CART: Kanaan capitalizes on Papis misfortune to claim first career victory at U.S. 500
27 July 1999
BROOKLYN, Mich. - Tony Kanaan of McDonald's Championship Racing shot stunningly into the lead when Team Rahal's Max Papis ran out of fuel just two turns from the checkered flag Sunday to claim his first career FedEx Championship Series victory in the U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota at Michigan Speedway.Kanaan's 0.032-second margin of victory over fast-closing Juan Montoya, the FedEx Championship Series points leader, was the second closest in CART history, topped only by Mark Blundell's 0.027-second win over Gil de Ferran at Portland in 1997.
Kanaan (McDonald's Championship Racing Team Honda Reynard) overcame a black flag for a broken gurney flap early in the event which had him running in 14th place on the 82nd of 250 laps.. Kanaan gradually worked his way through the field and was in position to take advantage when Papis, who held a 3.072-second advantage entering the final of 250 laps, suddenly slowed as he headed into Turn 3 on the two-mile superspeedway.
It was extremely disheartening for Papis, whose Miller Lite Ford Reynard was strong all afternoon as he led a race-high 143 of 250 laps as he also chased his first career victory. Papis, who had never led a lap in his four-year career prior to Sunday, settled for a seventh-place finish.
Kanaan used Papis' misfortune to become the ninth different winner of the FedEx Championship Series season, tying a series record established in 1985 and tied in 1995, while averaging 186.097 miles per hour. The average speed was third fastest in CART competition at Michigan Speedway. Kanaan's victory improved on his previous career-best finish of third, which came at Laguna Seca and Houston last year.
The race featured 29 lead changes among seven drivers, second in CART history to last year's U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota at Michigan Speedway, which featured 62 lead changes before Greg Moore became first to the checkered flag. Moore finished 23rd Sunday, completing 63 of 250 laps before retiring due to transmission problems.
Montoya's (Target Honda Reynard) runner-up effort was his sixth podium finish of the season and allowed him to increase his championship lead from seven points (113-106) entering the event to 13 (129-116) over second-place Dario Franchitti. Franchitti finished fifth.
Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard), Franchitti's teammate, rounded out the podium with a third-place finish. It was his fourth podium of the season and fifth top-five result in the last six events, dating to his victory at Milwaukee.
Michael Andretti (Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Swift) finished fourth and maintained third place in the championship with 107 points. Franchitti's (KOOL Honda Reynard) fifth-place finish brought him his seventh top-five performance of the season, including a victory last week at Toronto.
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