CART: Mercedes-Benz and Tony Kanaan Third on Grid in Chicago
30 July 2000
Tony Kanaan and Mercedes-Benz earned the third spot on the grid today
during qualifying for the Target Grand Prix at the 1.029-mile Chicago Motor
Speedway oval in Cicero, Ill. Reigning CART FedEx Championship Series
champion Juan Montoya will start on pole thanks to a lap of 22.107 seconds
(167.567 mph).
Kanaan turned a lap at 22.137 seconds (167.340 mph), which is only
three-hundredths of a second off Montoya's pole time (0.2 mph).
"Mercedes-Benz has been working really hard on their engine program, and
I appreciate that," said Kanaan, driver of the Hollywood/Mo Nunn
Racing/Mercedes-Benz. He is competing in his second race after recovering
from a broken arm he suffered during qualifying for the Detroit Grand Prix in
June. "We had a new engine this weekend that got us up at the front of the
grid. It's nice when you see improvements. That's why I was in such a hurry
to get back into the car after my injury. I knew the engine was getting
better."
The PacWest Racing duo of Mauricio Gugelmin and Mark Blundell qualified
in the 16th and 17th spots respectively on the grid due to poor-handling race
cars during their runs this afternoon. Gugelmin had run as high as seventh
this morning during practice, but his car felt different during qualifying.
"I had a push in the middle of the corner that translated to a loose
condition coming out of the corner," said Gugelmin, driver of the
Nextel/Mercedes-Benz, who turned a 22.686-second lap (163.290 mph). "I
didn't have that before. That was new. This place is hard. It will be a
tough deal tomorrow."
Blundell's car experienced problems similar to Gugelmin's. "We just had
too much push out there," said the driver of the Motorola/Mercedes-Benz,
whose quickest lap was 22.718 seconds (163.060 mph). "We added some front
wing after this morning, but there was still too much push. It will be tough
tomorrow. You'll have to have a stable race to stay in the hunt. You'll
also have to have good fuel consumption."
Herdez/Bettenhausen Motorsports/Mercedes-Benz driver Michel Jourdain Jr.
qualified right behind Gugelmin and Blundell in the 18th starting position,
thanks to a 22.827-second lap (162.282 mph). "I thought the wind was going
to be bigger this afternoon," said Jourdain. The wind has been at the
drivers' backs coming down the front straight and affecting the way the cars
handle in the turns. "We took some front wing out, but we had too much
understeer."
Hollywood/Arciero Project Racing driver Luiz Garcia Jr. was unable to
post a qualifying time.
The green flag will fly tomorrow at 3 p.m. local time (4 p.m. Eastern),
and the race can be seen live on ABC-TV.
Qualifying, Target Grand Prix
Chicago Motor Speedway, Cicero, Ill.
July 29, 2000
Pos. Driver Engine Time Speed
1 Juan Montoya Toyota 22.107 167.567
2 Helio Castroneves Honda 22.133 167.370
3 Tony Kanaan Mercedes-Benz 22.137 167.340
4 Kenny Brack Ford 22.235 166.602
5 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 22.280 166.266
6 Max Papis Ford 22.364 165.641
7 Paul Tracy Honda 22.394 165.419
8 Alex Tagliani Ford 22.409 165.309
9 Jimmy Vasser Toyota 22.423 165.205
10 Gil de Ferran Honda 22.437 165.102
16 Mauricio Gugelmin Mercedes-Benz 22.686 163.290
17 Mark Blundell Mercedes-Benz 22.718 163.060
18 Michel Jourdain Jr. Mercedes-Benz 22.827 162.282
25 Luiz Garcia Jr. Mercedes-Benz No time --