The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 14

Co THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 1998 1 5 i it 1 1 i Great cot! Franchitti finds victoi lane CART drivers to play a little musical chairs Robin filler ELKHART LAKE, Wis. The silly season in Championship Auto Racing Teams opened here this weekend with a proven driver leaving a winning i I i. SCARY SIGHT; Alex Barron (right) crashes into and climbs on 200 in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Herta wasn't seriously injured in the top of Brian Herta's car on turn five wreck. ft ur -i 14-1 ess Franchitti took the top spot on lap 30 and never gave it up as he built up a 7-second advantage on Andretti before their third and final pit stops.

"Our pit stops were awesome," said Franchitti, who came in on lap 42 and was back out in 10.2 seconds never coming close to relinquishing the lead. "When I came out of the pits, I was looking for Michael in my mirror but I didn't see him. Then, my crew told me on the radio we were 10 seconds in front." Andretti, who blasted from his pole position and looked untouchable early in the Kmart Swift FordGoodyear, never made a serious challenge down the stretch. He then lost a sure second on the last lap when a tire deflated and sent him into the wall. "It's very, very disappointing," said Andretti, who survived a wild flip last week at Mid Ohio.

"We're not sure whether debris caused a puncture, but the tire went down and I crashed. (But) the car was good the entire race, and we lost the lead because we had to pit early with tire wear." Zanardi, whose lead for a second Scotsman captures Texaco 200 for his first CART win, helps end owner's drought, too. By Robin Miller STAFF WRITER ELKHART LAKE, Wis. Barry Green hadn't won a race since he did it with Jacques Villeneuve at Cleveland in 1995. Dario Franchitti hadn't taken a checkered flag since a touring car triumph at Suzuka, Japan, in 1996.

But they found each other in victory lane Sunday afternoon, and had no trouble remembering how to celebrate. "It's a great feeling." said Franchitti, who parlayed great pit work and flawless driving to capture the Texaco 200 before a crowd of 75,000 at Road America. "On that slowdown lap, I went crazy and let all my emotions go." Franchitti finished 7.1 seconds ahead of Alex Zanardl and averaged 127.145 mph in the Kool ReynardHondaFirestone. It' was the first win in Championship Auto Racing Teams for the' talented 25-year-old Scotsman, the initial win for sponsor Kool and Team Green's first win since Ville-neuve's championship season. It also gave one of CARTs high-profile teams a return to respectability after two years of underachieving and 51 races between victories.

"It's been a lot of work between now and then, and I've got to give Kool a lot of credit for sticking with us because we weren't very impressive in 1996 and 1997," said Green, whose first CART win came here in 1994 with Villeneuve. "We've been close to winning four or five times this year, but this is so satisfying for our team. And for Dario he's a brilliant young drivet.r Franchitti, who made an impressive transition from touring sedans to champ cars in 1997 with Carl Hogan's under-funded team, also threw the monkey off his back. Comfortably leading from the pole, with 12 laps left last month at Toronto, he spun out. I "When I saw I was 10 seconds on the pit board late in the race, I flashed back to Toronto," said Franchitti, the first Scottish driver to win a champ car race since "the late Jimmy Clark in I just concentrated on being! as smooth and gentle as possible and bring it home." Starting sixth, Franchitti ran in the top five the first 15 laps, moved tnto' second on lap 20 and then began dogging leader Michael An-dretti.

In the second round of pit Stops, Franchitti went from second to first and got the track position that virtually decided the 14th stop 6n.the FedEx Championship. GORDON Continued from Page 1 Dale Jarrett was third in a Ford, and' defending champion Mark Martin runner-up to Gordon each of the previous three races was fourth in a Ford. "I'm in shock," Gordon said. "I cannot believe this. Mark Martin deserved this race more than anyone here this weekend.

I really thought that I was going to finish in the top five and be happy with that:" Gordon now leads Martin by 97 points in the Winston Cup standings an increase of 15. Martin, a four-time Michigan winner, was racing despite the deaths a week earlier of three family members. I Martin and the others seemed to have the best of Gordon's poor-handling car, which raced nearly 20 seconds behind and barely in the top 10 for much of the event. But everything changed after the third and final caution flag came (flit pa the 179th of 200 laps, when Ward Burton blew an engine. Martin, Burton and Dale Jarrett where running 1-2-3 at that time.

Virtually all the cars on the lead lap went in for a final pit stop with 20 laps to go. The stop turned the race around for Gordon, whose car had been alternately too tight, then too loose. While the Gordon crew was wfltklng its magic. Burton ran over his air hose leaving the pit and was forced to return. i That made the order Martin.

Gordon with 18 laps remaining and the caution flag still out. When the restart came three laps later, Gordon quickly passed Jarrett, and the race was on for the lead. Gordon rapidly closed the gap, butMartin used every trick he I coukl think of to prevent his rival fjom getting by. The cars almost touched twice. Finally, after some furious racing rjefore an estimated 140,000 fans, Gordon went low in turn 3 to take the Jead on the 192nd lap.

He roared on to his destiny as Martin, Jarrett and Labonte lost the advantage of a draft by racing side to side, VICTORY LANE: Dario Franchitti of Scotland celebrates his first Championship Auto Racing Teams victory after beating points leader Alex Zanardi by 7.1 seconds. The victory was the first for car owner Barry Green since 1995. team with a potent engine for a relatively new team with an engine that's never come close to victory lane. But Scott Pruett moving from Pat Patrick's Ford-powered operation to the ArcieroWells stable and the Toyota is just the beginning of what should be a wild and weird next few weeks. None of the major dominoes 1 likely will fall until Alex Zanardi makes it official that he is headed back to Formula One in 1999.

When the defending CART champion comes to terms with Frank Williams, the best seat in the FedEx Championship will be vacant and Chip Ganassi will be trying to fill a very talented pair of driving shoes. But Ganassi's isn't the only quality team looking. He'll be battling Bobby Rahal, Patrick and possibly Roger Penske for available talent in CART, Formula One or possibly the Indy Racing League. Here's the pecking order and status of CARTs top 10 most wanted list: 1. Gil de Ferran.

Ganassi and Rahal covet the quick Brazilian, but he's under contract to Derrick Walker's Valvoline team in 1999. A tire change might make de Ferran sleep better this winter. la. Greg Moore. Penske and just about everybody else in CART dearly would love to sign this gifted 23-year-old to a long-term deal but Player'sForsythe has one year on the dotted line.

2. Jimmy Vasser. Had some serious talks with Rahal and has been touted by British motorsports press as teammate to Jacques Villeneuve in the new BAR Formula One team. But '96 CART champ isn't going anywhere. 3.

Richie Hearn. Despite driving uncompetitive Lola in 1997, -having the only SwiftFirestone this season and doing very little testing with a limited budget, this 27-year-old is respected and wanted. Rahal is in hot pursuit and Ganassi is interested. But John Della-Penna has an option on the kid he's been with for five years. If Della-Penna can get Budweiser and Ralph's Foods to up their sponsorship to a competitive price, look for Hearn to stay loyal and stay put.

If not, he should shift brands and go from Bud to Miller Lite (Rahal's sponsor) and hopefully Delia- Penna won't hold him back if the funds aren't there. 4. Mauricio Gugelmin. After being ultra-fast in 1997, Big Mo has suffered through a miserable season of mechanical failure and team turmoil at PacWest. Rahal showed interest, as did a couple other teams, but Gugelmin said Sunday morning he's sticking by owner Bruce McCaw.

5. Christian Fittipaldi. Emerson's nephew has been besieged with lousy luck and mechanical misfortune in 1998. Two weeks ago, it sounded like he was gone from NewmanHaas but he now may stay. If not, Patrick has his phone number.

6. P.J. Jones. Parnelli's oldest son has been a CART backmarker for three years because he's carrying a major handicap the Toyota engine. He's never had a chance to show his stuff, but Rahal and Patrick have Jones in their vocabulary.

1 7. Robby Gordon. Nobody disputes this 29-year-old's ability, but nobody seems interested in taking a flyer on him either. That bridge he burned with Ford on national TV in 1996 can't seem to be repaired. Gordon is talking about starting his own team but he's got to remember, this isn't the IRL.

8. Scott Sharp. Nobody has made official overtures toward the current IRL points leader, but the former Trans-Am champion's name was being bounced around here by a couple owners. It makes sense. He Is a road racer who has shown savvy on ovals, and he is good with the media.

9. Kenny Brack. The Swede is another road racer-tumed-IRL front-runner who might be worth a serious look from CART. 10. Jeff Gordon.

Ganassi is trying to make contact with NASCAR's Dominator but it ain't gonna happen. However, another prominent CART team is making a run at Ray Evemham this week for a package deal with Wonder Boy. Penske isn't saying whether he'll retain Andre Ribeiro, but Al Unser Jr. has another year on his deal. And Player'sForsythe Racing likely will expand to a three-car effort next year with either Lee Bentham or Alex Tagliani Joining Greg Moore and Patrick Carpentier.

Bad luck leaves Ward disappointed again Associated Press during the Texaco-Havoline That was the type of effort Menard was looking for when he decided to sit Buhl down for two races in July. "You were great, like I knew you could be," Menard said to Buhl. Buhl's return to the series included eight late laps as the leader. Had he not needed to stop for fuel four laps from the finish, he might have claimed his second career victory. Perplexed by fuel Team Menard team manager Larry Curry was befuddled by the fact Kenny Brack's winning car went the final 81 laps without a fuel stop, 71 of which were green.

Stewart and Buhl ran about 71 total in the last segment. "We have got to learn to get better mileage," Curry said. "Others get it, so we know it's doable." other driver on the lead lap. With Scott Sharp struggling to finish 11th, Stewart moved into the points lead by 10 points with three races remaining. The race was among the cleanest in the three-year history of the IRL.

Boat missed a shift as the pole-sitter, but the other 24 starters made it safely through the first lap. Buzz Calkins and Raul Boesel had engines blow on the 24th lap, bringing out the first caution. Arte Luyendyk, who started a disappointing 22nd, finished in the same position when his engine expired on lap 75. The only notable wall contact was when Ward hit it twice after cutting a tire. He grazed the wall in turn four, then drifted high in the second corner to end his day.

He was not injured. Ward led a race-high 97 laps. Stephan Gregoire finished fourth for his third consecutive top-10 finish. Marco Greco has finished third, fifth and sixth the past three races, respectively. Hamilton was fifth after leading 38 laps.

iwrf-r- I consecutive title increased to 80 points, had another odyssey in the Target ReynardHondaFirestone. He rear-engined Al Unser Jr. in the second corner, dropped to 24th and came back like he's done the past two years to take second. "It was a great race after the first lap, and I'm sorry I ruined Al's race but I couldn't help it," said Zanardi, who was fined $50,000 for rough driving at Mid-Ohio. "I saw a puff of smoke in front of me, knew everyone was getting on the brakes and locked mine up but I still hit Al." Chief steward Wally Dallenbach said after reviewing the tape of the crash and talking to several drivers that there would be no action because Zanardi tried to take evasive action.

Christian Fittipaldi finally made it to the finish and earned third in the Havoline SwiftFordGoodyear, while rookie Tony Kanaan came from 12th to fourth in the LCI ReynardHondaFirestone. Bryan Herta escaped injury after spinning off the track and then being rammed by Alex Barron, whose car climbed on top of Herta's cockpit. IRL NOTEBOOK Loudon, N.H., his equipment failed while leading. He cut a tire and eventually hit the wall in turn two. "Bad luck, I guess," he said.

"This is the best we've ever done and people certainly knew we were here. "We were definitely fast." As the No. 2 starter. Ward moved to the lead when pole-sitter Billy Boat missed a shift at the green flag. Ward ran the race's fastest speed on the third lap (170.020 mph) and seemed un-catchable once he regained the lead from Tony Stewart on lap 23.

Then Ward got a break that seemed worthy of a victory. Most of the front-runners pitted just before a caution came on lap 75; Ward had not. That allowed him to stop BRACK Continued from Page 1 "I'd trade 100 of these for Indy, but this still feels pretty good," said LaMance, who is Foyt's nephew. "I guess we can keep this computer." Foyt's team also is remembered for running out of fuel with Eddie Cheever leading two laps from the finish at Nazareth, in 1995. Brack's survival was the conclusion to a wild final 10 laps, set up by a yellow flag on lap 118.

Jeff Ward crashed as the leader and the contenders began plotting their fuel strategy. Foyt's cars pitted with Davey Hamilton at the end of the 119th lap. Most along pit row thought 81 laps on a tank was too far to go, but LaMance believed in his calculation. Still under yellow on lap 126, Tony Stewart, teammate Robbie Buhl and Buddy Lazier stopped for what they hoped would be the final time. Everyone hoped another yellow would provide wiggle room in the fuel economy game, By Curt Cavin STAFF WRITER FOUNTAIN, Colo.

Driver Jeff Ward was around to see the finish of the Indy Racing League event Sunday at Pikes Peak International Raceway, but only because he stood alongside his ISM Racing crew in the garage. His race was long over. "I wanted to hang out with the guys," he said, smiling. "They gave me a great car and did all the work. My job was easy." Ward led 97 of the first 117 laps in the Radisson 200.

He was so far ahead of the 25-car field that he could have waltzed home for his first series victory. He was ahead even on fuel mileage in an event that came down to who had the most fumes. But he didn't win again. Like the disappointing finish in June at iMfet r. under yellow and wipe virtually everyone off the lead lap.

"It was perfect timing," he said. "Not only were we a lap ahead of almost everyone, we had gone five laps longer on our fuel mileage. The way this race went, that would have made us in great shape at the end when everyone else slowed down to conserve." Of course, it didn't end that way. Ward felt a similar disappointment to the race in New Hampshire when his engine expired after leading 46 of the first 56 laps. "It's a bad deal, but at least we know we're pretty close," he said.

Buhl drives hard At the end of Sunday's race, team owner John Menard hugged Robbie Buhl following a strong second-place finish. A caution never came and the final 71 laps were run under green. Brack said after a handful of laps, he began conserving fuel. He ran mostly in fourth gear, lowering the rate the engine cranked. When Buhl slid past him 10 laps from the finish, Brack backed off the gas significantly and decided to creep to the finish and accept his fate.

Stewart considered the same scenario but realized a season championship was worth more than winning a race. On lap 197, he pitted. Buhl and Lazier also had to stop Lazier had mechanical problems as well and Hamilton picked up debris on his tires and fell off the winning pace. Buhl knew he hadn't won he finished second but he didn't realize how he lost. "Did Brack ever make a pit stop?" he asked after climbing out of his car.

Brack won his second consecutive race and beat Buhl to the finish line by 7.542 seconds. He won $112,950. Stewart finished third, thenly Assoaated Press VICTORY SALUTE: Kenny Brack raises his hands in victory after winning the Radisson 200 Indy Racing League race at Pikes Peak International Raceway. It was his second victory ira row..