CART Toyota Atlantic Houston Results

Lynx Racing driver David Rutledge and teammate Jason LaPoint endure
multiple dramas to persevere and finish third and fifth, respectively, in
the CART Toyota Atlantic support race at the Texaco / Havoline Grand Prix
of Houston.
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        Lynx Racing David Rutledge, 23, of Vancouver B.C. qualified fourth
and finished third in this weekend's CART Toyota Atlantic support race at
the Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston.  A multi-car melee on the first
lap saw him spin to avoid another car, and then get hit at high speed from
behind by yet another car.  The contact flattened Rutledge's left rear tire
and, once he got going again, ducked into the pits where the Lynx team gave
him a tire change that would have made a CART crew proud.  
        Rejoining at the end of the pack, but still on the critical lead
lap, Rutledge was a 'man on a mission.'  After the green flag, he passed
five cars in a single move heading into the first turn.  Thereafter, he
picked cars off with surgical precision until he had worked his way back up
to third.  At that point, the first three cars were all equally matched and
running nose-to-tail, so there was no opportunity for further passing. 
Each driver had to hope the other made a mistake, but it was a vain hope,
with Joey Hand winning his second race of the season, followed by 2001
Atlantic series champion Hoover Orsi in second and Rutledge in third.  
        "Considering the first lap melee that gave me a flat tire and
dropped me to the back of the pack when I had to pit for a new tire - I'm
reasonably happy with third," says Rutledge, who drives the #19 Lynx Racing
Swift 008.a  "The top three cars were all very equal here, and it's very
hard to pass under those circumstances so we all ran nose to tail for the
last third of the race and tried to force the other guy into a mistake. 
Everybody kept a cool head, though, and so the smart thing to do bring the
car home on the podium which is what I did.  I had an excellent car all
race long, and we've got a really good setup for Laguna Seca, so I'm really
looking forward to finishing off the season next weekend with a win."
        Rutledge's teammate, Jason LaPoint, 24, of Woodburn, Oregon,
qualified fifth and enjoyed a bit of luck in the first lap confusion.  He
managed to snake through it all without hitting anyone and emerged out the
other side in second place.  He harried the leader for half a dozen laps
until yet another multi-car spinout caught him and dropped him back to
fifth, where he ran until the finish.  This is LaPoint's second-ever race
with the Lynx team (the other being Road America where he qualified third
and finished seventh with deteriorating handling), and his first-ever
street circuit.
        'That first-lap thing was really good for me because I avoided
getting tangled up in it and came out the other side in second," says
LaPoint, who drives the # 32 Lynx Racing / Infinity Racing / Regency
Aviation Swift 008.a.  "I was able to run easily with the leader and was
hoping for a shot at a win, but there was another multi-car mess a couple
of laps later that took away everything I'd gained.  The Lynx team gave me
a really good car, but once the field spread out a bit I didn't have
anybody to race with, so I was just being careful to bring the car home in
one piece.  This was my first-ever street circuit, but I have quite a bit
of time at Laguna so I'm looking forward to next weekend."
        The next, and final, race on the 2001 CART Toyota Atlantic schedule
is the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey at the Laguna Seca Raceway in Northern
California on October 13 - 14.