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CART: Cristiano da Matta Wins Target Grand Prix in Chicago

31 July 2000

    Cristiano da Matta earned his first win in the CART FedEx Championship 
Series today by taking victory in the 225-lap Target Grand Prix at the 
1.029-mile Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero, Ill.

    Mauricio Gugelmin, driver of the PacWest Racing/Nextel Champ Car, was the 
highest finisher for Mercedes-Benz with a seventh-place result.  But the most 
exciting performance of the day for Mercedes-Benz came courtesy of 
Hollywood/Mo Nunn Racing driver Tony Kanaan, who started third and competed 
for the lead of the race until a gearbox problem forced him out on lap 146.

    "We lost fifth gear about 20 laps before I dropped out," said Kanaan, who 
was running third when the transmission failed and was listed in 16th 
position in the final standings.  "We had a good race and made all this 
effort to come back.  I'm going to be real strong at Mid-Ohio (Sports Car 
Course, Lexington, Ohio) in two weeks.  People will be able to see that."

    CART's current short-oval aerodynamic package makes passing very 
difficult at the Chicago track, so Gugelmin's seventh-place finish from his 
16th starting position was a good reward for a strong run.

    "We had great balance, and the car worked well all afternoon," said 
Gugelmin.  "This is just a tough place to pass.  It would have helped if I 
would have qualified higher, but I was happy to get a top-10 finish."

    Despite mechanical problems, Michel Jourdain Jr., driver of the Herdez/
Bettenhausen Motorsports/Mercedes-Benz, finished 11th.  Engine failures 
relegated Luiz Garcia Jr. to 17th in the Hollywood/Arciero Project 
Racing/Mercedes-Benz, and Mark Blundell to 23rd in the PacWest 
Racing/Motorola/Mercedes-Benz.

Race Results, Target Grand Prix
Chicago Motor Speedway, Cicero, Ill.
July 30, 2000

Pos.    Driver              Engine          Laps
1       Cristiano da Matta  Toyota          225
2       Michael Andretti    Ford            225
3       Gil de Ferran       Honda           225
4       Kenny Brack         Ford            225
5       Adrian Fernandez    Ford            225
6       Roberto Moreno      Ford            225
7       Mauricio Gugelmin   Mercedes-Benz   224
8       Jimmy Vasser        Toyota          224
9       Alexendre Tagliani  Ford            223
10      Memo Gidley         Toyota          223
11      Michel Jourdain Jr. Mercedes-Benz   207
16      Tony Kanaan         Mercedes-Benz   146
17      Luiz Garcia Jr.     Mercedes-Benz   99
23      Mark Blundell       Mercedes-Benz   18

Driver's Championship                   Manufacturer's Championship
Michael Andretti        120             Ford                112
Roberto Moreno          98              Toyota              90              
Gil de Ferran           89              Honda               82
                                        Mercedes-Benz       25