and third last year. He led a race-high 46 laps in 1997 and has started among the top five drivers three times, topped by an outside pole position in 1995.

MANUFACTURING SUCCESS

· Honda-powered drivers have won the past two FedEx Championship Series events contested on the streets of Vancouver as well as the past four pole positions. Dario Franchitti (1998) and Juan Montoya (1999) have claimed the race victories, both of which came from the pole. Alex Zanardi began Honda's qualifying run with back-to-back poles in 1996 and '97.

· Honda has also won five of seven FedEx Championship Series events contested on road or street courses this season, with victories from Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard) at Long Beach and Road America, Gil de Ferran at Portland, and Helio Castroneves (Marlboro Honda Reynard) at Detroit and Mid-Ohio.

· Toyota received its first-ever laps led in Champ Car competition from Alex Barron at Vancouver in 1998, and until this year, those were the only laps a Toyota-powered driver had ever led on a road or street course in four years of FedEx Championship Series competition. This season, however, Toyota-powered drivers have led 149 road/street laps, led by Cristiano da Matta (Pioneer/MCI WorldCom Toyota Reynard) of PPI Motorsports with 73. Defending FedEx Championship Series champion Juan Montoya (Target Toyota Lola) of Target Chip Ganassi Racing has led 70 road/street laps while teammate Jimmy Vasser (Target Toyota Lola) has led six.

NOTEWORTHY

· A wide variety of activities have been planned in conjunction with this year's Molson Indy Vancouver to honor the memory of Greg Moore, a Champ Car driver who lost his life in a racing accident in the 1999 season finale. Moore, a native of Maple Ridge, B.C., near Vancouver, earned five victories and five pole positions during his four-year Champ Car career and finished among the top 10 in the series championship in each of his FedEx Championship Series seasons. He also won the 1995 Indy Lights championship and owns the series record for career victories, with 13. Highlighting the weekend will be the official retirement of Moore's car number, 99, from Champ Car and Indy Lights competition, during pre-race ceremonies Sunday. National Hockey League legend Wayne Gretzky will be among the participants in the ceremonies. Car No. 99 joins the No.14 of all-time Champ Car victory leader A.J. Foyt as the only retired numbers in CART history.

· The entry list for this weekend's Molson Indy Vancouver includes Alex Barron, who will be making his 2000 FedEx Championship Series debut in the SPORTS TODAY Ford Lola entered by Dale Coyne Racing. Barron's last start came for Penske Racing in the 1999 season finale at California Speedway, where he started 14th and finished 24th. He spent most of the 1998 and '99 seasons driving for Dan Gurney's All American Racers, where he made 24 starts, with a best result of ninth at Nazareth in 1999. Barron returns this weekend to the venue where he gave Toyota its first-ever laps led in Champ Car competition, having led 12 laps at the 1998 Molson Indy Vancouver. He won the 1997 Toyota Atlantic championship as a rookie prior to stepping up to Champ Car competition.

ON THE AIR

· Qualifying for the Molson Indy Vancouver will air 1:30 a.m. ET Sunday on ESPN2. "CART 2Day" airs 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday on ESPN2, with ABC-TV's live race broadcast scheduled to begin 4 p.m. ET. The race will also air live on the CART Radio Network and on CART's official website at www.cart.com .

MOLSON INDY VANCOUVER "QUOTEBOARD"

MICHAEL ANDRETTI (Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola), assessing his FedEx Championship Series season to date: "As far as the grade I would give our season so far, I think it would be a 'B'. In the early part of the season we weren't finishing very well, and that has kept the grade down. Hopefully, we can bring the grade up to an 'A' by the end of the season. I don't know why I run so well in Vancouver. When people ask, the only thing I can say is that it must be the water here. I think it is a beautiful city and I like the race track, so maybe that's why. Last year was probably one of the dumbest mistakes of my career. I spun in the wet before the green [flag] came out and dropped way back. After that, you just have to regroup and try to get points even though we were a lap down starting the race. I think it would be awesome to win both Canadian races. Toronto was a great victory for the team and it propelled us for the following races and into the championship hunt. I would love to add a win in Vancouver to our Toronto victory also because it means so much for the championship because this race is late in the season. Whatever points we could get in Vancouver are important for the championship."

JUAN MONTOYA (Target Toyota Lola), on the unpredictability of the FedEx Championship Series: "The last race was a good example of how things can change quickly in this series. The points leader [Michael Andretti] didn't finish the race and we were looking like we might be able to jump back into the championship race, but it didn't turn out that way. I think we'll get some lucky breaks in these remaining races, since we've had a lot of bad luck so far. We're not going to give up when we still have a shot at Team Target's fifth [consecutive] championship. I'm happy we're returning to Vancouver. I took the pole and won the race there last year, so we have a lot of confidence going back. I'll be disappointed if I'm not on the podium after the race."

GIL de FERRAN (Marlboro Honda Reynard), on the key to a successful stretch run at the FedEx Championship Series championship: "As the championship winds to a close, it's especially important to score points at every race to close the gap on the points leader [Michael Andretti]. So strategically speaking, each race is becoming more and more important. Overall, we've been running well on road courses and street circuits even though I didn't have a good result in Toronto [de Ferran finished 16th]. I'm fairly confident Marlboro Team Penske will run competitively in Vancouver."

PAUL TRACY (KOOL Honda Reynard), on adding a Vancouver victory to his resume: "It's no secret I like street courses -- I've won on them all except Vancouver, it's always been a challenge. But Team KOOL Green has always done well on the streets and we seem to be moving in the right direction with the car. If we play it smart, we should score some big points. I do enjoy racing in Vancouver. It's a chance to race in front of some very supportive racing fans. They've always given me a lot of encouragement and taken an interest in my career. I'd really like to give something back to them by breaking through with a win. So far, this has been a season of streaks, where we had the real good start, then went into a slump for a few races and now, hopefully, we're in a stretch where we're putting up points again. We have to maintain that pace in order to keep making our way up the standings."

DARIO FRANCHITTI (KOOL Honda Reynard), on continuing his past success at Vancouver: "It's been a few races since we've been on the podium, but that certainly isn't because of a lack of effort by everyone at Team KOOL Green. We've been in the top 10 in qualifying in nine of the last 10 races, including the pole at Road America. We were poised for a win or at least a podium finish there before we ran into some gearbox problems. There isn't much you can do about that, except grit your teeth and hope that your luck will change in the next race. Maybe Vancouver is the place where things will start to turn around and we can get on some kind of roll for the last part of the season. Fortunately, it's a track I've run well at in the past [won from pole in '98] and I always feel like I've got a chance to win when we're racing on the street circuits."

MAX PAPIS (Miller Lite Ford Reynard), remembering his friend, Greg Moore: "I have to think of the good things I did with Greg. He was a special friend and person, and we will all remember him in our own way. I talk to Greg's parents regularly. They know we all still care about all of them very much. I'd love to win the Vancouver race. We had a very good test last week at Laguna Seca. We learned a lot about our road setup and our test at St. Louis oval was excellent. I'm anxious for these next races."

KENNY BRACK (Shell Ford Reynard), on his quest for that elusive first career FedEx Championship Series victory: "We have been close (to winning) this year. Twice this year I was leading and stalled in the pits. It is very frustrating. I've had a car to win. Now I want to prove we can put the Shell car in the Winner's Circle. I haven't seen some of the upcoming tracks but I think we can continue to be in the championship fight. Getting a victory or two is our goal. Now we're coming back to my background - road circuits. I've never been to Vancouver nor have I seen the track. But I like Canada a lot."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (Marlboro Honda Reynard), on Marlboro Team Penske's optimism following last week's CART Open Test at Laguna Seca: "The whole team is upbeat going into this weekend after our strong test at Laguna Seca. Marlboro Team Penske's performance on street courses has been pretty good this year [a win in Detroit, the pole and a second place finish in Long Beach, the pole in Toronto], so I'm hoping for a solid showing this weekend for all of the great fans in Vancouver that support the CART FedEx Series."

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI (Big Kmart/Route 66 Ford Lola), on street course competition: "In the sense that I have grown up racing on street courses and road courses, you could say that I have more experience on them but that doesn't necessarily mean that street racing fits my style better than oval racing. I just think that sometimes you have better weekends than others. Like at Mid Ohio, we finished third there and we haven't done well there in years. The car was just real good that weekend. We think it will be good at Vancouver as well. All street courses have their own characteristics, but the Vancouver track is more like Toronto than any other street course we run during the season. Sure it was disappointing to drop out of the last race when we were in second place but that is behind us and you have to look forward to the next event and try to make it the best possible result. I had a good weekend in Vancouver in 1996 and we will try to get on the podium again this year. Vancouver is one of my favorite cities that we race in. I'm looking forward to coming back. It has a very nice atmosphere and they really love their racing there, which is also nice."

JIMMY VASSER (Target Toyota Lola), on maintaining the momentum generated by a strong finish at Road America: "It was a good feeling to get a top five finish the other week in Elkhart Lake. It had been awhile, so the timing was good. Hopefully that's a sign of some good things to come. We haven't been on the podium since Rio, so returning to the top three is one of my goals for these final six races. I joined Juan on the podium last year in Vancouver [third] and finished second a few years ago [1997], so we're heading to a place I've had some success and enjoyed racing. I'm expecting a good weekend for the No. 12 car."

LUIZ GARCIA JR. (Hollywood/Embratel/Tang/Banco Sofisa Mercedes Reynard), on the challenges of the Vancouver layout: "Vancouver would be a great place to end my bad luck streak. Like Toronto, I like Vancouver a lot and had a good time here last year in the race. Like all street courses, it will be demanding and there will be a lot of attrition. My good luck started in Canada at Toronto and maybe Vancouver will end my bad luck. The fans are going to be in for a great race."

FAST FACTS FOR THE MOLSON INDY VANCOUVER

WHAT: Molson Indy Vancouver.
WHERE: Concord Pacific Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
WHEN: Friday-Sunday, Sept. 1-3.
SUPPORT EVENTS: Dayton Indy Lights Championship; Barber Dodge Pro Series; SCCBC Invitational.
BROADCAST: TV-(ABC-TV, 4 p.m. EDT and in 205 countries worldwide). RADIO-CART Radio Network. INTERNET - www.cart.com .
PRE-RACE PROGRAMMING: Molson Indy Vancouver pole qualifying, 1:30 a.m. ET Sunday, ESPN2; CART 2Day, 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday, ESPN2.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Juan Montoya.
DEFENDING POLESITTER: Juan Montoya.
TRACK LAYOUT: 1.781-mile temporary street circuit.
RACE LENGTH: 90 laps, 160.29 miles.
TRACK RECORDS: Qualifying (one lap) - 1999, Juan Montoya, 105.730 mph (1 minute, 0.641 seconds). Race - 1999, Juan Montoya, 65.279 mph.
RACE NUMBER: 15 of 20 in the FedEx Championship Series.
FedEx CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINTS LEADERS: 1. Michael Andretti, 125 points; 2. Roberto Moreno, 112; 3. Gil de Ferran, 106; 4. Adrian Fernandez, 103; 5. Kenny Brack, 102.


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