CART: Montoya charges to provisional pole for Texaco Grand Prix of Houston
24 September 1999
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
HOUSTON- Rookie Juan Montoya of
Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, the FedEx Championship Series points leader,
moved a step closer to tying the CART rookie record for pole positions
Friday by capturing the provisional pole for the Texaco Grand Prix of
Houston (4 p.m. ET Sunday, live, ABC-TV).
Montoya (Target Honda Reynard) recorded a lap of 91.797 miles per hour (59.884 seconds) to lead 27 drivers who posted qualifying times on the 1.527-mile temporary street circuit. Montoya, who already owns the CART rookie record with seven race victories, would tie the rookie pole record of seven set by Nigel Mansell in 1993 if he maintains his position during final qualifying, which begins 1:45 p.m. ET Saturday. By maintaining the pole, Montoya would add a PPG Cup point to his current 199-171championship lead over Dario Franchitti (KOOL Honda Reynard).
By exiting Houston with a lead of 44 points, Montoya would clinch the championship, making Target/Chip Ganassi Racing the first team in FedEx Championship Series history to win four consecutive championships.
Christian Fittipaldi (Big Kmart Ford Swift) made a remarkable return to competition following a five-race absence by qualifying second at 91.673 mph (59.965 seconds). Fittipaldi has missed the past five FedEx Championship Series events due to a subdural hematoma sustained in an Aug. 2 testing accident at Gateway International Raceway.
Bryan Herta (Shell Ford Reynard) stands third on the provisional grid at 91.471 mph (1:00.098). He arrives in Houston coming off a victory in the most recent FedEx Championship Series event, the Sept. 12 Shell 300 at Laguna Seca Raceway.
Rounding out the top five were Patrick Carpentier (Player's Forsythe Racing Team Mercedes Reynard), fourth at 91.169 mph (1:00.297), and Naoki Hattori (Alpine Honda Reynard), fifth at 91.101 mph (1:00.342).
Franchitti qualified sixth provisionally at 91.060 mph
Editors Note: For hundreds of hot racing photos and racing art, be sure to visit The Racing ImageGalleries and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.