Race No. 15
Target Grand Prix
Chicago Motor Speedway — Cicero, Illinois
August 20-22, 1999
Saturday Quotes from Chicago: | Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Qualified: 3rd |
| JIMMY VASSER | |
| It wasn't too bad a run, maybe a little less understeer and the car would've been perfect, but that's what we've been fighting all weekend. The inside of the second row will work for the start tomorrow, it should be a great race for the fans. | |
 | Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 11th |
| GREG MOORE | |
| I had a little bobble on turn two, and it got my heart rate up a little bit. We made some significant changes for qualifying because we weren't where we wanted to be, and we came up with our best time of the weekend. We're going in the right direction. The other guys are trying different lines, but I think it's going to be important to be able to dive underneath somebody. If your car is working good on the corners, you'll be okay. | |
 | Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford Qualified: 18th |
| MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| We just can't get a lap in. The car is not bad on long runs, I just can't qualify the thing. But I think we are going to be good for the race tomorrow. IS IT AN ISSUE WITH THE TRACK? No, it is just getting the car to suit my driving style. We will have to get them tomorrow. | |
 | Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford Qualified: 8th |
| ROBERTO MORENO | |
| We came out and the car was constant. It's nice to come to a track where no one has tested before. We are starting out at the same level as everyone else. The Ford engine is good here and I hope we can put it together tomorrow. When I race at places where people test I have a big handicap. We have been working all weekend at making the car as comfortable as possible for the race, then we try and squeeze a little bit of speed out of it. | |
 | Marlboro Lola Mercedes Qualified: 24th |
| AL UNSER, Jr. | |
| Well, at least we learned our limits this morning. I was feeling really good in the car. I had just run my quickest lap, and I was looking for a little bit more, but it just wasn't there. The rear of the Marlboro car snapped out, causing me to hit the Turn Two wall. My neck and shoulders are a bit sore, but otherwise I feel fine. The key thing is we're in the show tomorrow. | |
 | MCI Worldcom Arciero-Wells Reynard Toyota Qualified: 9th |
| CRISTIANO DA MATTA | |
| I am happy that we had another good qualifying effort. The short ovals have been pretty good for the MCI WorldCom car, so I'm happy that our experience on them is starting to show. I am disappointed that we could not get a fourth or fifth starting position today. We were able to run in the top five all weekend, and we should have been able to do that again today. I had a little too much understeer. I wanted to be more aggressive than the car would let me be. There was no difference for me between the primary and the back-up car. We just should have changed the car more, because it ended up being too loose. I think tomorrow's race is going to be interesting mostly because passing will be tough here. The track is tighter in the turns, so we have to slow down and downshift going into them. That would normally be a good situation to gain some advantage, but it's just too narrow to pass. It will be tricky. | |
 | Pioneer Arciero-Wells Reynard Toyota Qualified: 13th |
| SCOTT PRUETT | |
| We earned our best short oval qualifying effort for Pioneer and Toyota, and I'm very happy about that. I'm disappointed, though, because we gave away about two-tenths [of a second] out there today. We left a lot of time on the table. The car had more in it, and we just couldn't get to it all in time for qualifying. We still had some push through the turns, which hurt our mid-to-exit speeds and slowed me down. It was great to be on the provisional pole, although next time I hope I stay there. | |
 | PacWest Motorola Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 2nd |
| MARK BLUNDELL | |
| I had a little wiggle coming off Turn Four, which could have developed into a wobble that would've been a problem. The car has been running well all weekend. This track requires heavy braking. I hope that a secondary groove develops, so we can have more passing during the race. It's going to be a tough day at the office tomorrow. | |
 | Herdez Competition Payton/Coyne Lola Ford Qualified: 20th |
| MICHEL JOURDAIN | |
| The car is a little bit better, but it's still loose entering the corners. At themiddle it pushes and it is loose on exit. | |
 | Miller Lite Team Rahal Reynard Ford Qualified: 1st |
| MAX PAPIS | |
| All along we have been working on consistency, working on getting good cars. We knew in qualifying we were going to have to pull out a special one to get the pole. On the first lap, I pushed a little bit too hard and had a big wiggle and on the second lap I knew I was going to have to lean on it to get the pole. Over the last three days we have really been working on getting a good race car. Today was my first pole and it is a very special occasion. HOW DOES THIS POLE EQUATE TO YOUR DAYS IN SPORTSCARS WHEN YOU REGULARLY SAT ON THE POLE? When I was with Ferrari I was use to being on pole position and I really miss the feeling. Being right there on the top has some personal satisfaction to it. As you all know it really only counts on the race but when you get the pole position, you know you are the best for today. When I came here to the U.S. for the first time it was kind of difficult because I came here replacing Jeff (Krosnoff), and all the time I have him in my mind. I know sometimes that people forget about him, but he is always with me. An unfortunate situation allowed me to get my break. The team around you brings out the best in the driver and we have a very motivating team and I am motivated as well. WHEN YOU CAME HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME HOW DIFFICULT DID YOU THINK THE OVALS WERE GOING TO BE TO DRIVE? When I first came here for the first time I knew the ovals were going to be tough. The race pace is completely different. Before I raced here I had to learn all the things about driving certain track by myself. When I came here the first time I was able to talk to guys like Jimmy (Vasser) and Al Unser, Jr. and they would tell me some things. They would not tell me everything but they would tell me little secrets. That says a lot about the sport. | |
 | Shell Team Rahal Reynard Ford Qualified: 7th |
| BRYAN HERTA | |
| This was the fastest lap we have run all weekend so I am happy. YOU HAVE NOT RUN THAT WELL ON THE OVALS THIS YEAR, BUT THIS TRACK AS ELEMENTS OF A ROAD COURSE IN IT. IS THAT THE DIFFERENCE? I like then all. Our performance on the ovals this year is not really what we had been hoping for. It's good to have success on the ovals though. | |
 | Team Kool Green Reynard Honda Qualified: 4th |
| DARIO FRANCHITTI | |
| Starting from the first row is always nice, but we’ll gladly take the second row to be honest. When we started the weekend, we were like 25th. I think we’ve done a great job at Team KOOL Green getting this car ready. We might have done a couple more things for qualifying with the balance – there was just too much push. I think we have a pretty good race car and think this a great facility for racing.” | |
 | Team Kool Green Reynard Honda Qualified: 17th |
| PAUL TRACY | |
| Well, it’s just been a struggle all day. We had mechanical problems with both cars this morning, so we didn’t get a lot of running time and that set us behind a bit. It’s disappointing because we started off the weekend pretty good. I’m really frustrated right now. We’re starting towards the back, that’s not good. But it’s a long race, I know my way to the front and I know I can count on the Team KOOL Green crew to give me great pit stops. | |
 | Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Qualified: 10th |
| JUAN MONTOYA | |
| We improved today, but we still have a lot of issues with the car, primarily too much understeer. We did find some speed today, but we need to go still quicker. We'll keep working at it, just like last week at Mid-Ohio. | |
 | McDonald'sForsythe Championship Racing Team Reynard Honda Qualified: 15th |
| TONY KANAAN | |
| I think we got the most out of the car. It was the best we could do.I took three-tenths off my best lap of the weekend, and I'm happy. Weknow that we don't have a very good setup for the mile ovals, but we areimproving. We have to keep working hard and not give up. Some weekendsare good and some are not so good. That's the beauty of this category-- it's so competitive. One weekend you start fourth, one weekendyou're 15th. I don't like starting fourth one weekend and 15th another,but tomorrow is going to be a long race and we will have to be patient.It's a tough track. We need to make some points this weekend and go tothe next one." | |
 | Tecate Beer/Quaker State Patrick Racing Reynard Ford Qualified: 14th |
| PJ JONES | |
| For starters, my name this weekend is Pedro Hones not P.J. It's in honor of Adrian (Fernandez) who is home recuperating. My car is not bad. We struggled a bit this morning and really throughout the weekend. I didn't think we would run this quick but it is nice to do it in qualifying. HAS THIS TRACK CAUGHT PEOPLE BY SURPRISE? Well, it is not so much that. I think it is just a situation of not testing here and it may take some teams a little longer to get the car sorted out." | |
 | Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Walker Racing Reynard Honda Qualified: 19th |
| GIL de FERRAN | |
| The track was still a little bit slippery from Richie (Hearn's) blowup, but the car ran pretty much the way we expected from this morning. It's been a tough weekend for us. We'll just try and keep our nose clean tomorrow, avoid trouble, and look for a finish in the points. | |
 | Hogan Racing Lola Mercedes Qualified: 5th |
| HELIO CASTRO-NEVES | |
| Chip (Ganassi) did a good job here. The track is wide, but the angles into the turns are tight. It's going to be an amazing show tomorrow. We are satisfied. We'll just keep trying to get faster. I am very happy with the changes Hogan Racing has made this weekend. | |
 | Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 6th |
| PATRICK CARPENTIER | |
| The Player's/Forsythe team did a great job all weekend. Today we found some ways to save fuel without losing power from the Mercedes engine, so we are in good shape for the race. I am feeling better every day. To miss a race and come back strong has been a big confidence boost for me. | |
 | Hollywood Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 12th |
| MAURICIO GUGELMIN | |
| My car has been pretty good all weekend. It has the right balance. We had a brake vibration problem yesterday, which we solved. The car has a little push, but that's good. I should start in a good position, and overall I'd say this has been a good weekend for our team. | |
 | Patrick Racing Visteon Reynard Ford Qualified: 16th |
| JAN MAGNUSSEN | |
| I am a lot more comfortable in the car today than yesterday. The change to the Reynard was a good one and it is turning out to be a little better car. It was the right decision. CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOUR QUALIFYING RUN? The car was good enough to put up a better time but I was a bit cautious with the lap. I got into the power a bit too late and it cost us. Tomorrow I think we can move through the field steadily. | |
 | Epson Bettonhausen Motorsports Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 25th |
| SHIGEAKI HATTORI | |
| We made some changes this morning based on sunny weather, and with the clouds, we developed a hard push. We have been making a lot more changes the last two races * the debriefing sessions are much longer and the communication is better. | |
 | Team Gordon Eagle Toyota Qualified: 21st |
| ROBBY GORDON | |
| We had a lot of push in the qualifying setup that we didn't anticipate. The result was a time we aren't too happy with. But that's the way it goes. Fortunately, we worked on race setups yesterday morning, which should produce a good race car for us tomorrow. I think we really just strayed too far from the original setup we had Thursday. The track has gotten faster since then, as well, with more rubber laid down. But, I'm happy with the car -- a lot of people are asking me that question -- and I have no complaints. There's a ton of potential that we haven't tapped in the Eagle in these first three days. As an organization, we just have to figure it out. | |