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CART: FedEx Championship Series Leader Montoya Positioned to Tie Mansell's Rookie Mark at Elkhart Lake

9 July 1999

DETROIT - As if it weren't enough that he's leading the FedEx Championship Series championship midway through his rookie season, Target/Chip Ganassi Racing driver Juan Montoya is putting together a campaign which borders on the historic.

Already the owner of four victories and four pole positions in the first nine events of the season, Montoya is a threat to establish rookie records in both categories before his stellar rookie season concludes. Heading into Round 10, Sunday's Texaco/Havoline 200 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. (2 p.m. ET, live, ABC-TV), Montoya is one victory shy of Nigel Mansell's rookie record of five FedEx Championship Series victories, established in 1993.

His four poles to date have moved Montoya more than halfway to Mansell's rookie record of seven. And with a series-high 564 laps led, Montoya is well within striking distance of the FedEx Championship Series rookie record of 610 set by Alex Zanardi in 1996.

Although Montoya has been the dominant driver through the first half of the season, and although he has numerous rookie records well within his sights, he still faces challenges from several FedEx Championship Series rivals in his quest to bring Target/Chip Ganassi Racing its unprecedented fourth consecutive series championship.

Montoya enters this weekend with 112 PPG Cup points, coming off a maximum 22-point performance at Cleveland for winning from the pole and leading the most laps. His closest pursuer is Gil de Ferran (Valvoline/Cummins Special Honda Reynard) of Walker Racing, who has recorded podium finishes in each of the past three events, including a victory at Portland, to move to second in the championship, with 87 points.

Just two points further back is Dario Franchitti (KOOL Honda Reynard), the defending Texaco/Havoline 200 champion. Franchitti's victory at Road America began a run which saw him score 93 PPG Cup points over the final seven events of the 1998 season to move from eighth to third in the championship. Included, in addition to his triumph at Road America, were victories at Vancouver and Houston.

Michael Andretti (Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Swift) currently stands fourth in the championship with 78 points. A three-time winner at Road America (1990, '91 and '96), he is coming off a third-place effort at Cleveland and is the defending Texaco/Havoline 200 pole-sitter.

In addition to Franchitti and Andretti, the entry list includes another Texaco/Havoline 200 champion in Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard), who won from the pole in 1993. Tracy's Road America resume also includes consecutive pole positions in 1992, '93 and '94.

Sunday's Texaco/Havoline 200 kicks off the busiest stretch of the season for the FedEx Championship Series, with six races scheduled in the next seven weeks. The series continues with the Molson Indy on Sunday, July 18 at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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