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CART: Montoya dominates, CV joint failure costs Detroit win

19 June 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

SERVIA TAKES FIRST PODIUM FINISH WITH THIRD

- Oriol Servia earned his first Champ Car podium finish today and the first for Cal Wells' Precision Preparation Inc. by finishing a strong third. Servia, the 1999 Indy Lights champion, drove from 12th to third - his third top-10 finish of the season. The podium finish is the fourth of the season for Toyota - coming from three different drivers.

- Juan Montoya led 59 of the first 60 laps today before a CV joint failure (non-engine related) sidelined him for the day. Montoya earned the bonus point for most laps led for the fourth consecutive race.

- Today's Detroit race is the fourth straight race that a Toyota has led the most laps - and the fourth consecutive race started from the pole. Over the last four races, a Toyota-powered car has led 520 of the 735 laps (70%) run in Champ Car competition. Toyota leads all manufacturers with 542 laps led this season. A Toyota has led in five of seven FedEx Championship Series races this season.

- With 16 Manufacturer points today, Toyota has earned 108 points this season in just seven races this season - surpassing its previous best season-total of 80.

- Juan Montoya's 59 laps led extends his series leading total to 541 - more than 400 higher than the next highest competitor, Gil de Ferran.

- By starting on the pole today, Juan Montoya became the first driver in CART history to start each of the first seven races of a season in the top three.

- Courtesy of his seventh-place finish today, Jimmy Vasser moves into second place in the points race, just five points behind leader Paul Tracy.

Quotes

#1 Juan Montoya, Target Toyota Lola: "It was a shame. The car was great. I didn't have any warning. The Toyota and the Firestones were great and everything was so smooth. Those things happen in a race. I really want to thank Target and Toyota - they did a fantastic job today - so did my guys. We were just going along saving fuel. The whole package was working beautifully."

#96 Oriol Servia, Telefonica Toyota Reynard: "I knew we had a good car. We just had to push hard and not make mistakes. We were able to make some passes. The Toyota engine ran well all day. I'm very proud to get the team's first podium. They've had chances before, but something always happened."

Jim Aust, Toyota vice president of motorsports: "It's a bittersweet day. Oriol did an outstanding job today. Congratulations to Oriol and the entire PPI team for their first podium finish - they deserve it. Juan Montoya was Juan Montoya today - the best in the business. He completely dominated the field for the fourth race in a row. At some point, he's going to get a little bit of luck on his side - then watch out. We've had some very good engines, but our luck has been horrible."

Manufacturer's Championship: Ford 120; Honda 116; Toyota 108; Mercedes-Benz 38 Drivers Championship: Tracy 59; Vasser 54; Moreno, 52;

Text provided by John Prodica

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