INDYCAR: Road America report

• tomh@motorsport.com (Tom Haapanen)
• MNI - Motorsport News International
• Mon Aug 19 22:46:57 EDT 1996

>From IndyCar media relations


ANDRETTI CAPTURES FOURTH OF THE SEASON AT TEXACO/HAVOLINE 200

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 18, 1996) -- It took seven years, but "Canada
Corner" of the Road America course transformed itself from foe to friend
for Michael Andretti.

Andretti lost his bid for victory in the 1989 Texaco/Havoline 200 when
his car ran out of fuel in that turn, but found triumph Sunday in that
very same location when leader Al Unser Jr. blew an engine in Turn 12 on
the final lap and left victory at the doorstep for Andretti.

It was the only lap Andretti would lead in his Kmart/Texaco/Havoline
Lola Ford, but it was more than sufficient as he registered a
0.541-second margin of victory over Bobby Rahal and his silver
anniversary Miller Reynard Mercedes. It was Andretti's fourth triumph of
the season, moving him into a tie for the series lead in wins with Jimmy
Vasser, and marked the 50th career triumph for Newman/Haas Racing.

"I know how he [Unser Jr.] feels. In 1989 I was leading the race and ran
out of fuel in the same exact place," said Andretti, who also won this
event in 1990 and '91. "I know he feels bad, but you have to take it. I
was lucky today. I've given Al a few wins and he has given me some."

The most recent, however, was perhaps the most disconcerting for Unser
Jr. (Marlboro Penske Mercedes). He had an opportunity to snap his
season-long winless streak and substantially close the PPG Cup points
gap on Vasser (Target Reynard Honda), but it all went up in a puff of
smoke before a record-matching crowd of 75,000.

Unser Jr., who led a race-high 25 of the 50 laps, had taken control
of the race by the midpoint and only relinquished the lead briefly to
rookie Alex Zanardi (Target Reynard Honda), who finished third, because
of a different pit stop sequence.

After having Zanardi lead for three laps, Unser Jr. regained the
advantage on Lap 38 and began opening a slight cushion over his nearest
competitors. He held a 1.41-second lead over his closest pursuer,
Christian Fittipaldi (Kmart/Budweiser Lola Ford), with six to go and
received some major help when Fittipaldi experienced engine failure on
the ensuing lap.

Unser Jr. still had a Newman/Haas ride in his mirrors as Andretti moved
into second and trailed by 2.57 seconds. Andretti was able to shave the
deficit to 1.22 seconds with a lap to go on the 4-mile permanent road
course, but needed a break and it came when Unser Jr. retired less than
a mile from the checkered flag. Andretti averaged 102.947 miles per hour
in a race with five cautions for 16 laps.

"I had no indication at all that the engine was going to break," Unser
Jr., who finished 10th. "It was unfortunate, but what are you going to
do? That's racing."

Rahal overcame a broken clutch and an extra stop due to confusion over
IndyCar's closed pit policy to record a season-best finish. It was his
second podium appearance in the past four races and his best performance
since finishing second at Toronto last year. The effort was extremely
timely as it celebrated the 25th anniversary of his sponsor, Miller, in
motorsports and the presence of his co-owner, David Letterman, for the
second event this season.

"I lost the clutch on the first pit stop. I came into the pits for the
first stop and then CART closed the pits. So I had to drive through the
pits and come back in for my stop," Rahal said. "We went from third
to 15th and the car was good throughout the race. I have to give my
crew credit. We ran a low downforce setup and that made us fast on the
straights. I made a good run at Michael at the end, but I couldn't get
him. My heart goes out to Al. He had us covered today."

Zanardi continued his stream of visits to the podium by securing third
place after capturing the Marlboro Pole Award on Saturday for the second
consecutive race. He persevered through an opening-lap brush with Gil
de Ferran (Pennzoil Special Reynard Honda) and a pit-stop penalty to
register his fifth podium finish in the past six races. It also allowed
him to close to within six points of Unser Jr. and 27 of Vasser in the
points battle.

"To be honest, I don't know how I did it," Zanardi said. "We simply did
not have what we had yesterday [Saturday]. I was strong in the braking
areas, but I didn't have anything on the straights. It's great to go
home with a third-place finish. I would have liked to score a third
place in another way. I would prefer to pass than to see someone like Al
stopped on the track."

Stefan Johansson (Alumax Aluminum Reynard Mercedes) turned in a
season-best effort for the second time in the past three races.
Johansson, who established a season-best of fifth at Michigan, eclipsed
that performance with a fourth-place showing. It was his best finish
since taking fourth at Vancouver in 1995. Bryan Herta (Shell Reynard
Mercedes) added to his recent roll with a fifth-place finish. It marked
the fifth race in a row that he has earned a top-six finish and his
third consecutive among the top five.

Vasser and his sixth-place finish helped him extend his lead over the
unfortunate Unser Jr. Vasser leads Unser Jr., 136-115, with 44 maximum
points available in the final two races. Scott Pruett (Firestone Patrick
Racing Lola Ford) followed in seventh for his eighth top-10 showing of
the season.

The Toyota-powered tandem of Juan Manuel Fangio II (All American
Racers Eagle Toyota) and rookie Max Papis (MCI Reynard Toyota) posted
season-best performances for their respective teams. Fangio II finished
eighth, which was one position shy of matching his best career effort,
to top the ninth-place finish of teammate PJ Jones at Detroit. Papis,
who made his career debut for Arciero-Wells at Mid-Ohio, gave the team
its first PPG Cup points of the season by taking ninth.

Parker Johnstone (Motorola Reynard Honda) and Paul Tracy (Marlboro
Penske Mercedes) captured the final two PPG Cup points positions despite
contact on the final lap. Johnstone finished 11th after rear contact
from Tracy, which caused his car to flip upside down. Johnstone emerged
from the car and had no injuries. Tracy was 12th in his return after a
two-race absence due to injury. He had missed the two previous races
because of a chip fracture of the spinous process vertebra sustained in
a July 27 practice accident at Michigan.

Johnstone was not the only driver to escape without injury after
incurring an accident that flipped his car over. Davy Jones (Delco
Electronic Lola Mercedes) had his car flip and land upside down during
an accident early in the race, but he also came out of the incident with
no injuries.

The Texaco/Havoline 200 will be re-aired by ESPN on Friday, Aug. 23,
beginning at 3:30 a.m. ET. The PPG Indy Car World Series will be idle
this upcoming week before resuming with the Molson Indy Vancouver on
Sept. 1.