Race No. 16
Honda Grand Prix of Monterey
featuring the Texaco/Havoline 300
Lagnua Seca Raceway
Monterey, CaliforniaSeptember 11-13, 1998
| 1996 Pole Winner: Alex Zanardi 1997 Pole Winner: Bryan Herta 1996 Race Winner: Alex Zanardi 1997 Race Winner: Jimmy Vasser 1996 SpeedCenter Report 1997 SpeedCenter Report |  |
Herta's Weekend? Definitely a Silly Season Weekend
Bryan Herta has always been fast at Laguna Seca. He was closer than ever to winning in 1996, when a hungry Alex Zanardistole the show with that now famous last lap pass in the Corkscrew turns. This season, Bryan has been fastest in testing just beforethe teams went to Vancouver, and his rival of '96 and '97 has the championship wrapped upand nothing to gain from fighting to the limit.
But backing off is not Alex Zanardi's style. He'll make it as hard as any day for Bryan Herta or any of the other driversto win this race. Dario Franchitti is currently on a roll - two wins in a row and convincingly fast at bothevents. Will Dario make it a hat trick? In '97, Laguna was his last race for Hogan, and although he won the Bud AcceleratorAward in qualifying, he really wasn't up the the pace of the front runners. Will he find the setup this year
The remaining fight of the season is that for the Championship runner-up spot. At Vancouver, all the contenders either crashedout of the race or had problems that kept them from scoring. Franchitti and Andretti made up ground, creating a really tightrace for second place in the championship. Jimmy Vasser, Adrian Fernandez, Greg Moore, Dario Franchitti, Michael Andretti and Scott Pruett all are in a position to finish the season behind Alex Zanardi. Laguna Seca is one of only 4 remaining events for them to define the final ranking.
Silly season is still in full swing, with top seats available, possible new seats becoming available, and many driversshopping for a new ride. Watch for drivers trying to advertise their talents to prospective employers this weekend. Drivers like Michel Jourdain Jr. are looking for one of the more competitive seats in the series and will have to underline their skillswith a strong showing at Laguna Seca. The next race is in a month, and by then much of the driver shuffle will have been finalized.
Updates of results this weekend will be slow at best - our usual backup person is unavailable and I don't know whatkind of space I will have in the tiny Laguna Seca media center. Worst case - check for numbers at www.omagetiming.com; they are faster thanwe are anyway.