Race No. 1
Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami
Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex — Homestead, Florida
March 19-21, 1999
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The Last Season of the Millenium Kicks Off
The winter break is finally over. The testing is over. On Sunday, the field of the 1999 FedEx ChampionshipSeries will get the green flag for the first points race of the season.
With the '98 champion racing in Formula 1, the chase for the PPG cup suddenly seems more competitive than it has been for many seasons. Several drivers are mentioned as favorites for the cup preceding this first race of the 20 race season.
Some contenders will arrive at Homestead with new or changed packages. Much attention will be paid to how well theSwifts will do in the hands of teams who elected to race these cars in the opening race, especially compared tothose teams who may run Reynards while leaving their Swifts as backup cars in the garage.
The tire war continues, although on a different note. Goodyear is down to 5 cars. The most significantdeparture from Goodyear was Newman/Haas Racing who switched to Firestone after Spring Training. Will Andretti finally be able to put a winning season together?
And what about Penske, running just one car with Al Unser Jr. on Goodyear tires? The team is under a lot ofpressure to perform, and testing results have been impressive.
Apart from all these questions, most fans will follow the predicted battle of last season's top points finishers, Jimmy Vasser, Greg Moore, and Dario Franchitti. These three drivers comprise the core of this season's titlecontenders. Maybe Andretti will have to be added to this list, especially since he tends to win a lot at Homestead...
The race starts at 2pm Eastern, but ABC will broadcast it tape delayed at 4pm Eastern. Canada will see it live, with coverage on TSN starting at 1:30pm Eastern.
Quotes before the race:
Gil de Ferran
"I always get excited at the startof a new season. The day I don't get excited, I think I should stop racing. However, this year, Idid something that I haven't done for a long time.
"Obviously, we had a very wearing season last year (12th in points), so Ibasically did very little in terms of driving in November and December. I hada lot of time to unwind. I had a very good off-season in many ways. The effectthat's had on me has been remarkable. I have a new pool of energy and am veryexcited to start racing.
"The testing has been going very well. There have been some changes inthe team (additional crew to support new teammate Naoki Hattori) and that hasbeen for the better. I start in a very positive frame-of-mind."
"It [having a teammate] doesn't change at all the way I go about my business, the way Igo through my race weekends, and my testing. What sometimes is beneficial isyou have a little more (technical) information that might be helpful. Itdoesn't really impact on me as a driver. I think it is good for the teambecause there are more heads there, and when you have more heads, that canmean better ideas."
Naoki Hattori
"I am really looking forward to racing the champ car at my first race of theCART series. It is still hard for me to imagine how the distance would belike with racing the champ car and with the high intensity of the CART seriessince I raced in the Indy Lights last two years. However, I am ready to showmy best performance to my fans. Also, I really would like to finish well mydebut race in the CART series."
"I like the race track in Homestead. Last two years of my experience with theIndy Lights series will definitely help me race the champ car at this track.Throughout car tests, we are getting good feelings about set-ups for our cars,and I am getting very comfortable racing my car. I am also excited aboutracing the Champ car with Honda engine. This is going to be my first time torace Honda's car in the States. Over all, I believe that I have goodpossibility to get a decent result at this race."
Tony Kanaan
"I am starting to get excited realizing that everything is about to getunderway. Our pre-season testing has gone very well, and for sure I ammuch more prepared this year than last year. I believe we can do verywell.
"Six of our first seven races are on ovals. If you want to becompetitive in Champ Cars, you have to be good on the ovals. By the endof last year, I started to like the ovals more. I had a better car, Icould understand more and I had more experience. The ovals do notscare me the way they did in the past. We have been doing more testingand I have more confidence. McDonald's has given us a big flag to fly,and Miami is like my hometown now. This is a big weekend and hopefullyit will be a good one."
Dario Franchitti
"Points pave the way to a championship and that's my goal with Team KOOLGreen in 1999. Of course, first place pays the most points so I'll be aimingfor the top of the podium in Miami and every other race. But I must not losesight of the need to be consistent over the course of the season. It's abalancing act between being aggressive and using your head. I'm confidentthat I can combine the two for maximum benefit.
"As for the season-opener, the KOOL car is handling well in testing and isgetting closer to where I want it for the race. You can never be certain what will happen, but I would peg last year's race winner Michael Andretti as thefavorite. He has also won back-to-back at Homestead, but I believe Team KOOLGreen can spoil the three-peat."
Raul Boesel
"I understand my role completely as a substitute driver for Paul Tracy,but that doesn't mean I won't be out there looking to win the race. We hadseveral very productive test days at Homestead and I was eighth fastest atSpring Training in February. Team KOOL Green's engineers have told me thatthey are very happy with my feedback on the handling of the car. The combinationof a fast car and championship-winning team definitely has me thinking about the podium."
Paul Tracy
"It's going to be tough for me to be around the Team KOOL Greentrailer and garage area on the weekend and not be the guy climbinginto the car. I'll be on hand however, lending my support to Raul,Dario and the team any way I can. I've learned a lot about the Homesteadoval in my own testing and preparation for the next race at Motegi inJapan. I'm sure I can be a resource if the team needs my input. Eventhough I'm not racing, my job is to help Team KOOL Green win races."