CART: Franchitti wins from pole at Honda Indy 300, takes point lead from Montoya
17 October 1999
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
SURFERS PARADISE, Queensland, Australia - The heavyweight bout for the undisputed FedEx Championship Series title took a dramatic turn during Sunday's Honda Indy 300 as Dario Franchitti of Team KOOL Green stormed to a victory from the pole to unseat rookie sensation Juan Montoya of Target/Chip Ganassi Racing for the championship lead before a record crowd of 102,844 on Australia's Gold Coast.
Franchitti (KOOL Honda Reynard), who entered the Hondy Indy 300 facing a 13-point deficit (200-187), completed a stunning 22-point sweep while Montoya (Target Honda Reynard) was held scoreless due to an accident, giving the 26-year-old Scotsman a nine-point advantage, 209-200, heading into Round 20, the season-ending Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota at California Speedway on Oct. 31. A $2 million payout could be on the line for either title contender with the series champion receiving $1 million from PPG and an opportunity for another $1 million for a race victory.
Franchitti, who gained a point Saturday for the pole position, registered 20 for the race win and another point for leading the most laps - 49 of 65 on the 2.795-mile temporary street course - en route to a 2.609-second margin over Team Rahal's Max Papis (Miller Lite Ford Reynard). Adrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing Ford Reynard) of Patrick Racing finished third.
The victory was Franchitti's third of the season and the sixth of his career, and made him the ninth different winner in the nine-year history of the event. None of the previous events topped this edition for attendance as the three-day CART total was a record 219,253, the largest series event this season.
It appeared that Franchitti, despite a 22-point sweep, would still head into the season finale trailing Montoya, who was running strong until his late mishap. Montoya, the record-setting rookie who leads the series in wins (7) and poles (7), moved to as high as second from his fifth starting position and was running third when calamity struck on Lap 49. He was unable to negotiate the Turn 9 lefthander and made contact with the tire barrier, ending his day.
Jan Magnussen (Visteon/Patrick Racing Ford Reynard), who opted not to pit during the caution, assumed the lead when it went green on Lap 53, but Franchitti immediately passed him heading into Turn 1 on the Lap 54. He went on to become the third driver to win from the pole in this event and capture the championship lead. The last time the FedEx Championship Series had a new points leader this late in the season was 1992 when Bobby Rahal regained the lead from Al Unser Jr. with a win at Nazareth in Round 15 of 16 and then clinching in the season finale at Laguna Seca.
It was also a stellar day for Papis, who established a career best with his runner-up performance. The effort, his 10th top-five finish of the season, eclipsed his previous best of third this season at Laguna Seca. For Fernandez, it was a career-best finish at this venue - topping sixth last season - and also his third podium of the season.
Bryan Herta (Shell Ford Reynard) and Michael Andretti (Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Swift) rounded out the top five, respectively. Herta posted his third consecutive top-five finish and a personal best at Australia, topping 10th last season. The performance for Andretti was his ninth top-five finish of the season and allowed him to close to 10 points, 161-151, of Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard) for third place in the championship.
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