Race No. 20
Marlboro 500
Presented by Toyota
California Speedway — Fontana, California
October 29-31, 1999
Saturday Quotes from Fontana: | Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Qualified: 4th |
| JIMMY VASSER | |
| The car was working well, and I was able to run flat out all the way around with good power from the Honda engine. But the wind just drags you down a little bit and I think that was the difference for us from the guys that ran earlier. Tomorrow, you've just got to take care of your equipment for the first 400 miles or so, stay on the lead lap, get the car right, then fight for the win at the end. | |
 | Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford Qualified: 6th |
| MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| The car was fine. We were flat out all the way around. The wind was blowing us around a little but you can't blame that, we just didn't have a car quick enough. The car feels really good for tomorrow and has been really comfortable all weekend. Qualifying is just one race, the real race is tomorrow. YOU TYPICALLY HAVE A VERY STRONG CAR COME RACE TIME. DO YOU FEEL THE SAME WAY GOING INTO TOMORROW? Yes, I feel good. We are going to be real competitive. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE RACE TOMORROW IF THE WIND KEEP UP? If the wind will go down it will make 500 miles more comfortable. I tell you, you are holding your breath at time because of the wind. | |
 | Marlboro Penske Mercedes Qualified: 10th |
| AL UNSER, Jr. | |
| Even though this is my last race with Team Penske, I still look at it as a race I need to win. I'll miss everyone here from the CART officials to the people in registration. We'll be in different parts of the country at different times, but I'm sure we'll still keep in touch. I look at it like my career is only half over. I think I have a good 10-15 years to win as many races as I can. | |
 | Marlboro Penske Mercedes Qualified: 14th |
| ALEX BARRON | |
| The car was perfect. I hope we can do well for Mr. Penske at his track. A good result here will do a lot for my career. It will look good to finish a 500-mile race up front. | |
 | MCI Worldcom Arciero-Wells Reynard Toyota Qualified: 16th |
| CRISTIANO DA MATTA | |
| The car felt great all the way around. I was surprised I didn't go as fast as I thought we would, because we've had a good car all weekend. We just didn't have the speed we needed. The car was good yesterday on our full tank runs, so I think it will be good for the race. And 500 miles is a lot of time to move toward the front, so I think we'll be okay. | |
 | Pioneer Arciero-Wells Reynard Toyota Qualified: 1st |
| SCOTT PRUETT | |
| This is a great day all around, for Toyota, for Pioneer, for PPI, for everyone who's been working so hard toward this. Toyota and PPI have been on it for four years, and it's great to be able to reap the benefits with them now. This is really, really amazing. The fact that it's my last CART race makes it that much more meaningful to me personally, and to be able to make history is truly special. It's sweet. No one will ever be able to do this again. There's just nothing like being first. Our approach today was a very deliberate attempt to get just one good lap, which was pretty tricky with the wind. John (Dick, Pruett's race engineer) and I knew we had to free the car up so we wouldn't lose speed in the turns, and that meant running the car really loose. The car's only good for one lap that way. I really hung it out there and gave it everything I could. After the first lap I was on the radio telling the guys, 'That's it, that's all it's got.' And we just had a feeling it might be enough. | |
 | PacWest Motorola Reynard Mercedes |
| MARK BLUNDELL | |
| Even though it's the last race of the season and a year that's been particularly tough for me, it's still exciting to get in the car. We know we can do it. We've done it before. We just have to get back to our winning combination. | |
 | Kmart/Texaco Havoline Newman/Haas Racing Swift Ford Qualified: 9th |
| CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI | |
| We could have used a little more speed and trim out that car a little more but I am pretty happy. The guys that ran in the beginning of the qualifying session were a little bit luckier. But, that's the way it goes and we will have to take it. ARE YOU FLAT OUT ALL THE WAY AROUND? Yes, you just plant the foot in it and carry the speed. | |
 | Miller Lite Team Rahal Reynard Ford Qualified: 2nd |
| MAX PAPIS | |
| First of all I want to congratulate Scott (Pruett) on the pole. The wind was really, really gusty when we went out. We had a couple of wiggles in turn three and four. When I came out of turn four on my second lap it was almost likepulling the handbrake because of the wind. I am convinced we are going to race well tomorrow. We had a fantastic qualifying run and we are having a fantastic weekend. We are going to let Dario and Montoya battle for the championship back in the pack and go for the win. Sometimes going last in qualifying is not the best thing, but qualifying on the first row is fantastic. If I could not be on pole I can't think of anyone else I would want to be there. I think Scott has done a very good job. I know what the team has been going through developing the Toyota engine and it has been difficult for not only me when I was there but for Jeff (Krosnoff) too. I am very proud for you guys, I know what you have been going through. But,tomorrow I am going to kick your ass." DID THE WIND HAMPER YOUR EFFORTS DURING QUALIFYING? "The wind hurt us a little bit in qualifying. We got a few gusts of wind that caused me to go sideways and I think that is whatcost us the pole. DO YOU THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE YOUR WEEKEND? I always think every weekend is mine. If I didn't I would have stayed in Italy. It's really about believing in yourself. This year, Ford has been working hard on the engine. The engine has been fantastic, it's got more power, more driveability, and I am convinced if the conditions would have been right, the pole would have been 237 mph. Tomorrow is going to be long,but I know we have a competitive race car and I am looking forward to the race. What makes me happy is how much support we have, from Bobby (Rahal), the guys, Ford and that's what helps win races and championships. | |
 | Shell Team Rahal Reynard Ford Qualified: 5th |
| BRYAN HERTA | |
| I am a little disappointed that we didn't get a little more out of the car. The engine is pulling great. We have a great engine this weekend from Ford. We just didn't get the car balanced quite right for qualifying. MAX HAS BEEN SINCE THE CARS WERE UNLOADED, HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO LEARN ANYTHING FROM HIM? Well, we just talked about where we are at with the setup. He ran quick this morning and his second place in qualifying shows that. | |
 | Team Kool Green Reynard Honda Qualified: 8th |
| DARIO FRANCHITTI | |
| I think we got everything out of the KOOL car that we could. The wind seemed to gust a lot when we went out. I could really feel it on the straight. If I couldn’t be on the pole, I didn’t want Juan [Montoya] to get it and collect that extra point. We’ll be racing at the start, but we won’t be going all out. I want to stay in touch with the leaders, but I won’t be looking to lead every lap. It’s only important to be in contention for one lap, that being the last one. We’ll wait until the last 50 miles or the last pit stop or the last yellow, which ever it is. | |
 | Team Kool Green Reynard Honda Qualified: 19th |
| PAUL TRACY | |
| Gil de Ferran crashed just before I went out and then the wind started blowing, so we put a little more wing in the KOOL car just to be safe. But the car was just really slow. It was too slow down the straightaways. We’re going to be starting way at the back tomorrow [19th], so it’s going to be a long day. Where you start isn’t important for the end of the race, it really doesn’t mean a lot because you just have to be there at the end. Your anticipation level is so high and the fright factor is really high when you start towards the back of the field with these wings because the turbulence is horrendous. You can end up scaring yourself in the first third of the race just trying to make up the difference and move up through the pack. It’s a lot nicer to start up at the front with cleaner air. | |
 | Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda Qualified: 3rd |
| JUAN MONTOYA | |
| I'm a little disappointed about missing the pole, and the championship point. But it's okay. My car was perfect, there wasn't another tenth of a mile an hour left in it. It's just the wind. When the first guys went out, the track conditions were better, then the wind picked up and it's getting stronger all the time. | |
 | McDonald'sForsythe Championship Racing Team Reynard Honda Qualified: 11th |
| TONY KANAAN | |
| We had a little understeer in the car during qualifying, but we have a very good car for tomorrow. We've been focusing on our race setup. It's 500 miles and nobody knows better than me that the race can be decided on the last lap at the last corner. I'm pretty pleased with my race car. | |
 | Tecate Beer/Quaker State Patrick Racing Reynard Ford Qualified: 13th |
| ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | |
| HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET THE POLE FOR A 500-MILE RACE? I don't think it is important at all. It is good to get the pole for the extra championship point but apart from that it's not important. Last year we qualified last and finished fourth. So, you can win from the back of the pack if you have a good race car. The most important thing is to stay out of trouble, get good pit stops so you can be there for the end. DID THE WIND AFFECT YOU TODAY? It was a little bit windier than this morning but it was not too bad. | |
 | Tecate Beer/Quaker State Patrick Racing Reynard Ford Qualified: 23rd |
| PJ JONES | |
| My car was balanced real well. We just have not been able to find the setup this weekend. We have been a little behind all weekend. Hopefully we can get tuned for the race tomorrow. It doesn't really matter where we starts here, we can race hard tomorrow. REGARDING NEXT YEAR, WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS? I think I am going to turn more towards stock car racing and go that way. I am working on a couple of deals over there. | |
 | Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Walker Racing Reynard Honda Qualified: 12th |
| GIL de FERRAN | |
| The car was really good this morning, so we really trimmed out the car and set out for the pole. The weather conditions were ideal at the start of qualifying, but just before we went out the wind started to pick up. A gust just blew as I came out of turn two, I almost caught it and kept my foot hard on the throttle, but the back end finally came around and I just brushed the wall. I still wanted to run this car, and the guys were able to check it out and replace the (damaged) rear wing, so all-in-all I'm very happy to be 12th! | |
 | Alpine Walker Racing Reynard Honda Qualified: 22nd |
| NAOKI HATTORI | |
| I'm still a little sore from my crash yesterday. My neck is very stiff. Also as a result of the crash, we had to go to the backup car today and it is not quite comfortable yet. We changed the settings and made it better, but it is still a little unstable. | |
 | Hogan Racing Lola Mercedes Qualified: 20th |
| HELIO CASTRO-NEVES | |
| I was expecting to do better. The car was set up for the big wind we had earlier in the morning, and then the wind went away. (on the news that Hogan Racing does not expect to compete in 2000) I did my best. This is not easy, but when you put a helmet on, you forget about everything. Thank God I can get in the race car. Only God knows what will be. | |
 | Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 7th |
| PATRICK CARPENTIER | |
| The car was good, and I think we have a good set up for a long run. The car has been stable all weekend. (on the announcement of his contract extension with Forsythe Racing). I am very happy -- it takes the weight off my shoulders. Now I can spend the off-season concentrating on my physical conditioning. | |
 | Hollywood Reynard Mercedes Qualified: 17th |
| MAURICIO GUGELMIN | |
| It will be very important to have a car that is consistent through the whole race. If the winds keep up, it will make running in traffic difficult. Drivers will have to know where they are when the wind changes. | |
 | Team Gordon Eagle Toyota Qualified: 15th |
| ROBBY GORDON | |
| I can't say we're all that dissapointed about where we are on the grid. Although we did only qualify about as fast as we ran during six days of testing here during the last several weeks. I got in a decent first qualifying lap, but I got a little loose during the second lap thought it would be wise to bring it in early. It's been a bit of a frustrating weekend with the brake problems and the gusty winds, but thank goodness we were able to get in a lot of test time here. We know we have a great race car. We got in a lot of long, full-tank runs. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I really enjoy the 500-mile races. | |