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CART: Andretti seeks Canadian sweep at Molson Indy Vancouver

30 August 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

DETROIT- After a rare misstep in his quest for the Vanderbilt Cup, symbol of the FedEx Championship Series driving championship, Newman/Haas Racing driver Michael Andretti can take comfort that the series' next competitive stop comes north of the border.

Andretti (Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola) has enjoyed extraordinary success at FedEx Championship Series events contested in Canada and he looks to continue that trend this weekend as the streets of Vancouver, British Columbia host Round 15 of the championship, Sunday's Molson Indy Vancouver (4 p.m. ET, live, ABC-TV).

Last month, Andretti recorded the sixth of his 40 career FedEx Championship Series victories at Toronto, giving him more wins at that venue than at any other in his storied 17-year career. Now, coming off a scoreless finish at Road America - only his second in the past 12 events - Andretti, the championship points leader, visits Concord Pacific Place, where he has earned three victories (1991, '92 and '96) and three pole positions (1990-92) in nine career starts.

Andretti is chasing the Canadian double for the third time in his career, having won at Toronto and Vancouver in 1991 and '92. Al Unser Jr. is the only other driver to have won both Canadian events in a single season, that coming in 1990.

Andretti's scoreless finish at Road America allowed the championship race to tighten considerably as five other drivers are within 25 points of his lead. Andretti comes to Vancouver with 125 points, followed by Roberto Moreno (Visteon Ford Reynard) of Patrick Racing, who has 112. Other drivers in the hunt include Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Honda Reynard) of Marlboro Team Penske with 106 points; Adrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing Ford Reynard) of Patrick Racing with 103; rookie Kenny Brack (Shell Ford Reynard) of Team Rahal with 102; and Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard) of Team KOOL Green with 100.

Defending FedEx Series champ Juan Montoya (Target Toyota Lola) of Target Chip Ganassi Racing is also the defending Molson Indy Vancouver champion. Montoya recorded his CART rookie-record seventh triumph at Vancouver last year, one of three events he won from the pole.

Other previous Vancouver winners on this weekend's entry list include Dario Franchitti (KOOL Honda Reynard) of Team KOOL Green, who drove to victory in 1998, and Mauricio Gugelmin (Nextel PacWest Mercedes) of the PacWest Racing Group, whose first career FedEx Championship Series triumph came at this venue in 1997.

This year, for the first time in FedEx Championship Series history, all cars ride on Firestone Firehawks, the Official Tire of CART.

The Molson Indy Vancouver begins the stretch run to the FedEx Championship Series championship, which will play out over the final two months of the season. For the fourth consecutive season, the FedEx Championship Series concludes at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and for the third straight year, the season finale will pay the winner $1 million. Thanks to a partnership between Marlboro, Toyota, CART and California Speedway, the payday is the largest on the circuit. The day could be twice as nice for one lucky driver as the series champion also receives $1 million from the season-ending bonus fund.

The Molson Indy Vancouver begins a run of three consecutive event weekends for FedEx Championship Series competitors. The series continues with Round 16, the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Shell 300, Sept. 8-10 at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Calif.

WHO'S HOT

* Despite seeing a streak of six consecutive scoring performances come to an end with an 18th-place finish in the Motorola 220 at Road America, Michael Andretti (Big Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola) of Newman/Haas Racing continues to set the pace in the chase for the Vanderbilt Cup, emblematic of the FedEx Championship Series driving championship. Andretti has scored championship points in 10 of his last 12 starts, including victories at Japan and Toronto and podium finishes of second at Milwaukee, Michigan and Chicago. He leads the series in laps completed (1,847 of a possible 2,012) and miles completed (2,957.241 of a possible 3,309.751) and enters this weekend's Molson Indy Vancouver with a 125-112 championship lead over Roberto Moreno (Visteon Ford Reynard) of Patrick Racing.

* Adrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing Ford Reynard) of Patrick Racing has scored championship points in 11 of his past 12 FedEx Championship Series starts, and has moved from 26th to fourth place in the championship in that span. His scoring run began with a victory at Brazil and includes podium finishes of second at Toronto and Road America as well as top-five results of fifth at Nazareth and Chicago. With 103 points, he trails third-place Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Honda Reynard, 106 points) by only three and is just nine behind Roberto Moreno, his Patrick Racing teammate.

* Rookie Kenny Brack (Shell Ford Reynard) of Team Rahal comes to the Molson Indy Vancouver off his third podium finish of the season, a third-place result at Road America. He has scored championship points in 10 of his past 12 FedEx Championship Series starts, including podium finishes of second at Cleveland and third at Nazareth. He also owns finishes of fourth at Milwaukee and Chicago, fifth at Japan and Mid-Ohio and sixth at Portland. Brack has topped the 100 championship-point mark and stands fifth in the title battle with 102 points. He also holds a commanding 102-45 points lead over Alex Tagliani (Player's Forsythe Racing Team Ford Reynard) of Player's Forsythe Racing in the battle for the Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year Award.

* With his 10th-place finish at Road America, rookie Oriol Servia (Telefonica Toyota Reynard) of PPI Motorsports became the only FedEx Championship Series driver to have scored championship points in as many as six of the seven road or street course events contested this season. The remainder of Servia's run includes finishes of sixth at Long Beach, a career-best third at Detroit, eighth at Portland, 11th at Toronto and 10th at Mid-Ohio. He stands 16th in the championship with 44 points.

* Memo Gidley (DIRECTV Toyota Reynard) of Della Penna Motorsports comes to Vancouver off a sixth-place finish at Road America, a career best in 17 FedEx Championship Series starts. Since joining Della Penna Motorsports last month, Gidley has recorded four consecutive points-paying finishes, including 10th at Michigan and Chicago, and 12th at Mid-Ohio. Despite competing in only six of 13 events to date, Gidley stands 18th in the championship with 20 points.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

* Michael Andretti (Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Ford Lola) owns three victories in nine career starts on the streets of Vancouver, in 1991, '92 and '96. He also won consecutive pole positions from 1990-92, and added podium finishes of third in 1994 and second in 1998. He is CART's career laps-led leader at Vancouver with 321, including 97 in 1992, 82 in '96 and 70 in '91.

* Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Honda Reynard) of Marlboro Team Penske owns top-four finishes in three of five career starts at Vancouver, with podium performances of second in 1995 and third in 1997. He also finished fourth in 1996.

* Mauricio Gugelmin (Nextel PacWest Mercedes) of the PacWest Racing Group recorded his only career FedEx Championship Series victory at Vancouver in 1997 and owns five top-six efforts overall in six career starts at the venue. The run includes finishes of fourth last year, fifth in 1994, and sixth in '96 and '98.

* Jimmy Vasser (Target Toyota Lola) owns two podium results in his past three appearances at Vancouver, with results of second in 1997 and third last year. He led a race-high 46 laps in 1997 and has started among the top five drivers three times, topped by an outside pole position in 1995.

Text provided by T.E. McHale

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