CART: Gugelmin Second for Mercedes at Nazareth
27 May 2000
Mercedes' Gugelmin Charges to Second at Nazareth
As de Ferran Gives Penske His 100th Win
Mauricio Gugelmin took full advantage of the horsepower, driveability and
fuel efficiency of his Mercedes-Benz IC108F engine as he charged from 12th on
the grid to second place in today's Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix at Nazareth
(Pa.) Speedway. Late-race passes on Kenny Brack and Roberto Moreno put him
in position to challenge for the race win, but Gil de Ferran stayed in front
to take the checkered flag and give Roger Penske his 100th victory in the
CART FedEx Championship Series.
"Mercedes gave me great fuel consumption," said Gugelmin, driver of the
PacWest Racing/Nextel Champ Car, whose finish was his best since his win in
Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1997. He explained that by saving fuel
through the middle stages of the race, he was able to dial up his Mercedes'
turbocharger boost (and horsepower) at the end of the race and challenge the
other race leaders. "The fuel window was great at the end. I just turned
everything up and went for it. I couldn't believe the fuel numbers they were
giving me. Plus, I had all the power I needed, and more.
"We also had great teamwork today. I'm happy for Penske. They are a
great team, and Gil is a good friend of mine. It's nice that he did it for
them. They deserve it."
Also putting in a strong effort for Mercedes-Benz was Mo Nunn Racing/
Hollywood pilot Tony Kanaan, who finished eighth after leading 40 laps during
the middle of the race. After dropping seven positions (seventh to 14th)
during the first round of pit stops, the Mo Nunn team elected to adopt an
out-of-sequence pit-stop strategy and hope that timely yellows would keep
them in the lead. Kanaan was the quickest car on the track during the middle
section of the race, but the caution periods didn't fall quite right and the
young Brazilian dropped back in the field when he made his final pit stop on
lap 158.
"When you play like that you need some luck too," said Kanaan. "We had a
very good car, and we got the second-fastest lap of the race. This is my
best finish on a one-mile oval. I needed some momentum. I was pleased I
could really race with a lot of people out there."
The other three Mercedes-Benz drivers competing today - Mark Blundell,
Michel Jourdain Jr. and Luiz Garcia Jr. - were fortunately unhurt in separate
on-track incidents, in a race that saw eight yellow flag caution periods for
a total of 80 of the race's 225 laps.
Arciero Project Racing/Hollywood driver Luiz Garcia Jr. took 15th despite
spinning on lap 80 on the restart from the second caution period. He was
able to continue in the race.
Gugelmin's PacWest Racing teammate, Mark Blundell, driver of the Motorola
Mercedes, suffered only minor bruising to his back after hitting the wall
during an accident with Helio Castroneves on lap 166. Blundell was carefully
extricated from the car as a precaution, but he was released from the track
medical center 40 minutes after his arrival. He was credited with 17th place.
Michel Jourdain Jr., driver of the Herdez/Bettenhausen
Motorsports/Mercedes, spun on lap 150 and hit the wall. He was also
uninjured in the accident.
Race Results, Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix
Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway
May 27, 2000
Pos. Driver Engine Laps
1 Gil de Ferran Honda 225
2 Mauricio Gugelmin Mercedes-Benz 225
3 Kenny Brack Ford 225
4 Juan Montoya Toyota 225
5 Adrian Fernandez Ford 225
6 Michael Andretti Ford 225
7 Jimmy Vasser Honda 225
8 Tony Kanaan Mercedes-Benz 225
9 Oriol Servia Toyota 224
10 Paul Tracy Honda 224
15 Luiz Garcia Jr. Mercedes-Benz 214
17 Mark Blundell Mercedes-Benz 166
18 Michel Jourdain Jr. Mercedes-Benz 150
Driver's Championship Manufacturer's Championship
Paul Tracy 59 Ford 88
Jimmy Vasser 48 Honda 88
Gil de Ferran 42 Toyota 68
Roberto Moreno 42 Mercedes-Benz 31