CART: Andretti gains points in an 'ugly' day of racing at Portland
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
June 25, 2001Michael Andretti, Car No. 39, Motorola/Honda-Reynard
"It was an ugly day out there but in the end we gained points and a lot of guys didn't so that's important. I just tried to drive smooth and save my tires because when the rain would slack off the track was getting pretty dry. The drier it got, the more my car would go away so when it really poured, the car would come back. I don't agree with the black flag (for passing Herta on lap 77 before the green flag) but we'll let Kim (Green) take that up with CART. It was just a really long day."
- Finished: 8th
- Started: 16th
- Status: Running
- Laps Completed: 76 of 76 (*98 scheduled but ended due to time)
- Points Earned: 5 for 53 --3rd in the CART FedEx Championship
Kim Green, Team Motorola General Manager
"It was certainly a challenging day for everybody. It rained pretty constantly so it was hard work starting back where we did; visibility was definitely a problem for Michael so I think he did a great job. Michael was driving as hard as he could, he had a couple of spins which set us back, then we moved up, went back, moved up and went back. I think Michael drove a really heads up race and he was very patient and gained positions as he could. Based on how difficult a weekend we had trying to get the car set-up right in the dry I felt that finishing eighth was fantastic and we've made gains in the championship. We'll investigate the black flag situation with CART once there's been an opportunity to review the tape."
Text provided by Jana Griffith
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