CART: Freightliner/G.I. Joe's 200 Toyota Fast Facts, Portland Oregon
21 June 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Date: June 25, 2000Broadcast: ESPN2, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Race Length: 98 laps for 192.766 miles
Track Length: 1.967-mile road course
1999 Winner: Gil de Ferran
Toyota's Best Finish: 11th - Cristiano da Matta, 1999
Toyota's Best Qualifying: 15th - Cristiano da Matta, 1999
Track Speed Records:
Qualifying: 1998, Brian Herta, (121.341 mph)
Race: 1998, Alex Zanardi, (104.742 mph
Manufacturer Points: Ford - 120; Honda - 116; Toyota - 108;
Mercedes - 38
What to look for at Portland:
AND ORIOL MAKES THREE - Oriol Servia became the third different Toyota driver to earn a podium finish this season with a third at Detroit. He joins Juan Montoya and Jimmy Vasser in achieving the feat. Cristiano da Matta, the fourth Toyota driver to compete in every race this season, has barely missed a podium on two occasions - finishing fourth at both Rio and Motegi. Da Matta qualified a season-best sixth at Detroit and was running fifth before an engine problem forced him to retire early.
MORE ORIOL - With his third-place finish at Detroit, Oriol Servia became just the second CART rookie to earn a podium finish this season. The 1999 Indy Lights champion has already earned three top-10 finishes in his first seven Champ Car races. Servia currently sits second in the CART Rookie of the Year race, just 13 points behind Kenny Brack.
"MADE IN AMERICA" TOYOTA ENGINE LOOKS FOR PORTLAND WIN - Toyota arrives in Portland looking to put its U.S.-designed and built RV8E Champ Car engine into the winner's circle for the second time this season. Before its victory at Milwaukee, only one other U.S.-designed and built engine had ever won in Champ Car competition.
LAPPING THE FIELD - With Juan Montoya leading the way, Toyota has led more than half (50.4 percent) the race laps run in Champ Car competition this season (542 of 1,075). Montoya has led 541 of the total series laps run - 402 laps more than the next closest driver with 139. Montoya's domination goes even deeper over the past four races where he's led 520 of 735 (70.7 percent) of the laps run.
In addition to winning Milwaukee, Montoya has dominated the last four CART races before a pit problem (Motegi), a punctured tire (Nazareth) and a CV joint failure (Detroit) cost him almost certain victories. Before suffering those problems in each respective race, Montoya has led every green flag race lap outside of normal pit cycling.
MONTOYA'S POLE ROLL - Juan Montoya can enter the CART record books by winning the pole position at Portland this weekend. Montoya can join Mario Andretti (1984) and Danny Sullivan (1988) as the only drivers in series history to start five consecutive races in one season from the pole if he takes the top spot at PIR.
MONTOYA MAKING QUALIFYING HISTORY - Juan Montoya has already driven his Target Toyota into the history books in becoming the first CART driver to qualify in the top three in each of the first seven races of a season. With his Detroit pole position, Montoya surpassed current teammate Jimmy Vasser's streak of six straight top-three qualifying efforts to start the 1996 season. Montoya has six front-row starts in seven races this season.
BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE - A Toyota-powered Champ Car has won the pole in five of the last eight CART races. In addition, a Toyota has started on the front row in every race this season and has an overall streak of eight straight races on the front row dating back to last season's Fontana finale.
TOYOTA PASSES THE CENTURY MARK - For the first time since entering Champ Car racing in 1996, Toyota has surpassed 100 Manufacturer's Points in a season - earning 108 points in just seven races this year. Its previous best total was 80 in 1999. The manufacturer has scored at least one fourth-place finish or better in every race this season.
TOYOTA DRIVERS IN CHAMPIONSHIP RUN - After completing seven races on the 20-race FedEx Championship Series schedule, Jimmy Vasser has climbed back into second in the points chase, just five points out of first-place. Juan Montoya sits sixth after suffering a DNF at Detroit. In what's turning out to be one of the tightest championship battles ever, the top nine drivers overall are separated by just 19 points.
Quotes
Jim Aust, Toyota vice president for motorsports: "I think we've proven that we can compete with anyone in the series. As much as Juan has been dominating, I hope everyone realizes that Jimmy, Oriol and Cristiano have all finished in the top-four in races this season as well. Plus, we've shown we can run on big ovals, short ovals and street courses. Now, Portland provides another major challenge as the first permanent road course of the season. That's the great thing about this sport - there's a new challenge every race."
Text provided by John Procida
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