CART: Honda Indy 300 Notes and Quotes, Saturday
16 October 1999
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
DARIO FRANCHITTI, KOOL Honda Reynard: "I think every [championship] point counts at the moment. It's so difficult to pass here, it's very important to start on the first two rows. I got in a good lap at the start, not too good, and we came in, changed tires and then I went out and experimented, shall we say? I went out and threw everything at it and it seemed to work out. I was surprised at the margin, but I'll take it."
BRYAN HERTA, Shell Ford Reynard: "It was a very interesting qualifying session, as it always is. I got a good lap in on the first set of tires, so I thought I could take some chances on the second set. I caught the cone in the Foster's Chicane and clipped the wing on the front suspension, so I didn't get a chance to go after Dario at the end. The timing [of a strong finish to the season] is good. I think all the people who need to know, know I'm available [next year]. I'm working on some things, and I'd like to put that to rest sooner rather than later. In the meantime, I'll just concentrate on getting the best results I can on the racetrack."
SCOTT PRUETT, Pioneer/MCI WorldCom Toyota Reynard: "It was a great effort. I've got to thank the [Arciero-Wells Racing] team, Toyota, MCI, Pioneer ... They've worked really hard, and I've reaped the benefits of all their efforts. This is going to be my last street race in CART, so this is a great way to go out. We made quite a few changes to the car, all of them positive. If anybody noticed, we jumped back and forth between our primary and our backup car in the practice sessions, and our qualifying setup was kind of a blend between the two, so it worked out very well."
WHAT'S NOTEWORTHY
* Of pole-winner Dario Franchitti's (KOOL Honda Reynard) eight career pole positions, seven have come on road or street courses. The group consists of Toronto in 1997; Toronto, Mid-Ohio, Vancouver and Australia in 1998, and Mid-Ohio and Australia this year. He has started fourth or better in 11 of his last 12 starts on temporary street circuits.
* Bryan Herta (Shell Ford Reynard) has qualified on the front row for four of his past six FedEx Championship Series starts, and four of his past five on road or street courses. Included is a pole at Laguna Seca and outside poles at Mid-Ohio, Houston and Australia.
* Scott Pruett (Pioneer/MCI WorldCom Toyota Reynard) will make his best start of the season and best overall since winning the pole for last year's FedEx Championship Series season finale at California Speedway.
* Franchitti's pole was the 13th of the season for Honda and the 17th for Firestone.
* The qualifying podium of Franchitti, Herta and Pruett marked the first time three different engine manufacturers have been represented among the top three qualifiers in a road or street course event since last year at Detroit. In that event, Greg Moore won the pole powered by a Mercedes and was followed by Alex Zanardi (Honda) and Adrian Fernandez (Ford). Sunday's Honda Indy 300 will mark the 16th road or street course event contested in that span.
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