CART: Zanardi goes out in first lap crash at Portland

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

June 25, 2001

Alex Zanardi

#66 Pioneer-WorldCom/Mo Nunn Racing Honda-Reynard
Freightliner/G.I. Joe's 200 - Race Notes/Quotes - Sunday, June 24, 2001
Portland International Raceway - Portland, Ore. - 1.969-Mile Road Course
Round 8 of 21 on the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series

Alex Zanardi and his #66 Pioneer-WorldCom/Mo Nunn Racing Honda-Reynard was collected by an accident involving teammate Tony Kanaan on the opening lap of today's Freightliner/G.I. Joe's 200 at Portland International Raceway. Kanaan and the #55 Hollywood/Mo Nunn Racing Honda-Reynard were knocked sideways on the backstretch by the car of Memo Gidley, and Zanardi had nowhere to go but into the car of Kanaan. He then was sent into the outside wall, bringing an end to his day. Kanaan also saw his day come to an end. Neither driver was injured in the accident.

The next stop on the tour is the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland next weekend (June 29 to July 1) at Burke Lakefront Airport.

ALEX ZANARDI

"I was really hoping for a good day. We were struggling all day Friday and Saturday, but somehow it all came together this morning. We were third in the warm-up session in wet conditions and it was going to be raining all afternoon during the race. So, needless to say, we were feeling pretty optimistic. Unfortunately, I was caught up in something I had nothing to do with. That's really frustrating. But what are you going to do? I know everybody here is working very hard to overcome the problems we had here this weekend. We've had some promising weekends so far, but we need to be strong everywhere we go."

Text provided by Laz Denes

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