Race No. 10

Texaco Havoline 200
Elkhart Lake's Road America
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin July 9 - 11, 1999

SpeedCenter Rearview Mirror: 1996 Pole Winner: Alex Zanardi 1997 Pole Winner: Mauricio Gugelmin 1998 Pole Winner: Michael Andretti 1996 Race Winner: Michael Andretti 1997 Race Winner: Alex Zanardi 1998 Race Winner: Dario Franchitti 1996 SpeedCenter Report 1997 SpeedCenter Report 1998 SpeedCenter Report Regional Weather

Mid Season 3-Weekend Marathon Begins at Road America

By Greg Spotts

Rather than taking a Baseball-style mid-season break, the Fedex Championship Series picks up steam with races number 10-12 scheduled on consecutive weekends. In less than twenty days, we'll know a whole lot more about the remaining contenders for the championship, and the "silly season" will have begun in earnest. The next three Sundays feature remarkably different tracks: a Formula One style four-mile oval at Elkhart Lake, a temporary street circuit in Toronto, and the first superspeedway race of the season at Michigan. It will take a highly disciplined effort for any team to do well at all three tracks without any time off to regroup in the home garage.

This weekend's race takes place at Road America, a fourteen-turn country lane through 525 wooded acres that is the longest track on the CART circuit. The variety of corners requires a carefully set-up car capable of operating between 65-145 mph in the twisty bits and 185-190 on the straights. Fuel strategy becomes extra important on a track where each lap takes over four miles, so expect at least one driver to run out of gas before the race is over.

Driver concentration and discipline is a key factor on such a long track, which makes points-leaders Juan Montoya, Gil de Ferran and Dario Franchitti obvious favorites. Each has shown an ability to drive consistently and accurately at the limit, staying motivated for extended race segments even when out-of-contact with a battle for position. Michael Andretti holds the track record having won the pole last year, and needs to finish ahead of the aforementioned Honda pilots in order to stay within striking distance of the championship. Greg Moore, Adrian Fernandez, and Michael's teammate Christian Fittipaldi will be feeling the same pressure to keep near the points-leaders, knowing that any miscue could take them out of the running for the PPG cup.

There are fourteen active drivers who have won in CART and only twelve guaranteed slots in the Hawaiian Super Prix. Robby Gordon, Scott Pruett, Mauricio Gugelmin and Bryan Herta have no shot at the Championship but are in desperate need of points in order to make the big show. No matter what their situation, all the drivers and teams would hate to waste their last opportunity for a good showing prior to Speedcenter's mid-season report card, which will be issued shortly after this weekend's race.

Pre Race Quotes:

	Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes
GREG MOORE
We've had our share of ups and downs at Road America but I always look forward to racing there because it's such a unique track that is both physically and mentally demanding. It's a big challenge for the car, the driver and the entire crew but the Player's team is well-prepared to handle the test and I think we'll be able to do well at Elkhart Lake. We placed a lot of emphasis on road courses in our off-season testing program and I think that will help us improve our performance on the Road America track.

	Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford
MICHAEL ANDRETTI
It's always better going to the next race after finishing on the podium at the last one. It would be even better going to the next race leading the championship and we're working on that. It was good to gain some ground in the point standings after not scoring points in a couple of races." (On his 1998 pole at Road America) "After such a long dry spell, it was great to finally win a pole. To do it at Road America made it even better because it's the Texaco/Havoline 200. The series is so competitive now that you really need to win the pole, not only for the extra point toward the championship, but also to gain valuable track position. Back-to-back poles here would be a great start to the weekend. We had a pretty good test at Road America recently and learned a lot of new things. We are always looking for new ways to optimize our Ford-Swift-Firestone package and learn more about the tires. After years of competing here, we are starting with a new race package so we needed to gather some new data in order to be competitive.

	Marlboro Lola Mercedes
AL UNSER, Jr.
I love Road America as a track and I love driving it. It demands a lot of respect and it's one of the tracks where I really want to score a victory. Road America has broken my leg and it's broken my heart all the way back to my Can-Am days. I'm looking forward to racing in Wisconsin this weekend. We're continuing to learn more about the Marlboro Mercedes Lola and it was great to bring the Marlboro car home in the top five in Cleveland, especially given it was only our second road-course race with the Lola chassis. Now that we've got some momentum behind us, we need to keep giving it our all and finish in the points.

	Kmart/Texaco Havoline Newman/Haas Racing Swift Ford
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI
We started the season with consistent points finishes and have dropped off a little in the past few races. Overall, we are much stronger this season. I always look forward to the Texaco/Havoline 200 because we have run strong there. I seem to like the track better than it likes me. It's one of the most challenging tracks we race on because you have to drive a perfect lap because it is four miles long. It is definitely a challenge to put together a perfect lap for four miles. It was good to be on the podium again when we finished third last year. It's had been too long. The finish motivated the entire team after such an unbelievable season. I had a big scare the morning of the race when my neck began to hurt after five laps in the warm-up. It couldn't turn my head without unbelievable pain so I went to the Medical Unit to see the doctors. I took an Advil and they worked on my neck. About 40 minutes before the race, they gave me a shot for the pain. Honestly, after the second pace lap before the race, I thought I couldn't make it to the third because of the pain and because I couldn't turn my neck. The race ended well and started a roll of good finishes. Michael had a good test here so both of us are really looking forward to racing here.

	Miller Lite Team Rahal Reynard Ford
MAX PAPIS
The first half of the season has been a series of ups and downs for us, as I have adjusted to a new car and a new team. The chemistry of our team is continuing to develop and that is a process that you can't rush. Each week I feel like we are getting closer to that breakthrough moment when we are going to win. Everybody associated with the team is working hard towards that end." [On his memories of Road America] Elkhart Lake is a very special place for me to race. I picked up my first Champ Car points there in 1996. The course at Road America is fast and good for racing and it challenges the driver to be a real man behind the wheel.

	Shell Team Rahal Reynard Ford
BRYAN HERTA
I love the track at Elkhart Lake. Road America is a real driver's circuit. It is the most challenging road course that we will drive this season. It is long and fast and there are so many corners that it is a difficult track to drive. It is for those very reasons that I love the course, because it is a real challenge to me personally.

	Team Kool Green Reynard Honda
DARIO FRANCHITTI
I love driving the Elkhart Lake track. Whatever the outcome of the race, it's guaranteed to be an enjoyable weekend just for the sheer pleasure of driving at Road America. But, of course, Team KOOL Green is there to win and that's what we want to do. You have to get everything right to win at Elkhart Lake: a fast, reliable car; good fuel mileage; good pit strategy and, of course, you must drive a mistake-free race. As a driver you have to be on the very top of your game. You have to get the most out of your car on ever turn of every lap and be prepared to go for it. I'm confident that Team KOOL Green can do the job. The team's record speaks for itself: two wins and two poles with Jacques Villeneuve [the first as Forsythe-Green Racing], plus our win last year. So we'll be looking to repeat Jacques' back-to-back success of '94 and '95 this year. If we do, I'll see you at Siebken's [a local watering hole] on Sunday evening.

	Team Kool Green Reynard Honda
PAUL TRACY
I'd love to sweep the Wisconsin Champ Car races. My wife, Lisa, is from Crivitz [Wis.], so I'm already an honorary cheesehead. Maybe winning at Milwaukee and Road America in the same year would make it official. I've always gone pretty well at Milwaukee and Road America. I've led every race I've ever run at Milwaukee and I've had some success at Road America as well. I'll never forget when they had to take the timing to four decimal points in 1992 to figure out whether Emerson Fittipaldi or I got the pole. For the record, I did. This year's win at Milwaukee was huge, for me personally but also for the guys on my side of Team KOOL Green. We had a tough season in 1998 but this year we've been competitive almost every weekend. It was just a matter of keeping our heads down, believing in ourselves and in what we were doing, and just staying consistent. Really, that's the way we'll approach Road America. Tony Cicale has been working as my race engineer and he's had a lot of success at Road America, so I'm sure we'll be competitive. Then it's just a matter of maintaining a consistent level of performance and driving a smart race.

	McDonald's Forsythe Championship Racing Team Reynard Honda
TONY KANAAN
The track is fantastic. I love it. We finished fourth here last year and when you do well on a track, you always like it and look forward to going back. I have no predictions for the weekend, but I hope I can do well. It's time to turn our luck around. It's been a tough year for us, but we never lose hope. We need to get rid of this 'sophomore jinx'.

	Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Walker Racing Reynard Honda
GIL de FERRAN
Road America is my favorite track. It's a challenging track in many ways and very varied. It's got slow-speed turns, medium-speed turns, and high-speed turns. You go uphill and downhill. The track has a nice 'flow' to it. It's hard to explain exactly what 'flow' is, but you keep momentum going all the way through the lap, even though there are some slow turns. It's what I call an old-fashioned racetrack. There's not many tracks like Road America anymore. Spa [Belgium] may be the only other one.

	Hogan Racing Reynard Mercedes
HELIO CASTRO-NEVES
It's really fast and long but not too tough on the drivers. The track has these really long straights that give you a chance to relax a little bit. You're not all the time thrashing in the cockpit and making adjustments and shifting like you would on a street circuit or a shorter road course. Elkhart is unique in its park setting. It's a really pretty ride around the track. It's almost like driving through a park! As much as it is pretty, it's still a very technical drive. The trickiest part of the set-up is getting the car to work well through the kink. That's where you can lose a lot of time if you don't have the car working just right. You need to run low down force to get the speed on the straights, but then you also need to get a good balance to make it through the kink.

	Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes
PATRICK CARPENTIER
Elkhart Lake was where Jacques Villeneuve won his first CART series race as a member of the Player's team (in 1994) and I managed to win an Atlantic series race there [in 1996], so we do have some history of success at Road America. I hope it will continue this year. We're really encouraged by the progress we've made on road courses so far this season, both in qualifying and the races themselves. We're going to Elkhart Lake with two top-10 finishes in a row on road courses and that's provided us with some momentum for one of the toughest courses on the CART circuit.

	Hollywood Reynard Mercedes
MAURICIO GUGELMIN
We normally run pretty well at Elkhart and I think this year will be no exception. We learned a lot at our Mid-Ohio test last week that will be helpful at Road America, too. It's always a tough race, but it's probably the best track that we go to. The circuit is very demanding. There's a great combination of turns and a lot of heavy braking, which I really enjoy. Because we run low downforce, the car isn't that stable through the corners. You're fast but sliding around a bit, and it's fun to really hang it out there. It's also a great time of year to go to Elkhart Lake because they have some of the best corn I've ever tasted!

	Denso AAR Racing Eagle Toyota
GUALTER SALLES
I think that for all the drivers, Elkhart Lake is the most enjoyable track to drive because of the long laps and all of the fast corners around there. Personally, it is the track that I enjoy driving most. The set-up for the track is a particular one where the car can run pretty steep there, it's not bumpy at all but very smooth so we can run the car quite low. It's a pretty good track - hopefully, we will have a good set-up to start with and build from there. I haven't tested there but the team has, with Alex [Barron]. Goodyear is doing a good job; the tires are getting more competitive all the time and I'm sure they'll be even better by then. I raced well at Elkhart in the past, qualifying 12th in 1997, so I'm hoping to repeat that and give a good result for [team owner] Dan [Gurney] and All American Racers.