Race No. 17
Honda Grand Prix of Monterey
September 10-12 1999
| SpeedCenter Rearview Mirror: 1996 Pole Winner: Alex Zanardi 1997 Pole Winner: Bryan Herta 1998 Pole Winner: Bryan Herta 1996 Race Winner: Alex Zanardi 1997 Race Winner: Jimmy Vasser 1998 Race Winner: Bryan Herta 1996 SpeedCenter Report 1997 SpeedCenter Report 1998 SpeedCenter Report |  |
Target/Chip Ganassi Racing rookie Juan Montoya, the FedEx Championship Series points leader, has an opportunity to add to his rapidly-growing legend in this weekend's Shell 300, featured event of the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca Raceway (3 p.m. ET Sunday, live, ESPN).
Montoya arrives on the picturesque Monterey Peninsula with a 194-171 lead over Dario Franchitti (KOOL Honda Reynard) in the PPG Cup points race. While his primary focus is becoming only the second rookie to win the championship, joining Nigel Mansell (1993), Montoya also has the opportunity to tie three different CART records with a victory from the pole this weekend.
Last weekend's victory at the Molson Indy Vancouver was Montoya's seventh of the season, moving him one short of the CART single-season mark of eight established by Michael Andretti in 1991 and matched by Al Unser Jr. in 1994.
It was also Montoya's third in a row, the second time he has accomplished that feat this season. While Unser Jr. (1994) is the only CART driver to have put together two separate three-race winning streaks in the same season, Montoya could tie the CART mark for consecutive victories with a win Sunday. Unser Jr. set that standard in 1990 and Alex Zanardi tied it last year.
With six pole positions this season, Montoya also stands one behind Mansell's CART rookie record of seven. Three of his seven victories this season, including last week's at Vancouver, have come from the pole. Zanardi (1996) was the last driver to have won as many as three events from the pole in the same season.
All of Montoya's accomplishments, of course, accrue to the benefit of Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, which is attempting to become the first team in FedEx Championship Series history to win four consecutive championships. Target/Chip Ganassi Racing and Penske Racing (1981-83) share the current record of three straight titles.
Michael Andretti (Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Swift) and Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard) headline the list of five former race champions in the field with multiple victories in the event. Andretti's victories came in 1991 and '92 while Tracy succeeded him with back-to-back wins in 1993 and '94. Andretti and Tracy are currently positioned third and fourth in the championship, with 124 and 122 points, respectively.
Gil de Ferran (Valvoline/Cummins Special Honda Reynard) is another former Laguna Seca winner, having driven to his first career FedEx Championship Series victory in 1995, as well as Jimmy Vasser (Target Honda Reynard), who won in 1997. Bryan Herta (Shell Ford Reynard) is the defending champion, having driven to his first career FedEx Championship Series victory from the pole last year. He also finished second in 1996 and won the 1997 pole and figures to be a factor again this weekend.
Franchitti's 10th-place finish at Vancouver ended a streak of five consecutive top-five performances, including victories at Toronto and Detroit. He finished fourth at Laguna Seca last year, and has finished fourth or better in four of his past five starts on permanent road courses, dating to his first career FedEx Championship Series victory at Road America last year.
Following this weekend's Honda Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Shell 300, the FedEx Championship Series continues with Round 18, the Texaco Grand Prix of Houston, on Sunday, Sept. 26 from the streets of downtown Houston.
WHO'S HOT
* Juan Montoya (Target Honda Reynard) is seeking his fourth consecutive FedEx Championship Series victory this weekend, which would tie a record established by Al Unser Jr. in 1990 and matched by Alex Zanardi in 1994. He has won consecutive events at Mid-Ohio, Chicago and Vancouver, the second time this season that he has recorded three victories in a row. His earlier streak came at Long Beach, Nazareth and Rio de Janeiro. Montoya, who also won at Cleveland, is one win away from tying the CART single-season record of eight victories, established by Michael Andretti in 1991 and tied by Unser Jr. in 1994. He owns nine podium finishes this season, tying Dario Franchitti for series-high honors, and has won either the race or a pole position in 10 of 16 events this season. Montoya, who has already clinched the Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year Award, holds a 194-171 lead over Franchitti in the PPG Cup points race entering the weekend.
* Franchitti (KOOL Honda Reynard) has scored PPG Cup points in six consecutive events, with top-five finishes in five of those, including victories at Toronto and Detroit. He has scored in 13 of 16 starts this season, tying Jimmy Vasser for series-high honors. Dating to his inaugural FedEx Championship Series career victory at Road America last year, Franchitti has made 13 starts on permanent road courses or temporary street circuits, with 5 victories, 3 pole positions, 9 podium finishes and 11 points-paying results.
* Vasser (Target Honda Reynard) owns top-five finishes in his last four FedEx Championship Series starts, including back-to-back podium efforts of third at Chicago and Vancouver. He has scored PPG Cup points in six consecutive events and 13 of 16 overall this season, tying him with Dario Franchitti for the series lead. He has scored 60 of his 94 PPG Cup points in his past five starts.
* Patrick Carpentier (Player's Forsythe Racing Team, Ltd. Mercedes Reynard) has scored PPG Cup points in seven of his past nine starts, dating to his ninth-place finish at Milwaukee (Carpentier missed the Mid-Ohio event due to injury). He owns two of his three best finishes of the season, sixth at Chicago and second at Vancouver, in his past two starts. His runner-up effort at Vancouver was a career-best on a road or street circuit and matched a career-best overall finish established at Gateway in 1997.
* Helio Castro-Neves (Hogan Motor Leasing, Inc. Mercedes Lola) has finished eighth or better in his past four FedEx Championship Series starts. He overcame qualifying difficulties at Vancouver to drive from the 26th grid position to eighth place, the greatest improvement from start to finish of any of the 27 drivers in the field.
* Tony Kanaan (McDonald's Championship Racing Team Honda Reynard) has scored PPG Cup points in five of his past seven starts, including his first career FedEx Championship Series victory at Michigan. Four of those five points-paying results were top-10 efforts.
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
* Michael Andretti (Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Swift) owns 11 top-10 finishes in 15 career appearances at Laguna Seca Raceway, including victories from the pole in 1991 and '92. Also included are a runner-up finish in 1988 and third-place performances in 1984, '86, and '90. Andretti is one of three drivers to record consecutive wins at the venue, joining Bobby Rahal and Paul Tracy. He has led 179 career laps at Laguna Seca, including all 84 en route to both his 1991 and '92 victories.
* Bryan Herta (Shell Ford Reynard) earned his first career FedEx Championship Series victory from the pole at Laguna Seca last year. He has qualified on the front row in each of his four career appearances, including poles in 1997 and last season. His pole-winning performance in '97 stands as the track qualifying record at 118.666 miles per hour (1 minute, 7.895 seconds). He has finished among the top six in his last three appearances, taking second in '96 and sixth in '97, and has led a combined 143 laps in each of the past three events, including 81 last year, 21 in 1997 and 41 in '96.
* Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard) is one of three drivers to win consecutive race titles, joining Rahal and Michael Andretti. His victories came in 1993 and '94, the latter coming from the pole. He has earned four points-paying finishes in eight career appearances at the venue. In addition to his two victories, he finished second in '95. Tracy has led 165 career laps at Laguna Seca, third among active drivers, topped by 84 en route to his '94 victory.
* Jimmy Vasser has five points-paying finishes in seven career appearances at Laguna Seca and a current run of four consecutive top-five efforts (2nd in '95, 4th in '96, 1st in '97 and fifth last year). He has qualified among the top eight in his last four appearances, including a best of third last year. He recorded 58 of his 59 career laps led at Laguna Seca en route to his victory in 1997.
* Al Unser Jr. (Marlboro Mercedes Lola), the only active driver to have competed in every event in Laguna Seca's 16-year CART history. He has recorded points-paying finishes in 13 of 16 starts, including bests of second in 1990 and '91. From his debut in 1983 through '91, he registered seven top-four efforts in nine starts. Unser Jr. has led 32 career laps at Laguna Seca, topped by 18 in '85.
* Gil de Ferran (Valvoline/Cummins Special Honda Reynard) has a pair of top-five finishes in four appearances at Laguna Seca, including his first career FedEx Championship Series triumph in 1995. He also finished third in 1997 and has led 54 career laps at the venue, all en route to his 1995 victory.
* Mauricio Gugelmin (Hollywood PacWest Mercedes) has made six career appearances at Laguna Seca and has finished in the points in three of his last four starts, including third in '95, fifth in '96 and ninth in '97.
MANUFACTURING SUCCESS
* Honda is one point from clinching its third Manufacturer's Championship in the past four seasons, adding to the titles it won in 1996 and last year. With an 87-point lead over Ford Cosworth and a maximum of 88 points available in the season's final four events, Honda needs only a top-12 finish from one of its drivers this weekend to wrap up the title. Honda-powered drivers have recorded at least one top-three finish in 15 of 16 events this season, and have swept the podium on four occasions. Honda-powered drivers have won 16 of the past 19 FedEx Championship Series events contested on road or street courses dating to the start of the 1998 season. They have also won three of the past four FedEx Championship Series events contested at Laguna Seca, getting victories from Gil de Ferran in 1995, Alex Zanardi in '96 and Jimmy Vasser in '97.
* Firestone has won 15 of 16 FedEx Championship Series events contested this season and 33 of 34 overall, dating to Adrian Fernandez's victory at Japan last year.
MILESTONES
* In addition to chasing the CART records for victories in a season, consecutive victories and rookie pole positions this weekend, Juan Montoya is also in a position to move up on the single-season laps led list. He currently stands third on the single season chart with 929 laps led and could pass Michael Andretti's 1991 total of 965 laps led by adding 37 to his current total. Andretti's 1992 total of 1,136 laps led tops the single-season list.
* By starting at Laguna Seca this weekend, Scott Pruett (Pioneer/MCI WorldCom Toyota Reynard) will tie Arie Luyendyk for 10th place on the CART career starts list, with 142. Al Unser Jr. is CART's all-time leader in career starts, with 270.
NOTEWORTHY
* With four rounds remaining in the FedEx Championship Series season, competition for the four finalists' spots in the inaugural Craftsman Pit Crew Challenge is heading into the home stretch. Pit crews are scrambling to position themselves for a chance at the top prize of $50,000, which will be awarded during the FedEx Championship Series' season-ending Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota at California Speedway. Through 16 of 20 rounds in the championship, the crew for the Miller Lite Ford Reynard driven by Max Papis has accumulated 141 points and holds a one-point edge over the crew for rookie Juan Montoya (Target Honda Reynard), which stands second with 140. Points are awarded according to the same scale used to determine the FedEx Championship Series champion, but based on total time spent in the pits at each event. Points will be accumulated through the first 19 events of the season, and the top four teams will compete in a specially staged pit stop competition at the season finale to determine the winner of the $50,000 grand prize presented by Craftsman. The crew for Greg Moore (Player's Forsythe Racing Ltd. Mercedes Reynard) currently stands third with 123 points, followed by the crew for Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard), which is fourth with 113. Still in position to make a stretch run at the top four positions are the crews for Michael Andretti (Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Swift), with 107 points; Jimmy Vasser (Target Honda Reynard), with 103 points and Dario Franchitti (KOOL Honda Reynard), with 102 points.
- Pre Rave Quotes:
JUAN MONTOYA (Target Honda Reynard), on making his first FedEx Championship Series appearance at Laguna Seca Raceway: "After all I've heard and read about the Laguna Seca race and what it means to Team Target, I'm excited to get there and try to add to the tradition. This points race has been so intense that I wish I could clinch it in Monterey like Jimmy and Alex did, but I'm having fun and expect to race well there, and hopefully increase my points lead."
DARIO FRANCHITTI (KOOL Honda Reynard), on the importance of the Shell 300 to his chances for the FedEx Championship Series championship: "We have to collect maximum points at Laguna Seca if we expect to have a chance to catch Juan (Montoya) for the championship. Everyone at Team KOOL Green knows we can do it; we've got a good package in terms of our equipment and the chemistry of the team. But we can't make any mistakes. It's as simple as that."
PAUL TRACY (KOOL Honda Reynard), on being competitive on road courses: "Team KOOL Green haven't tested at Laguna Seca this season, but I don't see that as a disadvantage. We've got plenty of good data on the circuit and the cars. We've shown we are as fast as anybody on the road courses. Now it's up to us to execute a mistake-free weekend. If we run a good strong race, we should end up on the podium.'
JIMMY VASSER (Target Honda Reynard), on his recent run of success in the FedEx Championship Series: "We have a lot of confidence heading to Laguna Seca. This time of year, the whole team is usually clicking, and these past few races have proven that. Both Juan and I are benefiting from an experienced team that is communicating and performing at a very high level. It's inspiring to have those kinds of guys around, who are dedicated to doing all they can to win races and championships. You can see the results on the track. Everyone and everything is running on all cylinders, so I'm sure there will be more great Monterey memories to come."
MICHAEL ANDRETTI (Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Swift), on improving his position in the FedEx Championship Series points race: "I am a little concerned that we haven't tested the Firestone tires at Laguna. We tested the Goodyear tires in the winter, but not the Firestones. I always like racing at Laguna Seca. I had the best race weekend of my career there. We really could use that sort of weekend now. I won the pole, led every lap, won the race and clinched the championship. That would be great right now. All but the clinching the championship part is possible now. We were very lucky that Dario [Franchitti] and Paul [Tracy] didn't score any points in Vancouver but we need to take a more active role in scoring points in Laguna Seca. I feel terrible about spinning in Vancouver but we have moved on and take each race at a time."
GREG MOORE (Player's Forsythe Racing Team, Ltd. Mercedes Reynard), on the uniqueness of Laguna Seca: "Laguna Seca ranks right up there among the most challenging tracks you'll find in the world. It's exciting for the drivers, as well as the fans, especially when you get a race that's under green all the way. You can do some things on this track and the Player's team is going to put a lot of effort into developing a strategy that will put us among the contenders."
PATRICK CARPENTIER (Player's Forsythe Racing Team, Ltd. Mercedes Reynard), on the momentum generated by matching his career best with a runner-up effort at Vancouver: "Finishing second in Vancouver on the weekend really lifted my spirits and made me as determined as ever to take that final step and collect my first race win. I've said throughout the season that I can sense we are making progress. Now that we've got a second place, maybe first place isn't far behind. It's a thrill racing at Leguna Seca. It's a bit like Mid-Ohio, but it's a track that's more elevated. And it has The Corkscrew, where you get quite a rush because you feel like you're dropping into a sort of hollow. But I feel that we're ready for anything after handling the wet conditions in Vancouver on the weekend."
ROBERTO MORENO (Big Kmart Ford Swift), on rebounding at Laguna Seca: "I'm looking forward to racing at Laguna Seca. We were competitive at Vancouver and I know we can be at Laguna Seca as well. Each race that goes by, I learn a little more about the Ford-Swift package and we become more competitive. We just need to be able to score some points and bring the car home up front. I like the Laguna Seca course. It is more like the traditional road courses I have grown up on."
MAURICIO GUGELMIN (Hollywood PacWest Mercedes), on his enjoyment of Laguna Seca: "Laguna Seca is one of my favorite races. I really like the track. Laguna, Mid-Ohio, and Elkhart Lake are my favorite circuits because they are truly racers' tracks. You really have to work on your setup and get a good flow. Laguna is definitely not a 'Mickey Mouse' place. You have to work, especially in the high-speed corners, and I like the elevation changes. It really makes the track more interesting. We've always run fairly well at Laguna. It's a track where you need to have a very clean line because it's a sandy area, and this time of year there's not much grass. There's a lot of sand and dust. Finally, Carmel and the entire Monterey area is known to be one of the best spots in the entire United States."
MARK BLUNDELL (Motorola PacWest Mercedes), on the beauty of Laguna Seca: "Laguna Seca is not only one of the most challenging road courses that we race on, but it's also in one of the most beautiful areas of the country. I'm looking forward to racing there again, and I'm confident that we'll have a good car. We've had strong runs in every event since I came back (at Detroit in August) and this is the kind of circuit that I prefer. It's a really fun course, and similar to what I grew up racing on in Europe."
ROBBY GORDON (Johns Manville/Panasonic/Menards Toyota Eagle), on turning his luck around at Laguna Seca: "In past years I've always had bad luck at Laguna Seca. I don't know why exactly, but it's just one of those tracks that always seems to give me a hard time on race day. But then again I've always had good luck at Vancouver and look what happened there last weekend. Even with the hard luck, I enjoy going to Laguna, it's such a great track and great facility. Monterey is a fun town, and everyone usually goes there in a good mood. We had our first test as a new team [Team Gordon] there in February, which went really well and made me believe this concept of starting a team from scratch could actually work. I can still remember my first trip through The Corkscrew in a Champ Car. It's like no other corner in the world."