Race No. 19

Marlboro 500
Presented by Toyota
California Speedway — Fontana, California
October 30 - November 1, 1998

1997 Pole Winner: Mauricio Gugelmin 1997 Race Winner: Mark Blundell 1997 SpeedCenter Report   Fontana Weather Don't Lead the Wrong Lap By Peter Burke This weekend, the FedEx Championship Series will race at the California Speedway, the fastest race trackon the planet. Alright - so we are slowing down the cars with that nifty plate usually referred to as the Hanford Device. How much will they slow down? The banking is not as steep at Fontana as it is at Michigan, but thatdidn't stop Big Mo from running 240+ last season. Does the lack of downforce reduce speed more on lesser banked turns or is it all a matter of tire traction on good pavement? We will find out in a few days. The qualifying doesn't seem to be thatimportant though, as passing will be a no-brainer if you have a decent race car on Sunday. Watch for some sly pros to set up the car for race conditions all weekend, planning to move forward during the race, rather than to waste much time on a super fast trimmed-out qualifying car they might throw into the (painful) walls. In case somebody does try ot go for the record - this is what Mauricio Gugelmin has to tell them about his run last year" "When I go out to qualify at a superspeedway, I clean everything from my mind, glue my foot to the floor, and steer it. The key is to get the car as free as possible and to be comfortable. Otherwise, you can't use what's there. Inside the car, you're on a different planet. The way you approach the corners at those speeds makes the corners look very tight. You don't even want to turn the wheel; you just want to lean the car. Everything around you is very fast, but inside that little office every tiny movement is divided into 100 parts. You hear that Mercedes engine screaming at a constant note all the way around, and that's when you know you've got it. I still recall that lap, and I'll remember the feeling I had when the dash said '240' for the rest of my life." Is anyone up for this with a big old plate of carbon fiber stuck behind them? Probably not. But we should still see laps around230 to 235mph in qualifying. Probably too fast to consider the device sufficient to protect drivers from devastating accidents.The risk is still there. Drivers don't really 'like' these race tracks. None of them 'love them' because they can hurt you. What's at stake on Sunday? A million bucks for the winner will let them all forget about risk. Then there's that race for second place. Franchitti looks like he has it almost wrapped up, but if Adrian Fernandez has not forgotten how to get hiscar to run fast on a super speedway, Dario will have to score some points. Then there's Jimmy Vasser - he almost won there last year and he could do it again. If Dario doesn't finish well, he'll get second place in the championship, and a race paycheck as big as the entire season bonus payoff his teammate is collecting. We can expect yet another race with more lead changes than anyone will be able to remember (isn't that terrible? well - NASCAR's ratings suggest people view lead changes as something exciting, that should be repeated as often as possible to keep the crowd interested). The key to winning will be the last lead change on Sunday, and where exactly on the track it willhappen. Nobody should be able to run away from the lead pack. It should be keeping Varsha and Sullivan busy reportingwhat's actually going on.