Race No. 15
Molson Indy Vancouver
Vancouver, CanadaSeptember 4-6, 1998
Raceday Quotes from Vancouver: | Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
| ALEX ZANARDI | |
| When you do this job and compete at this level, it's important to listen to what people have to say. But you cannot worry about people's opinions about what you should or shouldn't do. It's important to me to do my job. I'm not going to Laguna just to have fun and celebrate, I'm going there to win the race, because I know I have a great race car and a great team behind me. I had a slight feeling [during the race about clinching the championship], but Chip [Ganassi] waited until there were three or four laps to go to tell me. [Regarding next year's plans] The important thing for me is to finish this season well and once things have been decided, it will be up to my employer to decide the strategy of how that will be announced. This is a great feeling and it actually comes at a beautiful period of my life. My wife is expecting - it could happen any day - and I want to dedicate this one to my kid, who maybe in the next few days will be starting the race of life. | |
 | Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford |
| MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| It was a fuel consumption race, although it didn't start out that way. It turned out because of the way the yellows [flags] fell. I was being told to really conserve fuel and keep Dario behind me, and I said, 'Yeah, right. How do you do that?' He [Franchitti] got the word and perked up, and I didn't. Maybe it had to do with the fact that they didn't want to make a call about how many laps were left because of the two-hour time limit. I'm really disappointed. I went in [Turn 1] trying to protect my line a little bit. It had to do with me trying to conserve fuel, because that was one of the areas where I was trying to conserve, and he got a run on me. Alex [Zanardi] winning the championship is not a reflection of how competitive it is [in the series]. He was able to make the misfortune of others and turn it into good fortune for himself, which is how championships are won. | |
 | Miller Lite Team Rahal Reynard Ford |
| BOBBY RAHAL | |
| I was running hardbehind Mike (Andretti) and the car was very good. I startedhearing things back by the pop-off valve and whenever it startsthat, it's not a good sign. So I got out of it for a second andwhen I got back in it started banging. I am sorry we could nothave gotten to the end. We have had great reliability all year,it's just a shame. | |
 | Shell Team Rahal Reynard Ford |
| BRYAN HERTA | |
| There was nothing I could do. I amdisappointed in Richie (Hearn) because he just ran into theback of me and we broke the left rear suspension (tie-rod). Iwas trying to give him a little room so he could back out of it,but obviously he punted me into the tires. I certainly hopeCART is going to look at (the incident) and take theappropriate actions. | |
 | Budweiser/Ralph's Della Penna Racing Swift Ford |
| RICHIE HEARN | |
| I thought Ihad a shot at passing Scott (Pruett) and he closed the door onme and I locked up the rear end and spun out. It's my fault.The Budweiser car was working good. We kept moving up allafternoon. What can you say? I was trying hard and I made amistake. | |
 | Kmart/Texaco Havoline Newman/Haas Racing Swift Ford |
| CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI | |
| This was a very hardrace to overtake on. We were doing well until the accident byP.J. (Jones). Hearn hit me from behind and I spun during theincident and by the time I got going again I was a lap down. Iwas hanging on to Gil (de Ferran) prior to the incident so wewould have had a solid top-five. But it didn't work out thatway. | |
 | Visteon Reynard Ford |
| SCOTT PRUETT | |
| Today was a fuel mileage race. Races were won and lost in the pits, and the Visteon team did a great job for me today. It was up to the drivers to set your own pace and conserve as much fuel as possible. Michael and I pitted early, or at least earlier than most, and fortunately, the race came back to us. | |
 | LCI International Tasman Motorsports Group LCI Reynard Honda |
| TONY KANAAN | |
| The race was pretty good. We had very good pit stops and we were good(with fuel) until the end. The car was awesome. I know I could have passed(Scott) Pruett. I was putting a little bit of pressure on him, but I waswaiting for the right moment to make a move. Paul (Tracy) was behind me.He bumped me before the restart and he bumped me again after that. I don'tthink it's fair but sometimes that's the way it is. He did it and he shouldpay for it. I'm not going to get him back because I am better than that. | |
 | Team Kool Green Reynard Honda |
| DARIO FRANCHITTI | |
| The biggest worry the whole day was some smoke in the cockpit starting about 20 laps into the race. I could smell smoke, but I thought it wasn't me, it must be someone else. But when I stopped under the yellow, there was smoke everywhere. However, it never got any worse and didn't cause a problem. After the last pit stop, I had to deal with traffic and more yellows, which obviously helped Michael (Andretti) and his fuel strategy. I was thinking 'come on give me a break here' because I didn't think I could get past him. So, I just shadowed him, running as quick as I could. From the last yellow to the end of the race I was running the maximum fuel mixture. I tried to pass once, but it really wasn't on. Then I managed to get a better run on him off the last corner into the straight. I got alongside and that was it. I wasn't sure of the win there at the end when I was behind Michael. I was looking all the time for a way to pass. The brake pedal was going long again and was worrying me. But, then when I passed Michael I thought 'All right!' It's a great feeling to win two in a row and to win on a street course after being so close. It was a great feeling. The Team KOOL Green guys kind of beat me up when I came into the victory circle. They're big guys and they were hitting me pretty hard - they were a bit happy! | |
 | Team Kool Green Reynard Honda |
| PAUL TRACY | |
| The whole thing was caused when Pruett slowed suddenly. I didn't intentionally try to take Tony (Kanaan) out. He's a good driver and I'm sorry I cause his race to end. I'm disappointed we got 11th place when we should have been on the podium. The car was great. We had one of the fastest cars out there. | |
 | Castrol/Degree AAR Racing Reynard Toyota |
| ALEX BARRON | |
| It was hard to believe, it was the most unpredictable weekend of my career. We were competitive from the start and actually had a chance to win. Too bad it had to end that way! | |
 | Tecate Beer/Quaker State Patrick Racing Reynard Ford |
| ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | |
| It was a very frustrating day. Something came off thesuspension at the start of the race and I had to come into thepit to put it back but by the time I got back out were downtwo-laps. After that it was just a matter of people falling out.We were never going to make up that many laps. We justwere hanging on there and trying to learn a little about the car. | |
 | Baan Software Davis Racing Lola Ford |
| ARND MEIER | |
| I had too much understeer in the car and when I tried to turn the corner, Ididn't quite make it and damaged the suspension. It's quite disappointingbecause I felt we had a great chance to score points today. | |
 | Castrol/Degree AAR Racing Reynard Toyota |
| P.J. JONES | |
| This was not the way I wanted to end my career with All American Racers. I've raced with Dan for seven years and I'm glad to see a new Eagle at the front again. I wish Dan and the entire team all the luck in the future. | |
 | Team Kool Green Team manager |
| BARRY GREEN | |
| [On Dario Franchitti]: The yellows made it a really tough race. And it was really good to see him out there battling and driving as well as he did. We had great pit stops from the boys and a fantastic drive by Dario. [On Paul Tracy]I understand there's a new black flag rule that a driver can be called into the pits for a safety inspection if he makes contact with another car. But viewing Paul's car from the pits, we thought it was obvious the car was fine. He was turning the fastest laps out there when he was called in. | |
 | Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Team Owner |
| CHIP GANASSI | |
| I've been blessed to have good partners and good employees and good people to help accomplish this. Believe me, no one person wins championships. I've been blessed to work with good people from the top down. I'm just the guy who's been able to put the ingredients together and then sit back and watch the pie bake. The kind of team I want to put out there is the kind of team I'd want to drive for and that's what I've been fortunate enough to do thanks to the people I have surrounding me. I told Alex with five laps to go, 'You're in fourth place. You can stay where you are and win the championship, or you can go for it. And do you know what he said? 'We're going for it.' That, as much as anything, is why he's here today. | |