Race No. 14

Miller Lite 200
Mid Ohio Sports Car Course — Lexington, Ohio
August 13-15, 1999

	Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes
GREG MOORE
The Player's team did a fantastic job during the pit stops. Their work enabled me to gain several positions. It's great to come back from so far and score points in a race where there was so little attrition. It's unfortunate we didn't have the track position at the start because it's a tough circuit to move up from the rear of the grid.

	Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford
MICHAEL ANDRETTI
It was not a good day today. YOU SEEMED TO BE BATTLING A CAR THAT WAS SLIDING AROUND ON YOU AN AWFUL LOT . . . We just didn't have a good setup. I guess the rain hurt us more than we thought this weekend. The track time we lost yesterday really hurt. I thought we had a car capable of qualifying okay, but on the long runs it was not very good. WAS IT A CASE WHERE YOU WERE NOT ABLE TO MAKE THE ADJUSTMENTS ALONG THE WAY? We have an idea of what we needed to do but we just ran out of time. We will just have to get them next week. THERE WAS A TIME IN THE PITS, DURING YOUR SECOND STOP I BELIEVE, THAT ONCE YOUR CAR DROPPED OFF THE JACKS IT STARTED TO CREEP FORWARD SIMILAR TO WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU IN MILWAUKEE . . . I just can't hold my foot on the throttle anymore when I am in the pits. I had the clutch all the way in and the car started creeping forward. The clutch must not disengage all the way. I just can't risk doing that anymore. I guess I have to risk stalling it. I would much rather risk that than to have a repeat of Milwaukee.

	MCI Worldcom Arciero-Wells Reynard Toyota
CRISTIANO DA MATTA
I'm really happy for the team. The MCI WorldCom team did a great job for me today in the pits. They really helped me get to the top ten. I just feel good to be finishing again. I think the last time we finished a race was Portland. Since then, we've struggled a little with mechanical failures and accidents, so it's great to be back in the points. The car was pretty much the same as it was in practice on Friday. I struggled with a little push in the low-speed turns and with traction in the high-speed turns. But in general the car felt good. It's a good feeling to know that we brought it home in the top ten again.

	Pioneer Arciero-Wells Reynard Toyota
SCOTT PRUETT
We just couldn't get a break today. We couldn't get any momentum going, and the traffic situation was difficult at times. The Pioneer car was turning incredibly competitive laps, but I just couldn't go anywhere. I really thought we'd get through today without any yellows, and the one that was called was the one that bit me. I went into the pits at the same time as (Juan) Montoya (race leader at the time), and when I left the pits I was right in front of him. He got around me, and then they called the full course yellow. I was pretty much stuck there because of the yellow, and I stayed there (one lap down) until the end of the race.

	Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford
ROBERTO MORENO
I was very happy with the Big K car and the Ford engine today ran really well. In the morning we had some problems, but the guys worked really hard on the mapping and fixed it for me in time for the race. During the race the car was really smooth and made good power. When we got to our second pit stop I was holding my hand on the gear shift to try to go to the next gear down and I put enough pressure on it where the computer changed to the next gear giving me more revs and I didn't know that. So I received a pit speed violation for that. I had the button pressed to hold my speed, but the computer thought I was in a different gear. It is a case of getting use to the system of the car and how it works. Next time it is not going to happen because I am going to keep my hands away from that gear shift. I should learn for the next race. Todd (Bowland my chief engineer) is going to kick my butt for this one.

	Herdez Competition Payton/Coyne Lola Ford
MICHEL JOURDAIN
I was experiencing problems with the pick up of the fuel. That's why I had to frequently visit the boxes and I was running out of the sequence in the pit stops. Then, my gearbox expired and I was forced to retire on Turn 8.

	Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Walker Racing Reynard Honda
GIL de FERRAN
After four races of not running at the end, it was good to get a top six. We were looking for a better finish, but I was boxed in behind Tony Kanaan when he ran out of gas going down pit lane. We lost a lot of time. We could have made up a couple of positions on that stop. But basically, it was a trouble free run. The car was good and especially good under braking. I was pushing as hard as I could, and than I would make a small mistake and it would take a lap or two to get the rhythm back. But at the end, points are points and they all add up at the end of the season.

	Alpine Walker Racing Reynard Honda
NAOKI HATTORI
My leg is okay now, no problems today. However, it was not a very good race for us. We had brake problems throughout the race and I was not able to press as hard as I wanted. Hopefully, things will be better next race.

	Miller Lite Team Rahal Reynard Ford
MAX PAPIS
We had another strong top-five finish. We were going for a little better, but we will settle for another top-five today. THERE WERE REPORTS THAT YOU WERE SPRAYING FLUIDS OUT OF YOUR CAR EARLY IN THE RACE. WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM? My drink bottle was spilling all over my visor. It was a bit of a problem because it made it really, really difficult to see and it made me loose my concentration a bit. But we made it back and raced a good race. Really the fifth place goes to my guys. They did another great job in the pits. Race in and race out these guys are helping me gain positions on the track.

	Shell Team Rahal Reynard Ford
BRYAN HERTA
As they say - the engine just blowed up. The engine ran fine and then it just went dead. I had no warning it was going. That is kind of the way the whole season has gone for me and the Shell team. The car was a little loose at the start and we had to drop the tire pressure a bit on the first stop. After that the car felt good. I am not sure we had a car for the first three guys, but we were definatley fourth today. It is the third year in a row that we have not finished here. That's hard for the team.

	Hollywood Reynard Mercedes
MAURICIO GUGELMIN
The guys did a great job in the pits, but when you're off the pace there's not much you can do. We haven't had a lot of luck this season, and it's unfortunate that we weren't able to finish here.

	PacWest Motorola Reynard Mercedes
MARK BLUNDELL
The guys gave me some great stops and we had a good car, so it's a shame we couldn't come away with some points. It was a real workout. This circuit is one of the most physically demanding that we race on, and I knew today would be a challenge. I have to say I'm pretty exhausted. My neck was a lot more tired than it was after the Detroit race.

	Team Kool Green Reynard Honda
DARIO FRANCHITTI
The car was great in the first part of the race. We had everything under control. But we had a slow puncture on the right rear tire in the middle of the race (first reported on lap 45). It cost us the race, really. The tire was going down a lot. The KOOL car was oversteering through left-handers and understeering through rights. It was pretty costly, to be honest. We had to pit a bit earlier than we would have ideally liked. The backmarkers certainly didn't help; it was a bit of a joke, really. We should have been at the front today. At the end there, I couldn't run any quicker when I was stuck behind Paul and the track was starting to break up a bit. Paul was keeping a consistent gap at the end. I didn't have enough to get past him. I didn't want to disturb the order of things.

	Team Kool Green Reynard Honda
PAUL TRACY
We need to get up on that top rung a little more if we want to contend for the championship. We're running very consistent races and scoring points. Hopefully, we're going to continue to move up in the standings. We need to get a couple of more wins if we're going to challenge Juan (Montoya) and Dario (Franchitti). We're happy with the performance today. The Team KOOL Green guys did fantastic work in the pits. I drove my heart out in the last half of the race. I was catching Dario and we beat him out of the pits on my second stop. That was the end of it. I was able to stay in front of him and he didn't pressure me at all. You always want to win, but I'm very happy for Team KOOL Green. This was another great result, coming on the heels of 1-2 finishes in Toronto and Detroit.

	Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda
JUAN MONTOYA
It was a good day after what happened Friday. At one point, I actually told my crew, 'This car is dangerous to drive!' We made some changes to the car during qualifying and we were still way off. We came here looking to get some good points out of this and we did, so we're happy. [Following the first pit stop], I wanted to prove that I was quicker than them [Tracy and Franchitti]. I was catching them and catching them quick, so I just kept pushing and pushing and pushing until the end. I'm pretty happy.

	McDonald's Forsythe Championship Racing Team Reynard Honda
TONY KANAAN
We had a problem with the fuel system. We're not exactly sure what the problem is, but we ran out of fuel twice. The car was working okay. We just had some tough luck today, and that happens in racing. Let's go on to the next one.

	Tecate Beer/Quaker State Patrick Racing Reynard Ford
PJ JONES
NOT BEING ABLE TO RUN YESTERDAY WAS PROBABLY MORE OF A DETRIMENT TO YOU THAN ANYONE. YOU REALLY ONLY HAD A TOTAL OF TWO HOURS OF TRACK TIME TO SET UP THE CAR WITH YESTERDAYS RAINOUT I think Jan (Magnussen) and I suffered the most out of anyone here this weekend. We have not been here testing this car and we were a little behind, and it showed today. At the end we were picking it up and I got the car a little better, but still, I had a lot of understeer. My guys did a great job in the pits. But again, we just didn't have enough time to get the car the way I liked, we were running Adrian's setup, but I don't know how much better it would have been if he was here.

	Herdez Competition Payton/Coyne Lola Ford
MEMO GIDLEY
The car was caught in a little fire due to an engine problem and I had to park my car in Turn 7. That was frustrating, since we were gaining positions consistently. I think we had a motor problem but we are still looking into the exact cause. Overall I was running strong and the car felt good. We were able to keep on top of what the car was doing and how the track was changing. It's too bad because I am confident that we could have gotten the car a bit quicker. THIS WAS THE SECOND RACE OF A TWO-RACE DEAL YOU HAD WITH PAYTON-COYNE RACING. DENNIS VITOLO WILL BE RUNNING THE SECOND CAR IN CHICAGO, BUT MIGHT WE SEE YOU IN THE HERDEZ/VIVA MEXICO FORD IN VANCOUVER? We will see. I would love to be back.

	Patrick Racing Visteon Swift Ford
JAN MAGNUSSEN
We were chasing the car a bit today. I could charge into the corners but I could not get on the gas early enough to get out. We just couldn't get the car to come around. It was just a long day. We didn't hit on our setup all weekend. There was a lot of rubber built up out there. In turn two I think there was rubber about an inch high. You would run up on it and the car would really shake. LOOKING AHEAD, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE OVAL RACING WE HAVE COMING UP NEXT WEEK? YOU HAVE NEVER RACED ON AN OVAL BEFORE HAVE YOU? I tested two weeks ago in St. Louis for the first time. I have only been on an oval alone, never with 26 other maniacs out there. I am looking forward to it.

	Team Gordon Swift Toyota
ROBBY GORDON
Another top 10 for us and another for Toyota. I'm happy with the result and the points, but damn I drove hard today for that result! I noticed Greg Moore finished behind us after starting last. It just goes to show you how competitive it is out here. If you don't qualify well, you have a hard time reaching the front. But I'm pleased. We passed some good cars today and held off some tough cars, as well. We're still having a problem getting the car to stop rolling with 25 or so gallons in the tank. Once we get to 15 gallons and below the car is pretty good, and we can go racing. But cold tires and full loads are still hard to deal with out there. As an owner, I see Toyota making things happen right now, and organizationally, we are, too. That's motivating for all of us.