CART: Takagi top Toyota; Earns personal best in Germany

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

September 16, 2001

- Rookie Tora Takagi was the top finishing Toyota and earned a personal-best sixth-place finish in today's American Memorial at the EuroSpeedway in Germany. Had a late-race yellow not occurred, Takagi very possibly could have earned his first career podium finish as he was running second among cars that assuredly had enough fuel to finish the race under green.

- In addition to the career-best finish, Takagi also led his first CART lap on Lap 121 of the 154-lap event.

- Despite not practicing at all on Thursday or Friday due to stomach cramps, rookie Scott Dixon placed ninth today. He, too, likely would have finished higher had the race run green to its completion and was looking at a possible top-five finish.

- Scott Dixon's ninth-place finish catapulted him into the top five overall with 86 points - 45 out of the series lead with five races remaining. - Scott Dixon completed all 154 laps today and has now completed 1,280 of 1,285 (99.6 percent) oval laps run in CART competition this year - the highest of any driver. In addition, his series-leading laps run total now goes to 1,963 of a possible 2,009 - good for 97.7 percent.

- Bruno Junqueira led three laps today on his way to earning two championship points with an 11th-place finish today.

- Rookie Townsend Bell, making his Champ Car debut, ran as high as third place on his way to finishing 13th and on the lead lap. Bell was further hampered by the limited practice as all of Thursday's practice and the first session of Friday's practice were rained out.

- Championship Auto Racing Teams donated the $500,000 American Memorial race purse to the designated World Trade Center Relief Fund. The Championship Drivers Association, which consists of the CART drivers, also has exhibited its support of the WTC Relief Fund with a donation of $50,000.

NEXT RACE: Rockingham 500, Sept. 22, ESPN, 7:30 a.m. ET, ESPN

Text provided by John Prodica

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