CART: Hollywood/Mo Nunn Racing Notes and Quotes, Homestead
27 March 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Tony Kanaan
#55 Hollywood/Mo Nunn Racing Mercedes-Benz Reynard
Sunday, March 26, 2000 " Race Notes/Quotes
Grand Prix of Miami " Homestead Miami Speedway
Round 1 of 20 on the 2000 CART FedEx Championship Series
A stroke of misfortune on the last round of pit stops cost Tony Kanaan and the #55 Hollywood/Mo Nunn Racing Mercedes-Benz Reynard a possible podium finish in its CART FedEx Championship Series debut, leaving Kanaan and his brand new team to settle for 10th place in todays season-opening Grand Prix of Miami. Kanaan meticulously worked his way from his 14th starting position to fourth place on Lap 103 of a scheduled 150 laps when a necessary stop for fuel came just after what turned out to be an ill-timed yellow flag, while the pits were closed. Kanaan then exceeded the 50 mph speed limit while exiting pit lane by 1 mph. He returned to action in the lead, which he held for four laps of the caution period. But the infraction for pitting while the pits were closed required Kanaan to go to the back of the pack during the caution period. The pit speed violation required a drive-through penalty once the race resumed under green with 40 laps to go. That left Kanaan in 10th place, one lap down, where he ended up the rest of the way.
TONY KANAAN " That was a top-three car all the way. It was unfortunate that we caught the yellow when we did. A car stopped on track and it took several laps before they threw the yellow, and we were already scheduled to make our second pit stop. They still hadnt thrown the yellow when I committed to the pit lane. Just as I was coming in, they threw the yellow and I was forced to drive through the pits without stopping. Then, I had to stop the next time around, even though the pits were closed, because I was out of fuel. I honestly dont know what happened on the pit speed violation. Well have to look at that and make sure it doesnt happen again. Otherwise, it was a very good team effort. The car was great, the crew made great pit stops. Its just a shame that we didnt have any luck today. But its comforting to know that we have the car, and we have the team, so all we need is some luck. It was a great race. I was having a lot of fun out there. We could have finished better, but it also could have been a lot worse. Im relieved!"
MORRIS NUNN " Well, we got the monkey off our backs. For a new team, we had two perfect pit stops. Im proud of all the guys for not only the effort theyve put in to get us here, but for their performance under true race situations today. We saw that Tony is a racer. He was overtaking other cars. Overall, I think we have a winning package. I think we can go from here and win races.
Text provided by Laz Denes
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