Race No. 10

Medic Drug Cleveland Grand Prix
Cleveland — Ohio
July 11 — July 13, 1997

	Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Finished: 13th
Photo: Scott Hughes JIMMY VASSER
"We had a pretty strong opening run (moving up to fifth place by lap 30) and the car was perfect on the second set of tires. But after our last stop the car got real nervous, everything became very critical, the back end just kept wanting to snap around. I'm not sure if the last set of tires ever really came in for us, and I was just holding on to the finish."

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	Marlboro Penske Mercedes Finished: 4th
AL UNSER, Jr.
"Finally we got one in the books. Even though I qualified 18th and finished fourth, it wasn't me that passed all those cars, it was my crew. They were awesome all day! Both Paul (Tracy) and I had a tough weekend working with our cars and for Paul to still be leading in the points and for me to finish this high is a credit to everyone at Marlboro Team Penske. I think we've finally lit the burner and it's only a matter of time now before I get a win."

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	PacWest Motorola Reynard Mercedes Finished: 9th
MARK BLUNDELL
"I guess you could term that a tough day at the office. The PacWest team gave me a very good race car all weekend and we had good pit stops. Unfortunately our race didn't go according to plan, but that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. I had trouble with the fuel switch at the start - it didn't seem to want to stay in one position - so I lost a lot of ground at the first couple of turns. Then we didn't come in with everyone else for the first pit stop. That put us in the lead, but caused problems of its own. The pace car was throwing up a lot of pickup which was just coating my tires. As the leader, I was the first car to get it. After that, the car just wouldn't turn. In fact, I had no grip at either end for three or four laps. It created a bad tire vibration, and as a result I've got a blister on my left palm the size of a 50 pence coin."

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	Ralphs/Food 4 Less Della Penna Racing Lola Ford Finished: 28th
RICHIE HEARN
"I think I ran over some debris or something like that, and it blew the right rear tire down the straight there. And that was it. It blew really severely, and off into the fence I went. I wasn't having any problems up to that point. We had a lot of expectations for this weekend with the new gearbox, wing and so on. The bumpiness of the track really nullified the changes out. The car is not good on bumpy tracks. So I think the changes were constructive, but I'm waiting for a better track like Michigan to see what we can do. We always keep a positive outlook, so we'll come back fighting for better luck and results."

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	Kmart/Budweiser Swift Ford Newman/Haas Racing Finished: 6th
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI
"I think we proved in the end that we had a winning car. These things can't happen. These chances (to win) don't come back. It's another opportunity that got away. Everything I worked hard for so far in the race went down the drain. I've worked so hard for the past 97 days since the accident for my first win. I put everything I had into the rehabilitation and my return and of course it's disappointing to have a problem in the race when you have a car that is capable of winning. (On problem in the pit:) "I came in after leading briefly and the car went up on the air jack as normal, but, after the tires were off, the rear of the car sat down. Instead of a 12-second pit stop, we had a 40-second stop. I'm not upset with the team. Bad things can happen in the pits as easily as I can make a mistake. It's a two-way street. The car was perfect. The team provided me a very competitive car. I wasn't as fast as Gil when we were on new tires, but when they were older, my car was faster. I was behind him waiting for a good opportunity to pass him. Zanardi's car was also good. (On passing at the start of the race:) "I was concentrating very hard and paying attention to any opportunities. I wouldn't put anyone in danger, including myself. The car was just very good and I had a lot of confidence in it. (On passing Tracy and Pruett at the end of the race:) I had a quicker car so I drafted them both and then made the pass. It was good racing."

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	Herdez Competition Payton/Coyne Lola Ford Cosworth Finished: 18th
MICHEL JOURDAIN
"We lost all the telemetry in the middle of the race, so we were not at our best for improving the car. I had to keep telling them where we were at fuel. And we needed to save fuel at the end. When we leaned it back then, the car just had nothing to give. Luckily I got enough to finish the race. The Reynard chassis I think is the way to go. It was very good today, and we're learning more about how much more we can do with the car for the rest of the season. I also had a clutch problem which allowed the engine to die on the second stop, so we lost some positions there."

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	MCI Arciero Wells Reynard Toyota Finished: 27th
MAX PAPIS
"We had a very good start and I really thought we were going to do okay. But we had a problem with the engine. It was getting leaner and leaner. I felt it loosing power in the end. Then just before we were about to go into the pits during the yellow it seized up and I pulled off to the middle of the track. It's too bad, I was hoping for a good finish today for the MCI Racing team. Now we will go to Sebring to test and work for a better result next weekend in Toronto."

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	Shell Reynard Ford Team Rahal Finished: 3rd
BRYAN HERTA
"Just what the doctor ordered. I feels good to be back on the podium. We needed this finish, both Bobby (Rahal) and myself. We've had plenty of trouble the first half of the season. It seems like we always get our season started here. We were trying to conserve fuel at the end and the brakes were almost gone for the last 15 laps. It was tough to hold off Alex (Zanardi) with the way the car was at that point. I ran wide in one turn and he slid by. I couldn't race with him then. But this was a big boost for the team and we'll be ready for Toronto next week."

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	Team Kool Green Reynard Honda Finished: 10th
PARKER JOHNSTONE
"Basically, we missed the chassis settings for today's track conditions. I was doing everything I could to move up, but if you get one car width off line, you're done. Because we had such a rough start this weekend, I was really conservative on the start and restarts."

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	Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Finished: 1st
ALEX ZANARDI
"There are no words to express my happiness, all credit to my engineer Mo Nunn who gave me a perfect car right at the start of the weekend. I thought we might have the same finish as last year (second place), but I had more fuel than Gil which gave me an advantage and I didn't have to be as conservative as others (with the fuel mixture). (After his penalties) I just put my head down, didn't think of positions, and got the most out of the car that it had to offer, drove 120% the whole way. I would only put my head up at the end of every lap, see where I was, and put it back down."

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	LCI International Reynard Honda Tasman Motorsports Group Finished: 14th
ANDRE RIBEIRO
"We definitely learned a lot. The car was a new experience for us. We were competitive in terms of lap times but because of few mistakes I made, we lost some positions. I had problems downshifting and braking. The car was great and we should have finished higher, but it is my first race with this car and I am very pleased. There are a lot of things to learn with a new car, for myself and the engineers and mechanics. We were very competitive even though we did not finish in the position we wanted."

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	Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group Finished: 17th
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ
"It was really rough. The car was very stiff and it was hard on me because it wasn't absorbing the bumps. We mostly had a problem with front grip and braking. We really had nothing to fight with, but the Lola guys are working very hard and hopefully we will see some improvement in Toronto. We have to work with what we have and all of us -- my crew and engineer -- are in the same situation but everyone is pulling together in that respect."

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	Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Reynard Ford Finished: 2nd
GIL de FERRAN
"The car was perfect, we never changed anything all day long, but (in the final 20 laps) I had to move the fuel (mixture) to the leanest possible position to make it to the finish and I didn't have the power to keep (Alex) Zanardi behind me. Still, it is another strong finish for us and a lot of points for the championship."

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	Bettenhaused Racing Alumax Aluminium Reynard Mercedes-Benz Finished: 12th
PATRICK CARPENTIER
"The crew worked very hard this weekend and they made a big improvement in the car for the pre-race warmup session. In the race, we had a push at the start, but the car got better with each pit stop. I'm really happy with the result because this is my first point I've scored this season on a road course. The car was the best on a road course that I've had all year. I really felt I could drive it hard. in the end when I tried to pass Scott Pruett, I got a little too aggressive. I should have settled for the points. Still, this race was a good step forward for us."

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	Hollywood Reynard Mercedes Finished: 15th
MAURICIO GUGELMIN
"At the start, I tried to go around the outside. Michael (Andretti) came off the turn in the grass, and I got boxed in behind him and had to lift off the gas. That cost me a lot of places. It's always wild on the first lap here - you choose a place, and if you're wrong, you're screwed. Then the team called me in for the first pit stop when the pits were closed. I couldn't see the sign because of the sun, but I didn't really think about it. Usually after we do a lap under the yellow, the pits are open, but this time they weren't. That was the major problem. That was the worst car I've had all year. I can't complain, because the car has been good at every other race. We just had a bunch of problems that added up. We lost the telemetry after the first stop. The car was jumping around a lot. It was so bad the front wheels were lifting off the ground. It was especially bad in traffic."

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	Castrol/Jockey AAR Racing Reynard Toyota Finished: 25th
P.J. JONES
"It's unfortunate because the car was handling really well. Toyota has been working hard to get some more power, but this is a power race track so it kind of hurt a little bit. The team did a great job this weekend and hopefully we'll keep improving, and by next year we might be able to run with the leaders."

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	Hasseroder Project Indy Lola Ford Cosworth Finished: 22nd
ARND MEIER
"We lost all the telemetry in the middle of the race, so we were not at our best for improving the car. I had to keep telling them where we were at fuel. And we needed to save fuel at the end. When we leaned it back then, the car just had nothing to give. Luckily I got enough to finish the race. The Reynard chassis I think is the way to go. It was very good today, and we're learning more about how much more we can do with the car for the rest of the season. I also had a clutch problem which allowed the engine to die on the second stop, so we lost some positions there."

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	Team Kool Green Team Manager
BARRY GREEN
"The penalty [affecting the cars that entered pit lane when the pits were closed] obviously helped us in the beginning, because we really jumped ahead. But we weren't able to take advantage of it. It's the same old story: we run okay on race day, but we start too far back for it to really be a factor. As a team, we really have to focus on getting a better qualifying position and starting up front."

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