Race No. 17
Honda Grand Prix of Monterey
September 10-12 1999
Sunday Quotes from Monterey: | Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Finished: 18th |
| JIMMY VASSER | |
| In all started in turn two. I was alongside (Max) Papis, and Michael (Andretti) got into my radiator. I thought I'd gotten away clean but then spun on my own water in turn five. It seemed like a racing incident. Michael seemed to be struggling in turn two and I thought I'd gotten ahead of him by three, so I was concentrating more on Max. It's a shame. The car was good today and I thought we had a potential podium finish. | |
 | Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes Finished: 23rd |
| GREG MOORE | |
| Something broke during the contact with Franchitti. There was oil spraying all over the place. We couldn't get it fixed in the pits. I'm super frustrated, but I can't get down. We have three more races to try to get another win for this team. | |
 | Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford Finished: 10th |
| MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE INCIDENT ON THE FINAL RESTART THAT CAUSED YOU TO SPIN? Bryan just didn't stand on it at the start. I got in too tight and had to back off. I got inside Vasser and my car just pushed right into him. It was looking really good for a second place finish at the end of the race. The points would have really help us gain on Dario and Juan in the points today. This would have been a huge break for us in the standings. | |
 | Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford Finished: 2nd |
| ROBERTO MORENO | |
| CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH THE LAST RESTART WHERE YOU PASSED MICHAEL AND MAX AND PUT YOU IN CONTENTION FOR THE WIN? For some reason the guys in front of me came out of the corner slow so I got a good run on them. I didn't understand what was happening exactly. I saw two cars side by side and I went on the inside of Michael and Max, who went a little low, and managed to get by them and I got the best out of it. This was a great day for the team and my best CART result ever. I want to thank everybody that helped me out. All I can say is that my pit crew did a great job helping me get positions on the track. We could afford to make a shorter fuel stop there at then end that really put us in position there at the end. The next race Christian is supposed to come back so it feels really good to finish this one with a golden key. I am happy that I was able to come up with a podium finish today. I also want to mention the one, two, three finish for Ford today. That really says something about their program. They have put a lot of hard work into the program and it showed today. DO YOU SOMETIMES HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO GET A FULL-TIME RIDE? I don't think that way. I just take what life brings my way and make the most of each opportunity. I think I am very close to getting a full-time job and I think you will see me out there next year. If not, I will still be available for anyone who needs me. I am also organizing a ride to do the Indy 500 again, so we will see what comes. I am just a happy man when I am driving. IT SEEMS THAT MOST OF THE TIME THE POSITIONS YOU MAKE UP COME AS A RESULT OF PIT STRATEGY. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT? I touch my mechanics butts before we go out. They seem to like that. But really, we just practice pit stops during the warm-up and they have been doing a great job with them. I just make sure that my mechanics are happy. It's a team effort. I always try and stop on the spots and I think that, to give myself a little credit, the way I drive allows me to save a little fuel. So, out fuel stops are a little quicker because we don't have to put as much fuel in the car, so that helps a little bit. Stopping on the spots and not scaring the mechanics helps too. If the mechanics don't think you can hit the spots they get a bit scared of you. We always study the pit stops and I thing that helps. | |
 | MCI Worldcom Arciero-Wells Reynard Toyota Finished: 22nd |
| CRISTIANO DA MATTA | |
| Unfortunately, the day was not so good for me or the MCI WorldCom team. I had an on-track spin in the first part of the race and went all the way to the back of the field. The car was not really damaged, I just didn't have a whole lot of grip. We gained a lot of positions in the pit stop, and then I was able to move up a few positions on the track. But then we had a problem with the oil pressure and I had to stop the race. | |
 | Pioneer Arciero-Wells Reynard Toyota Finished: 7th |
| SCOTT PRUETT | |
| What a great run for the Pioneer team. We had one of our best, most consistent runs of the season, and it felt great. I worked and worked and worked through that whole race -- it was tough, but I was determined to make the most of it. The start was a little hairy. [Paul] Tracy made contact with me on one side, and I made contact with someone else on the other side, then I was up in the air. Next thing I knew I was in eleventh [position]. But the car overall felt good, and I was able to hold my ground. The team called a great race, and it all worked just like it's supposed to. It did get a little dicey out there, but that's the nature of this place. The layout of this course affords everyone out there a lot of opportunities. | |
 | PacWest Motorola Reynard Mercedes Finished: 12th |
| MARK BLUNDELL | |
| I had to get aggressive today to get by people. Again, we had the 'Sunday blues.' We got caught wrong on the full-course yellow while we were in the pits. That put us at the end of the line, and that was pretty tough to swallow. Then, on the last set of tires, we had a run-in with Jan Magnussen. That damaged the front wing. | |
 | Herdez Competition Payton/Coyne Lola Ford Finished: 20th |
| MICHEL JOURDAIN | |
| We lost a gearbox today. There was not any indication that it was going. It's too bad because we were having a strong run today. We did pick up an oversteer at the end of the run but we were still pushing on and I think we could have brought the car home and finished well. | |
 | Miller Lite Team Rahal Reynard Ford Finished: 3rd |
| MAX PAPIS | |
| Today was a very active day for me. In the beginning we tried to make a good start and when I went into turn three I kept understeering and understeering and got through the corner clean and kept going. It was a very tough race. Firestone came here and did a great job all weekend; they gave us very consistent tires. We didn't have any problem during the first pit stop. On the second pit stop we had a bit of a problem. I went to drop the clutch on the exit and the engine stalled. The guys did a great job getting me restarted. What saved me there was the gap we had on fourth place. We raced really strong all day and on the final restart, Bryan and Michael were fighting for position and it was a little tight there. Roberto (Moreno) did a great job there. It was a great weekend for all of us. It was also a great weekend for Ford. I saw Bruce Wood, our engine designer with Cosworth, after the race and it's the people like him, who work behind the scenes deserve the satisfaction. But it was also very sad at the same time because of what happened to Gonzalo (Rodriguez). Many times I thought about him. There are many things that go through your mind besides racing. It's a fantastic day for me, it's my personal best, we have been knocking at the door so many times, but I think we have to remember that we have many values in life and that Gonzalo was trying to achieve them, but unfortunately he is not here anymore. But my passion, and our passion for racing is the best tribute to Gonzalo's will to succeed. IT SEEMED LIKE THERE WAS A LOT OF FOLLOW THE LEADER TODAY, WAS IT DIFFICULT TO KEEP YOUR FOCUS? It was a very tough race. It's not easy to not make mistakes when you are under pressure. The Miller car ran great all weekend. We have had some difficult times during the season so this paid this back a little bit. | |
 | Shell Team Rahal Reynard Ford Finished: 1st |
| BRYAN HERTA | |
| YOU HAD SUCH A SOLID DAY. WAS THIS ONE OF THE BEST CARS YOU HAVE EVER HAD HERE? It really was. The only problem that I had was towards the end of the second pit when I started to slide around a bit and lose the rear end. But I came in and put a fresh set of Firestones on for the finish and it was good at the end. Roberto was pushing me at the end but I was able to answer what ever he threw at me. Roberto said he was going to follow me a little bit during practice and I guess I showed him too much. AFTER TODAY'S WIN, DO YOU THINK YOUR STOCK IS GOING TO RISE? That's up to other people. I am the same guy that was here three weeks ago. CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH THAT LAST RESTART WHEN YOU LOCKED UP THE BRAKES COMING ONTO THE FRONT STRETCH? You mean the one where I almost threw it all away? The tires just got a little old. I know Michael, and he is just a bulldog, and I knew that if he had a shot on the first lap he was going to try it. So I was trying to get a good gap on him and just got a little too deep into the corner. When we came out of the corner the guys got a run on Mike, which took some of the pressure off of me. After that, I just said to myself, 'No mistakes,' I just stayed focused and kept on. TOWARDS THE END OF THE RACE BOBBY CAME OVER THE RADIO AND TOLD YOU TO NOT WORRY ABOUT BEING FAIR. WHAT DID HE MEAN BY THAT? What he meant was don't loose the lead. THERE WERE MANY TIMES WE SAW CARS GO OFF COURSE TODAY BUT THEY DIDN'T SLOW DOWN MUCH LIKE GRAVEL SHOULD MAKE THEM. ARE THERE STILL SAFETY CONCERNS HERE THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED? I think no matter how good we make any track that it can always be better. I think that there will always be things that we don't realize until something happens and it shows us an area that we need to improve. A track can never be too safe. I guess if you are going to ask any of us, sure it can always be safer, but I think that the tracks in the series have made great strides in safety. | |
 | Team Kool Green Reynard Honda Finished: 25th |
| DARIO FRANCHITTI | |
| Greg [Moore] was definitely holding me up a lot. We really needed to get by him to make inroads on the guys in front. There's only so many places that you can make up on a pit stop. You need to make places up on the track. A couple of times earlier, I got good runs on him [Moore]. He was braking very deep and I got the KOOL car up alongside him, but I had to get out of the pass each time. The last time I got up alongside him, I was right up against the curb. There's only so far you can back out of it. I went in there very hard and he didn't give any room. I feel bad for Greg and feel bad for my guys. It's just one of those things. ON HIS PLACE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP (2nd with 171 points): Of course this hurts my championship hopes. There was nothing else to be done, but attempt the pass. Given our starting position (12th), we had to pass people on the track. | |
 | Team Kool Green Reynard Honda Finished: 4th |
| PAUL TRACY | |
| It's great that my finish today (4th) clinched Honda's manufacturers' championship. I'm the guy who brought it home. "I had a great start, the kind of start I was looking for (started 11th, moved to 7th on the first lap). The deal I had with Barry [Green] was that if Dario was alongside me on the start that I'd have to let him go by. So, I wanted to have a really good start and get by Pruett and Gugelmin, who were the guys I thought would hold up the line. From there, I just paced myself. Team KOOL Green's game plan today was that we were going to be like garbage men and pick up the points that everybody leaves behind. Michael [Andretti] left a bunch of points there for us to take. That helped us out in the championship (moved from 4th to 3rd overall). | |
 | Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Finished: 8th |
| JUAN MONTOYA | |
| All weekend we had difficulties trying to get the setup right. We were really struggling with the car. In the race, I didn't want to push too hard and make a mistake. But we leave here with some more points for the championship and now we'll go to Houston. | |
 | McDonald'sForsythe Championship Racing Team Reynard Honda Finished: 21st |
| TONY KANAAN | |
| I'm really disappointed. I don't think we had the car to pass Bryan (Herta) on the race track, but I was saving a lot of fuel and the car was very good after the first pit stop. I think we would have finished well. | |
 | Tecate Beer/Quaker State Patrick Racing Reynard Ford Finished: 5th |
| ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | |
| The car was beautiful all day, it was excellent. We managed to have good restarts which was a concern of mine with my arm, but we had some very good ones today. We were also very fast going to down the hill into the last turn. That last yellow really killed us though. We lost a lot of track position. If it was not for that last yellow we could have got Ford a one, two, three, four finish. HOW DID YOUR ARM HOLD UP OVER THE 83 LAPS? It felt better after about 20 laps into the race. I think it started to loosen up a bit. But my arm is pretty painful now. ON THE CONTACT WITH GREG MOORE Well, I got him going into turn one under braking and he also was braking late and I was already committed to the corner. I knew that we were going to touch so I lifted my right arm and took it off the steering wheel. | |
 | Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Walker Racing Reynard Honda Finished: 6th |
| GIL de FERRAN | |
| The race started well for us, but I was adjusting the mixture and knocked off the ignition switch. I knew right away what had happened, but it took a couple of tries to get the engine to restart. That cost us a lot of positions (from 10th to 15th) and maybe a podium finish. | |
 | Alpine Walker Racing Reynard Honda Finished: 14th |
| NAOKI HATTORI | |
| We had some good lap times today, and a good finish. I spun on cold tires and that cost us several positions, otherwise we might have finished in the points. It is something to build on, I think." | |
 | Herdez Payton-Coyne Racing Lola Ford Finished: 13th |
| MEMO GIDLEY | |
| We had a hard time all weekend. We never got h balance of the car the way I needed. I learned a lot today by just driving today. IF YOU WOULD NOT HAVE HAD THAT ONE OFF TRACK EXCURSION, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE FINISHED? It's tough to say. I may have finished up a couple more spots in the points. The last yellow really helped me a lot because it allowed me to close up the gap and run for positions. | |
 | Hogan Racing Lola Mercedes Finished: 26th |
| HELIO CASTRO-NEVES | |
| Unfortunately, I couldn't go to power. Something was wrong on the chassis with a cable. It was a fun race. It's a shame. We'll come back and try again at Houston. | |
 | Tang Hogan Racing Lola Mercedes Finished: 15th |
| LUIZ GARCIA JR. | |
| This was my best run of the year. The team is making progress. I want to score some points really bad, but the main thing is to learn and keep Carl (Hogan) happy and keep the sponsors happy. | |
 | Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes Finished: 9th |
| PATRICK CARPENTIER | |
| We did a great job in the pits today. We had a great strategy. The team brought me to ninth place because of their work. At this point, I just want to finish in the top 10 in points by the end of the season. | |
 | Hollywood Reynard Mercedes Finished: 11th |
| MAURICIO GUGELMIN | |
| We didn't have a good start, and I lost two places by the first lap. The handling of the car was pretty decent all day. After the first pit stop, Dario (Franchitti) sent me into a 360-degree spin in Turn Three and put me way behind. Fortunately, the crew got me back to 11th by the checkered flag. | |
 | Patrick Racing Visteon Reynard Ford Finished: 17th |
| JAN MAGNUSSEN | |
| We lost the gearbox late and we had to park the car. YOU AND PRUETT GOT TOGETHER WHICH CAUSED YOU TO DAMAGE YOUR FRONT WING. HOW DID YOU GUYS COME TOGETHER? Pruett was late breaking and I got a run on him and I broke the rear of the car loose and when I got in deep it broke the left side of my front wing off. That's racing. It's not really anybody's fault. | |
 | Team Gordon Eagle Toyota Finished: 19th |
| ROBBY GORDON | |
| (On the first spin, Max) Papis hit me from behind going into the Corkscrew. I was giving him room to get by and when he was cutting across to the right (for the next turn), he hit my left rear, grabbed me, and turned me around. It's unfortunate. The second time, I simply spun on cold tires. What are you going to say? They have a new rule where if you stall in the gravel trap, they won't pull you out (to resume the race). We were running well before the first round of pit stops, holding our position pretty well. It was tough to pass, but we were able to take advantage of what few opportunities we had. We were about to work our way into the points when we pitted the second time, but it wasn't meant to be. We'll get 'em next time. | |