Auto Racing: Target/Ganassi team hauls in biggest crowd at Mid-Ohio track

Sunday, August 13, 2000

By Chris Dolack, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Working your way through the garage area at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course yesterday was like trying to get out of Downtown on a Friday afternoon using the Parkway East.

Qualifying for today's Championship Auto Racing Teams Miller Lite 200 was more than two hours away and fans swarmed the garages hoping to catch a glimpse -- and snap a picture or get an autograph -- of their favorite driver.

The biggest crowd gathered in the general vicinity of the four-time series champion Target/Chip Ganassi Racing haulers. Ganassi's drivers are trying to win at this 2.258-mile permanent road course for the fourth time in the past five years. Juan Montoya, who won last year as a rookie, is fifth in points with two victories and will start 10th today. He also won the Indy Racing League's Indianapolis 500. Jimmy Vasser was battling for the series lead earlier this season but has slipped to ninth. He will start 11th today.

So Montoya, whom Vasser says "it's safe to assume" will be racing in Formula One for Frank Williams next season, zipped in and out of the area on a scooter as shutters clicked and autograph hounds thrust pieces of paper in front of him. But Montoya, from Colombia, has no time to waste because he trails series leader Michael Andretti by 43 points, a sizable deficit to close over the final eight races if he is to repeat as champion.

Vasser, in his sixth season with Fox Chapel's Ganassi and with one more year on his contract, was more reserved. Taking a break between morning practice and afternoon qualifying, Vasser, the 1996 CART champion, reclined on a leather couch in his hauler and reflected on the changes his team has gone through, most notably a new Lola chassis and Toyota engine this season.

"It's been up and down a bit," said Vasser, a California native now living in Las Vegas. "We're still learning about the chassis. When we get it right, it's good. We've been in a position to win some races. Juan has won a couple, but we're having to come to grips with that. It's hard to make a change like that.

"The engine's been good. At times it's been a pleasant surprise, and at other times we've been greatly disappointed with the reliability of it. The power is getting to be there and they're making big gains. It's been bittersweet."

Six seasons with one team is almost unheard these days, no matter what the sport. But Vasser has no regrets.

"We've had a tremendous amount of success as a team," he said. "I've had all my success in Indy cars basically with this team. It's been fantastic with [two-time champion Alex] Zanardi and Montoya.

"It's been a great experience. Chip demands a lot, that's why we're winning."

In Vasser, Ganassi said he has found a leader.

"He has a laid-back, quiet demeanor but also a natural ability to lead," Ganassi said. "I've been fortunate to be around [team partner] Joe Montana, and they have some of the same traits. On the track, he's one of the smartest drivers I've seen."

A Penske front row

Many drivers posted slower speeds during the final qualifying session yesterday than Friday's provisional qualifying period. Team Penske's Gil de Ferran, who was not injured yesterday when his rear wheels locked up sending him spinning off course and flipping upside down into a tire barrier, used his Friday track-record of 1 minute, 5.347 seconds at 124.394 mph to win the pole for today's race. Helio Castroneves, de Ferran's teammate, qualified second with his Friday time of 1:05.362 at 124.366 mph. Dario Franchitti will start third followed by rookie Kenny Brack and Christian Fittipaldi. Points leader Michael Andretti will start eighth. De Ferran's Honda-Reynard sustained minor damage to the wings and rollbar in the accident, but he said it would be fixed in time for today's race.

Engine battles

Since being introduced to CART in 1996, Toyota-powered cars have had little success -- until this year. Montoya and Cristiano da Matta have won the past two events for Toyota, and Montoya gave the manufacturer its first series victory June 5 at Milwaukee.

But at Mid-Ohio, Honda-powered cars have won three of the past four races, with Adrian Fernandez's Ford winning in 1998.

A Ford-powered car has finished second or better in the past seven CART events for a 211-187 lead in the manufacturer's championship.