CART: Highs and Lows for Team KOOL Green
9 June 1999
TESTING REPORT FROM MID-OHIOINDIANAPOLIS - Dario Franchitti and Team KOOL Green experienced racing's highs and lows at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 8. Franchitti completed more than 125 miles, lapping within a couple of tenths of the track record set in qualifying for last year's Mid-Ohio race. However, early in the afternoon he crashed in Turn 9, damaging the KOOL Honda-Reynard's left rear suspension and bringing the test to a conclusion.
"The car bottomed in Turn 9, a fast fourth gear corner, and lost rear grip," said Franchitti, who was not injured in the accident. "I completely lost the back end of the car, spun, went through the gravel trap and into the barrier.
"I'm all right, but I'm upset. I don't like crashing. It's annoying. But crashes are a part of racing. It's my job to drive at 100% at tests, otherwise we wouldn't learn anything. But it's frustrating, because it means more work for the guys and they're already working as hard as they can."
Despite the crash, the test was productive according to Don Halliday, Team KOOL Green technical director.
"The car was quick right out of the box," said Halliday. "Dario was running within two tenths of a second of last year's pole times, lap after lap and he was very upbeat about the car's performance and about the Firestone tires. It was awfully hot, which is actually good because that's usually what conditions are like when we race at Mid-Ohio in August. So although the crash is a minor set-back, overall the test was encouraging."
NOTE: FRANCHITTI CLOSES-IN ON FEDEX CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD
Dario Franchitti moved to within two points of the lead in the FedEx Championship as the result of a steward's inquiry following the Miller Lite 225 at Milwaukee on June 6. Originally classified as the ninth place finisher, Franchitti was awarded seventh place following CART's decision to penalize Patrick Carpentier and Juan Montoya one lap each for passing during a yellow flag condition. The official results leave Franchitti with 71 PPG points, two behind championship leader Montoya. Meanwhile, Paul Tracy, who earned his first win for Team KOOL Green at Milwaukee, moved into eighth place in the championship with 36 points.
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