Race No. 12
US 500
Presented by Toyota
Michigan Speedway — Brooklyn, Michigan
July 23-25, 1999
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The Best Race of the Year
500 miles as imagined in the mind of Tony Kanaan
By Greg Spotts
© 1999 SpeedCenter
Riding to my pit on a McDonalds scooter: Feeling rested. Treated myself like a winner and slept at the track in a rented motorhome for the first time, just like Greg Moore, Al Unser jr, and Paul Tracy. (Of course Paul has a tricked-out custom house-on-wheels, but you've got to start somewhere, right?) Fellow Brazilian and Lights champion Cristiano da Matta was my roommate this weekend.
It's gonna be a long race today. I've got to be patient and stay focused. The Handford Device makes for a lot of meaningless overtaking. Steve Horne keeps telling me that the key to winning a 500 mile race is staying on the lead lap and conserving your car for the final two segments.
In the car, awaiting the command to start engines: I'm on the inside of the sixth row, P11. Once again, I was outqualified by my more experienced Honda competitors Jimmy, Juan, Paul and Dario. I'm starting ahead of Gil but that might have to do with the Goodyears. I'm one of the most liked guys in the paddock, but any driver would jump at the chance to get my Honda-Reynard-Firestone ride, especially with McDonald's sponsorship. I've always felt more comfortable on road courses, but I need points today, and a good showing for my sponsor.
Parade laps: Preflight check. Weight jacker, fuel mixture, brake balance... I've got to be in tune with the car as it changes, because on-the-fly adjustments are everything in such a long and demanding race. Cristiano's in front of me and to my left. I was teasing him all night in the motorhome about passing him on the first lap. There's a grain of truth in all jokes, 'cause I am going to pass him on the first lap.
Start: Coming through T4, gradually accelerating with the pack. I've visualized going inside at the jump. Here we go - no. Waved off. I hate that. Oh well, one more chance to bring the tires up to temp. Coming around again, "Green Green Green" over the radio. Inside line looks good. Bye Bye Cristiano! Got Dario and Herta too. "P8" they say. Now I want Pruett. Honda beats Toyota any day of the week. Yes! Got him on lap 2. P7 now, behind Tracy.
Lap 10: Settled into P7. Getting a feel for the car in traffic. Radio's out. I can hear them, but they can't hear me. 490 laps ahead with no radio, great! How am I going to be able to tell them the adjustments I want at each pit stop? They want me to wave my hand at the start finish line to signal that I've received each message. Like I'm not busy in here or anything.
Lap 17: Blue in my mirrors. Coming up fast. Damn. Cristiano got me back. I must have brewed his coffee too strong this morning. Big cluster of cars up ahead, probably at least one backbencher. It's Vitolo. I'm going low. Sweet! I left Cristiano behind up high. Good friend, but such a rookie. Oh man, Cristiano and Unser double-teamed me. Getting passed by two guys at once is the worst. Who's the rookie now? P9, behind Unser. Good to see him in the mix for a change. But I've got to move up.
Lap 25: Tracy stuck behind Moreno on the high line. Unser uses Moreno as a pick and sneaks past on the inside. Follow the veteran past Tracy? It worked! Paul will be gunning for me any minute now. Coming up on Robby up high. Tracy's stuck behind the slower car again. I'm following Al down low, just like last time. Whoa, we're three wide- me, Tracy, Gordon. Tracy's got a run on me and goes by on the outside. Looks like he's going to get Unser too. Paul must have darted to the middle off Gordon's draft. Steve Horne says don't worry about it, it's a long race. Pit window is coming up soon: maybe my Drive-Thru crew can help me move up in the order.
Lap 34: Montoya is first of leaders to pit. They say two laps 'til my stop. Car feels pretty good. I want a minor adjustment. Vent man is going to lean over and relay my instructions to the rest of the crew by radio as soon as I pull into my pit box. Pitting now, remember the pit speed limiter. So slow, I can't stand it. There's my pit- watch my marks, I'm in. Vent man relays my request. Adjustment made. Tires on, now bang onto the ground and "Go Go Go"- I'm gone. Watch the speed limit through pit exit, OK we're racing again.
Lap 39: They say I'm P6. Beat Unser, Tracy, and Cristiano out of the pits. Love that Drive-Thru crew! I'm sandwiched between Fernandez and Unser. Fernandez looks slow. I can take him. Use the draft, be patient! Got him on the inside. He's already fading in my mirrors. P5 now. Great place to be in a Handford Device race. Steve says it's Michael, Montoya, Vasser, Papis, and me. No dicing up ahead. Maybe everybody's conserving their car, or trying to extend their fuel window. I can play that game too. Unser's a little ways behind me. Getting into a rhythm now.
Lap 60: Somebody hit the wall in T2. Gil. I hope he's OK. Yellow's out. Everyone's going in as soon as the pits are opened. Steve says two laps until we pit. Follow the leader onto pit lane. Car's running great, no adjustments needed. Quick stop, need a quick stop. Water, need water. I'm in. Man was I thirsty. Crew looks extra-quick for some reason. Get ready: "go go go" Excellent stop. I came out in front of Jimmy and Max. Awesome! Back on track under yellow in P3, behind Michael and Montoya.
Lap 70: One finger. About to go green. I should have a front row seat on a great dogfight. We're green! Sure enough, they're battling. Patience, Patience. No need to lead so soon in the race. Wow, every lap there's a new leader. Michael, Montoya, Michael Montoya. Wait- something's wrong. Back end totally unstable. Tire problem? Busted suspension? Radio's still out, so I can't even tell my guys!!! I'm slowing, trying to control the car. I've got to pit and hope we can fix the car. They're all rocketing past me. Ah, Steve sees the problem on TV- my Gurney Flap is flapping in the breeze. Sounds fixable. I'm headed in.
Lap 79: Nothing like an unscheduled green-flag pit stop to lose track position. They are either going to replace the Gurney flap or tape it into place. Might as well take on some fuel while we're here. It's fixed, I'm on my way. Back up to speed, car handling normal again. At least I didn't hit anything. I'm behind Carpentier. P14, one lap down. No more glory for Tony. Now I've got to buckle down and dig, hoping for a well-placed yellow to get back on the lead lap. I still need points, so I can't get frustrated here.
Lap 104: I've been in my own groove, minding my own business. Passed Carpentier a little while back for P13. Leaders are getting ready to pit. I'm staying out, having taken on fuel during the repair stop. It's a love-hate thing when you're out of sequence. You rocket forward when everyone else pits, but shoot back again when it's your turn to refuel. One by one, the leaders pit, and I regain the lead lap, at least for now. I'm P4 for the moment, behind Max, Michael and Juan. Steve says I'll be pitting within ten laps.
Lap 134: Made my pit stop and slotted right back into P13 down a lap, just like I was before the last round of pit stops. I'm as close to bored as a man can be who's driving at over two-hundred miles per hour. I am the only car on lap -1, so there is nobody to attack and nobody on my tail. Cristiano dropped out with a mechanical problem, which moved me up to P12, the last points-paying position. The eleven cars in front of me are on the lead lap, and there are three cars behind me who are two or more laps down. Someone just got in the marbles in T2 just like Gil did earlier. It's PJ Jones. Yellow is out, and the leaders will pit shortly. I have no chance to get back on the lead lap by getting in sequence with the leaders, so I'm staying out since my last stop was on lap 115.
Lap 175: We're almost three quarters into the race, and I'm not making any progress. Still P12 out of 14 cars still running. Unser has joined me on the -1 lap, so I'm following him around the track just like the first part of the race. There are two more pit stops to go. The break I need is for the leaders to pit under green and then for me to pit later under a lucky yellow. Maybe someone's engine will blow or the gray high line in Turn 2 will lure another driver into the wall. There's no way of knowing. I'm trying to keep a consistent fast pace, because track position will be key in taking advantage of that yellow.
Lap 183: The leaders just pitted under green, bringing me back onto the lead lap in P9 behind Vasser. I can't get used to that special blue paint job Jimmy's running today. There's debris up ahead, it's Pruett jammed up against the wall in Turn 2. He's OK, already out of the car. This is the lucky break I've been waiting for. Full course yellow comes out, and Steve tells me to come in as soon as the pits are open. The yellow flag is like a splash of skin bracer: time to wake up and get back in the fight!
Lap 187: Rolling to a stop under yellow. Pits are completely empty except Unser and Hearn, who are playing the same strategy I am. The car's been very consistent all day, so no major changes. Crew is finishing, I throw the water bottle clear, and I'm off. It's so tempting to blast down pit road to beat the leaders around the track, but I've gotta hold down my speed limiter and be disciplined. I can feel my heart rate accelerating along with the car. Steve said to save the car for the last two segments, so let the battle begin!
Lap 195: Green flag came out a few laps ago with me P9. It's Max, Dario, Michael, Tracy, Fittipaldi, Fernandez, Montoya, Vasser and me. Unser's behind me, the last car on the lead lap, with Carpentier, Hearn, and Vitolo as the only remaining backbenchers. The track feels deserted. We started with 26 cars out here, and now it's down to 12. Twelve little indians: who's the track's next victim? My next victim is Jimmy Vasser. The car feels great in traffic and it was easy to draft around him. Fernandez up ahead, I'll try the same thing on him. Got him. I'm in P7, with fifty laps to go.
Lap 221: Mad Max pits for the final time. He's been dominating the second half of this race. If this round of pit stops is completed under Green, Max will preserve his several second advantage over the rest of the field. One by one, the leaders head for pit lane, until I'm all alone. Leading the race. My first lead since Long Beach. I cannot make a mistake this time. Steve says I have a few laps left in my fuel window, and it's time to push. I'm running light, and the rest of the cars are running heavy, so I should be able to pick up track position with some fast laps up at the front. McDonalds will be happy to see their colors flying at the front during the most-watched portion of the race.
Lap 228: I pit from the lead. Heart pounding. There are 22 laps left, about 11 minutes to go. Pits are completely empty. It's going to be a timed stop for just enough fuel to finish the race. I hit my marks for the last time. Old tires off, new tires on. I give Steve a thumbs up, since he still can't hear me on the radio. Slam- car drops off the jacks- I look to the right front for a signal, and I'm out. Exiting the pits I see Max go by, and as I come up to speed, nobody else. I'm P2! Max has a big lead on the rest of the pack, and I've just slotted in a few seconds behind him. Yes!
Lap 235: Still behind Max. Trying to reel him in. I imagine the draft as a tractor beam pulling me towards his rear wing. Steve calls out my time behind the leader: 2.5 seconds, 1.9 seconds, 1.75 seconds, 1.2 seconds ... Max, I'm coming to getcha! Montoya's P3, not far behind.
Lap 246: Max has regained his original advantage on me. It's back to 2.5 seconds. I thought I had him in my sights. But I've never finished better than 3rd in CART, so 2nd would be very nice indeed. I keep checking my mirrors for that red devil Montoya. Of all people to have on my tail...
Final Lap: Max gets the white flag. "minus 3 on Max, plus 1 on Montoya." I must protect my position. I'm happy for Max and Bobby Rahal, this will be nice for them. On the back straight. What did Steve just say about the mixture? I can't ask for a clarification, because they can't hear me. I'll dial down a bit in case I'm running short on fuel. Hold on- I'm rushing up on Max- is there a Yellow? I lift for a second, and then realize Max is out of gas. It's my race to win. I rocket past Max, into the last turn, checking my mirrors. Montoya's coming up fast, and so is the flagstand. I dart left, to take the air off Juan. He's right alongside, but I got to the line first. Checkered flag! I won. I won! I'm screaming into the radio, but my crew still can't hear me. They're screaming for joy too. What a way to get my first win- on a five-hundred mile race!
US500 Race Notes
1) Championship Race: With his second-place finish, Juan Montoya extended his lead over Dario Franchitti to 13 points. Newman Haas teammates Michael Andretti and Christian Fittipaldi continue to stay together in the championship standings, the former with 107 and the latter with 101. Adrian Fernandez has 95, and the surging Paul Tracy has vaulted ahead of de Ferran and Greg Moore to sixth place with 90. De Ferran has practically wrecked his championship hopes of late, scoring virtually no points since his victory at Portland. With 88, he is 41 points behind Montoya and barely a contender. We may now be able to count out Greg Moore (81 points,) unless a miracle happens and Mercedes gets good on the road courses.
2) Honda: What a proud year for Honda. Multiple podium sweeps, wins at short ovals, superspeedways and road courses... Honda has won eight of the twelve races this season, and has spread the wins amongst five different drivers.
3) Mercedes: What a shameful year for Mercedes. We know they have a driveability problem on the road courses, so all the more reason to do well on ovals. Only one Mercedes was running at the end of the US500, Patrick Carpentier in 10th, two laps down. Greg Moore is the only Mercedes driver in the top ten in points, and he has scored very few lately. Published reports indicate that Moore does not want to renew his contract with Players if they stay with Mercedes for the 2000 season. That is not the kind of press marketing executives want to hear...
4) Sportsmanship: Max Papis had a wonderfully upbeat and mature take on his heartbreaking loss. Mad Max proved yesterday that you can be a fierce competitor on the track and a role model and gentleman off the track. In an era of spoiled, overpaid athletes, Papis showed true character under fire that is all too rare in any sport.
"Besides the last three-fourths of the laps today, it was the nicest day of my life. Even with the last lap this was the nicest day of my life. We dominated and wedid a fantastic job. I am very proud of everyone on my team and this isjust life. We will become tougher and stronger and come back. I reallywanted to have my flag on the podium, but I couldn't. I am going to have itthere one day. Today was not our day. Today was our day, but, just not at thestart/finish line. We need to go away from there with a smile on our faceknowing that we were the best, because we were, except for the lasthalf-lap."