CART: Team KOOL Green at the Texaco/Havoline 200
2 July 1999
WHAT: Texaco/Havoline 200 - Round 10 of 20 in the CART FedEx Championship SeriesWHEN: July 9 - 11
WHERE: Elkhart Lake, Wisc.
PAUL TRACY, #26 Team KOOL Green Honda/Reynard/Firestone: (Started 17th / Finished 6th at Road America in 1998 ; 8th in the PPG Cup standings with 58 points)
"I'd love to sweep the Wisconsin Champ Car races. My wife, Liisa, is from Crivitz (WI), so I'm already an honorary cheesehead. Maybe winning at Milwaukee and Road America in the same year would make it official.
"I've always gone pretty well at Milwaukee and Road America. I've led every race I've ever run at Milwaukee and I've had some success at Road America as well. I'll never forget when they had to take the timing to four decimal points in 1992 to figure out whether Emerson Fittipaldi or I got the pole. For the record, I did.
"This year's win at Milwaukee was huge, for me personally but also for the guys on my side of Team KOOL Green. We had a tough season in 1998 but this year we've been competitive almost every weekend. It was just a matter of keeping our heads down, believing in ourselves and in what we were doing, and just staying consistent.
"Really, that's the way we'll approach Road America. Tony Cicale has been working as my race engineer and he's had a lot of success at Road America, so I'm sure we'll be competitive. Then it's just a matter of maintaining a consistent level of performance and driving a smart race."
DARIO FRANCHITTI , #27 Team KOOL Green Honda/Reynard/Firestone: (Started 6th / Finished 1st at Road America in 1998 ; 3rd in the PPG Cup standings with 85 points)
"I love driving the Elkhart Lake track. Whatever the outcome of the race, it's guaranteed to be an enjoyable weekend just for the shear pleasure of driving at Road America. But, of course, Team KOOL Green is there to win and that's what we want to do.
"You have to get everything right to win at Elkhart Lake: a fast, reliable car; good fuel mileage; good pit strategy and, of course, you must drive a mistake-free race. As a driver you have to be on the very top of your game. You have to get the most out of your car on ever turn of every lap and be prepared to go for it.
"I'm confident that Team KOOL Green can do the job. The team's record speaks for itself: two wins and two poles with Jacques Villeneuve (the first as Forsythe-Green Racing), plus our win last year. So we'll be looking to repeat Jacques' back-to-back success of '94 and '95 this year. If we do, I'll see you at Siebken's on Sunday evening."
KOOL/Toyota Atlantic Championship
ALEX GURNEY, #27 Team KOOL Green Toyota/Swift: (12th in standings with 17 points)
"I'm really excited about Road America. It's definitely my favorite track. I wish they would make more like them around the country. I think we're in pretty good shape heading into this race. We tested at Willow Springs last week and learned a lot that should make us better off in Elkhart Lake. We were able to get a lot of information on the aerodynamics of the Team KOOL Green car. So with some new data to work from, I'm hoping we can carry the momentum from Montreal (Finished 5th) and go a couple steps higher to reach the podium at Road America."
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