Race No. 1
Malrboro Grand Prix of Miami
Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex — Homestead, Florida
March 13-15, 1998
Saturday Quotes from Homestead: | Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Qualified: 3rd |
| JIMMY VASSER | |
| All in all I was really pleased with the balance of the car. It was really close, the best we've been all weekend. We're coming up with something a little better for tomorrow, and hopefully that will give us a chance to win it. | |
 | Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes-Benz Qualified: 1st |
| GREG MOORE | |
| We knew there was a low 25 or a high 24 (second lap) in the car. I never thought we would go four-tenths (of a second) quicker than we've ever gone here before, though.
The car was very smooth. There was a little understeer, but it was fine. I expected the speeds would be close to those speeds. With this new track configuration, I think you'll see a better race. We can run side-by-side, and you can pass on the outside. We still have 225 miles to go Sunday. We've been struggling all weekend to be consistent. We didn't get as much track time this weekend as we would like, but it all turned out all right. | |
 | Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford Qualified: 8th |
| MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| I think we have a better race car than we do a qualifying car. Just because you don't get the pole doesn't mean you're out of it. We showed that last year. The best thing I can say, is that we don't have any holes in the package. I feel good about everything at this point. But, ya, I wanted that pole. | |
 | Marlboro Penske Mercedes Qualified: 14th |
| AL UNSER, Jr. | |
| This car has got all the potential in the world, and we still have more power. This past three to four weeks we have been able to work on the car a great deal. We've run race distances, and we've been happy with the reliability. Now we just need to make the car handle real good. | |
 | Marlboro Penske Mercedes Qualified: 2nd |
| ANDRE RIBEIRO | |
| Al came up to me right after his run, and he gave me some very good advice. He gave me a little adjustment to make. That shows the attitude of this team. It shows what teamwork is all about. We will show the potential of this car. That was a great run for us. That run proves the potential of this new car. The car is improving every time we go out on the track. We've gotten faster every time out. We were able to find something in the last practice session, and it was the same in qualifying. That made a difference too. | |
 | Visteon Reynard Ford Qualified: 12th |
| SCOTT PRUETT | |
| Well, we could have done better, obviously but now we just have to turn our attention to the race. We think we know where the car will perform best. Unfortunately the proof came in qualifying when we didn't quite hit the mark with what we tried. I'm not sure yet, (about not being able to pass). We would have said that last year as well, but traffic plays such a big part of it that we don't know what to expect. When we get out there, I think there is going to be a lot of passing. There is about a lane and a half. About midway through the race the second passing lane should develop. | |
 | PacWest Motorola Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 7th |
| MARK BLUNDELL | |
| Yesterday we ran weak, and this morning we ran weak. We went to qualifying with a car with a problem. I didn't know what kind of car I had under me. There is probably a little more speed left for us to find. On paper, it would make sense that the ‘98 package (IC108E) would be better than the 97 package. But points are valuable, and the ‘97 package is better for us right now when you're running for points. This is the race car we had last year, so I know we've got a good race car. It's like putting on a well-worn glove, you know how it is going to feel. | |
 | Budweiser/Ralph's Della Penna Racing Swift Ford Qualified: 15th |
| RICHIE HEARN | |
| This qualifying speed is the fastest we've gone in the car, so I'm happy with that. I think because so many people have tested here to get ready for this race that the field is going to be really tight up front. Our biggest problem is that we got everything late. We came down here couple of times and it was rainy or windy where we couldn't run. So we're behind in our testing a bit, and here that makes a big difference. A tenth of a second is the difference between five or six positions. But the easy part is done. The racing is what they pay for. | |
 | Kmart/Texaco Havoline Swift Ford Newman/Haas Racing Qualified: 4th |
| CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI | |
| I'm pretty pleased. I had a touch too much understeer. If I had managed to kill the understeer a little bit we could have run better. I'm happy. I think the team is a lot more solid than last year. I think what is reassuring is that we've been up there at the top all weekend. When the weekend starts like that, you hope it can finish better. We will be tough in the race tomorrow. | |
 | Herdez Competition Payton/Coyne Lola Ford Cosworth Qualified: 19th |
| MICHEL JOURDAIN | |
| The car has a huge a push, but it is on the safe side. Yesterday it was very loose. The crash we had in testing two weeks ago really hurt us. This car is the same one which was repaired. I think if we can have a clean race with no mistakes that we can finish in the points. It's the first race, and the first part of the season is going to be the toughest for us. I think people may expect more than what we've shown this weekend so far, because we finished so well last year. But those are different tracks. As a team, we need to test more on short ovals. That is what we are really missing. But after the first two or three races into the season we should be ready to run up front. | |
 | Baan Software Lola Ford Davis Racing Qualified: 28th |
| ARND MEIER | |
| We don't necessarily have the speed, but we are making big steps forward every time out. This is my first time in the car as we had no testing. The Lola chassis is getting better and better every time our engineers try something, so that is very encouraging. We just need some time to sort it out and hit the fast times. Being only my second day with the car, I'm fairly happy. | |
 | Shell Reynard Ford Team Rahal Qualified: 16th |
| BRYAN HERTA | |
| I'm a bit disappointed. We had a tough morning. We blew up the engine this morning in this car, changed to the other car and really didn't get any running in this one. I guess it's catching up with us a little bit. The car was pretty good, but had a bit of understeer through the corner. It's just so close here that if you give up a tenth or two, you might as well forget the pole. | |
 | Tecate Beer/Quaker State Patrick Racing Reynard Ford Qualified: 5th |
| ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | |
| I like the rule establishing qualifying order from the practice times. You know where you are and what you have to beat. You know where you push the throttle on the track and I knew where I had to try and get more. In the beginning I thought I had the car to get the pole. The car was neutral and felt nice. But then on my flying lap, I pushed very hard into Turn 1, I entered very fast and it didn't hold. I think that overheated the tires a bit. I knew what I needed to beat Greg, so I tried different lines and to run inside the curves, but I couldn't quite get him. The Ford engine just worked beautifully all weekend, so hopefully we have the reliability to do well in the race. We gave our selves a shot at the pole, and we've done nothing to hurt our chances at winning the race. This is a good start while still learning with the team. | |
| Bettenhausen Racing Alumax Aluminium Reynard Mercedes-Benz Qualified: 22nd | |
| HELIO CASTRO-NEVES | |
| Today was a little tough. Fortunately my back and my head are perfect. This morning I had a little trouble with my knee, and I was a little concerned. It turned out fine. Emerson (Fittipaldi) told me that it's important to finish the race and not to try anything hard in qualifying. There is a lot of time left in the season, and my goal is to improve at each race. I learned a lot this weekend. Thank God I'll be able to race. | |
 | Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes-Benz Qualified: 9th |
| PATRICK CARPENTIER | |
| The first two laps the car was okay. Then it just went into a big push. I think the air density changed, and it had an effect on the front wings. We know what the problem was. I think if we went right back out after that run, we would be very good. Our team can get together and apply some of Greg's setup to my car, and we will be very good. | |
 | Miller Lite Reynard Ford Team Rahal Qualified: 17th |
| BOBBY RAHAL | |
| Well I hope tomorrow goes better than today. The car felt really good this morning, but this afternoon it just really pushed a lot. This type of qualifying (result) is just enough to kill all the momentum you've got. It's disappointing, but it's a long race. We didn't get the stagger we've been running from the tires. Passing will be possible. People will get handling. Some will handle better than others, but the groove will widen out. | |
 | Hollywood Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 10th |
| MAURICIO GUGELMIN | |
| We've got a great package that ran well last year. We are not even close to getting everything out of it. The qualifying lap wasn't our best. The car had a lot of push in it. It's tough to run here. There are a lot of games you can play. You can run a higher groove and get a lot of passing. | |