Race No. 15

Target Grand Prix
Chicago Motor Speedway — Cicero, Illinois
August 20-22, 1999

	Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes
GREG MOORE
The stands for the fans, the concessions, everything here has been wellplanned. The track also is very nice but I think the turnsare too tight for Champ cars. We'll have to qualify in front and be veryefficient in the pits. I'm convinced we can do well here. We've changed thecar a lot since yesterday and we can feel the improvement. I think we'll beright where we want in qualifying. We've changed the car a lot, because we came here thinking we'd have a lot of grip. Now we're chasing the race track a little bit. But I think we can make some improvements and be quicker tomorrow.

	Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford
ROBERTO MORENO
YOU RAN 51 LAPSTODAY. HOW MUCH WORK DID YOU ACCOMPLISH TOWARD GETTING A COMFORTABLE CARFOR SUNDAY'S RACE? I am basically making up for a lot of testing I ammissing since I only go to the races. We have a very, very consistentracecar. We have only been chipping away a little at a time hoping that wewill get better. IS THE TRACK STILL COMING IN OR HAS IT SORT OF EQUALIZED? Every time we go out there the track gets more rubber on it and the cargoes faster. The heat also helps put more rubber on the race track. Nowthis is the time, with the heat, that the most rubber will be put down. ARE THERE TWO RACING LINES YET? No, not yet.

	PacWest Motorola Reynard Mercedes
MARK BLUNDELL
Hopefully, the track will develop another line because we need it for good racing. The balancein my car is good, and the engine is giving us good performance. We'd like to get a little quickerand move up to the front. The track surface is good - it just needs to be used. We need to put down some more rubber.

	Herdez Competition Payton/Coyne Lola Ford
MICHEL JOURDAIN
The Herdez car is very loose. It is not a comfortable car to drive rightnow. When we go into the corner the back end wants to come around andsometimes we even have a push in the corners. We were not able to fix ittoday but hopefully once we go back we will be able to figure out what theproblem is in time for qualifying tomorrow.

	Miller Lite Team Rahal Reynard Ford
MAX PAPIS
We ran a lot oflaps today working on the car for Sunday. There is a lot more rubber on thetrack and it is still getting better. Qualifying will be important tomorrowand I think we have a good idea of where we need to go to make the carbetter. Our car is much better than yesterday and I was very consistent inthe laps I ran. I think we have a real good car for tomorrow and hopefullyfor the race too. The trick is getting the concept right with the car.Working for a good race pace is important. Going fast is just an ego thing.You win with consistency. WHAT IS THE TRICK TO GETTING AROUND THE CHICAGOMOTOR SPEEDWAY? You have to brake hard. You can't really carry speedthrough the corners. This track will be good for overtaking though. WHATIS YOUR TAKE ON THE NUMBER OF DRIVERS HAVING WON A RACE THIS SEASON? It'sthe nature of our Championship. It's a very close and competitive series, Iwould say onE of the best.

	Shell Team Rahal Reynard Ford
BRYAN HERTA
WHAT WERE THE PROBLEMSYOU WERE HAVING WITH THE CAR AT THE END OF THE SESSION? Something in theback of the car was not right, it may be the driveline or something likethat. We have to take it all apart tonight and look at it. YOU WERE OUTTHERE THIS AFTERNOON LOGGING LAPS ON FULL FUEL LOADS WORKING TOWARD FINDINGA COMFORTABLE RACE SETUP. DID YOU FIND IT? We are chipping away at it.We didn't make any big changes today. The times are a little deceiving butwe did manage to improve the car a bit. The track is still getting betterand better. WHAT DO YOU SEE THE POLE SPEED BEING FOR TOMORROW? It'stough to say, 22 something (seconds). For me, it doesn't matter. I justwant to be the fastest out there. It doesn't matter what time it is.

	Team Kool Green Reynard Honda
DARIO FRANCHITTI
I had a very positive session. We're working on the race setup for the KOOL car, moreso than for qualifying. We were doing slightly longer runs around the track. We made alot of improvements in the car. We‘re definitely heading in the right direction. I'm gettingbetter every session, but we need to continue to work for a better balance. We need to keep upwith the improving track conditions. I think if people start using the high groove we will havea two-lane race track. But, nobody is really willing to do that yet.

	Team Kool Green Reynard Honda
PAUL TRACY
I'm not real happy with the car. We didn't have a very good session this afternoon. The car was reallyinconsistent. The track conditions are changing a lot or there is something going on with the KOOL car,but we definitely need to see what we can figure out tonight and regroup for tomorrow. It seemed that everything we did to the car to balance it would make it very loose. Then when we changed it back, the car would push. We'll work on it tonight and hope for the best tomorrow.

	McDonald'sForsythe Championship Racing Team Reynard Honda
TONY KANAAN
We came here with a clean page like everyone else, and we haven'timproved the car as quickly as we hoped from our baseline setup. Weneed to go over the data tonight. Off the track, it's been a good weekfor us in McDonald's hometown. Hopefully, it will be good on trackstarting tomorrow.

	Tecate Beer/Quaker State Patrick Racing Reynard Ford
PJ JONES
We had agood car this morning and this afternoon the car is just not as good. Ireally don't know why. YOU HAVE SEEN A LOT OF SUCCESS ON THE ONE-MILEOVALS THIS SEASON. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THEM THAT SUITS YOUR STYLE? I likeeverything. I like the road circuits and the ovals. It doesn't reallymatter. It comes down to having a good car. If you can make the car goodyou are going to be fast. I have grown up racing these types of tracks, butI have gown up racing road courses, too. I just think it is a matter of theother guys not having as much experience on these small ovals as they mighton the road courses.

	Hogan Racing Lola Mercedes
HELIO CASTRO-NEVES
There is still only one line, and it's very difficult because the track keeps changing.But, I'm very comfortable in the car, and we're improving each time we come to the track. We still have some testing to do, and we'll keep doing it right up until Sunday.

	Tang Hogan Racing Lola Mercedes
LUIZ GARCIA JR.
We're improving out there, and with a little more time, we'll get even better. The last two laps, I felt very comfortable in the car. I started to feel like I could push myself. We are solvingone problem at a time until we get them all cleared up.

	Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes
PATRICK CARPENTIER
Because of the tight corners, the track here is more a half-oval,half-road course. I feel comfortable on it and I'm veryconfident, both for qualifying tomorrow and for the race on Sunday. We only did a few laps today on new tires. Tomorrow we'll go for our qualifying trim. I'm confident we'll have a good car. We'll also be looking at our pit strategy, andhopefully we'll get some luck as well.

	Hollywood Reynard Mercedes
MAURICIO GUGELMIN
We tried to run with full tanks to see how it would do in a race. Wegot some good readings, but we need to improve the balance. We're still fighting a push, but other than that, it went well today.

	Patrick Racing Visteon Reynard Ford
JAN MAGNUSSEN
I UNDERSTAND YOUHAD SOME GEARBOX PROBLEMS AT THE END OF THE SESSION. I don't really knowwhat happened. I think it was a gearbox problem or a driveshaft. I am notsure. YOU LOGGED QUITE A FEW MILES TODAY BUT YOU DID MAKE THE SWITCH FROMTHE REYNARD FROM THE SWIFT. WHY WAS THAT? We decided to start off withthe Swift because that is what I tested with in St. Louis. We are going togo with the Reynard now but unfortunately we are going to have to start fromscratch again. But at least now I know the track. But the car is gettingbetter. WHICH CAR IS BETTER, THE REYNARD OR THE SWIFT? I would say theReynard is right now with the few changes we made.