The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 24

ill RACE DAY REPORT Juan mastery-transcends feud and helps restore a little luster think it will take time to realize what I just won, I was happy to cross the finish line. It's so exciting. I cant believe it. It means a lot to every person in Colombia because it's something good." Juan Montoya He didn't cry or thank Tony George profusely, I A 1 Jl I i i dui ne aia anruc the milk, take the At, A victory lap In the 1 pace car and I )' 1 genuinely enjoy the moment. But there was one surprising thing about Juan Mon-toya's masterpiece The Racing Insider Robin Miller 1 'k 3f' I A AT -lKVtk hsfr ft 4 i 4 I ffir Inw- LU Photo Thomas J.

Russo He did it: The members of Juan Montoya's pit crew celebrate after the 24-year-old Colombian won the 84th Indianapolis 500. Montoya, the defending CART series champion finished 7.184 seconds ahead of Buddy Lazier, the largest margin of victory since 1994. He led 167 of the 200 laps. Montoya turns in dominating victory Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "I was surprised he didn't lead the first lap," said Montoya's engineer Bill Pappas, breaking into a grin.

"But that was total domination wasn't it? "I mean, that kid was Just a surgeon out there today." And while it would be accurate to say Montoya cut out the heart of George and his Indy Racing League, it would also be missing a major point of the past two weeks. The fact last year's CART champ led 167 laps and won the 84th Indy 500 obviously won't be lost on anybody who's followed the CARTIRL war the past four years. But Montoya's victory wasn't so much a win for CART as it was open-wheel racing. He, teammate Jimmy Vasser and Chip Ganassi's well-oiled operation brought a presence to Indy that's been missing since the split. It not only galvanized Gasoline Alley with some much-needed emotion, it delivered some world-class clout to an event that had all but become a little club race for friends of Tony.

Eddie Cheever and I have been at war since it began, but we were in total agreement late Sunday afternoon. "It doesn't hurt that Montoya has won the Indy 500. Why should it?" said the '98 Indy winner. "Ga-nassl has won everything they could offer in the other series over the past five years, and he's the "best that series has to offer. "I want to race against the best in the world." Which describes this mercurial little 24-year-old Colombian who is a virtuoso on four wheels.

"I think these people here today saw a guy who's going to be one of the greatest drivers ever," said Rob Hill, the crew chief for Montoya and two-time CART champ Alex Zanardl. "I mean, I thought Alex was great, but this kid he's just amazing." And what Montoya did to the IRL was just more of what he's done in CART. Seven wins and seven poles last year in a new environment with a strange car and tracks he'd never seen was as about as impressive as it gets. This season, he's led 56 percent of the laps in five races, although he's yet to win. His fourth-place drive Saturday Included three of the toughest and best passes you'll ever see on an oval with the tightness of Nazareth, Pa.

He's got better car control than Speed Racer, quicker hands than Gary Payton, the cool of Paul Newman and that steely eyed bravado of Clint Eastwood just before he pulls the trigger. Montoya can run faster on cold tires than some drivers can in 20 laps on hot ones, and he's only satisfied if he's leading. He doesn't care if fellow drivers like him or the press quotes him; he only cares about the bottom line and the finish line. "He enjoys very much being in the car," said Pablo Montoya, Juan's proud father who has tried to explain to the motorsports media that his son is more bashful than aloof. "That's the right place for him, you know." Al Unser diatribe about Montoya being dangerous and having no respect was as embarrassing as it was wrong.

Maybe it's tough for a fading star to accept or acknowledge this kid's skills, but hopefully Unser will give this verbal diarrhea a rest. Like it did for Zanardi, America has given Montoya a platform to display his tremendous talents. Maybe he's not as outwardly appreciative as some people feel he should be, but ask his crew how much he values their work and his opportunity. They know he's likely headed for Formula One next year, but they're happy for the experience of working with him. "He has so many big things ahead of him," said Pablo Montoya.

Montoya took a big one Sunday, and I hope people appreciate what they witnessed. Because that kid made this race a better event in every way. Robin Miller is the auto racing writer, for The Indianapolis Star. You can contact him by calling (317) 624-4636 and enter-irf7165 or by e-mail at rmillerstamew- Ai) mmt 'ill thing silly because I am a CART driver. But they behaved like real professional race car drivers." Montoya did have one scary moment early.

"Lyn St. James nearly put me in the grass," he said. "That was the closest call in the race." Ganassi said Montoya's crew benefited from wing adjustment mistakes Vasser's crew made. "We did the opposite of what Jimmy did," Ganassi said. The crew made sure Montoya's car was tighter because Vasser's car was too loose.

At one point late in the race, Montoya thought he was about to lap Vasser. "I called Chip and said. Tell Jimmy to move Montoya said. "And he said, 'Uh, Juan, he's the Vasser had stayed out on the track instead of pitting. He led four laps and five on the day before Montoya took the lead for good on lap 180.

The only driver to push him was second-place Buddy Lazier. "When the car started to push, (Lazier) was getting close and we thought uh-oh this is bad," Montoya said. "He had a run on me two or three times but I went really deep into (turn) one. He had to be sideways to get ahead of me. After all the laps we led, I wasn't going to back off that easi-ly." Despite clearly being the fastest on the track, Ganassi said the team had luck on its side.

"We didn't have anyone crash in front of us," he said. "We couldn't have been more blessed." CART champion warmly received by the fans after he tops IRL drivers to win the 84th Indianapolis 500. By Mark Ambrogl STAFF WRITER Juan Montoya's coolness about driving in his first Indianapolis 500 has been viewed as a lack of respect by some. But it's really just his nature, his father said. "He's always loose," Pablo Montoya said.

"He's always very relaxed." But Montoya left no doubt his 500 victory on Sunday meant a great deal to him. "I think it will take time to realize what I just won," the 24-year-old Colombian said. "I was happy to cross the finish line. It's so exciting. I can't believe it." Montoya said he didn't feel famous Just yet.

"I feel the same, but happier than an hour ago," he said. "It means a lot to every person in Colombia because it's something good." Montoya watched as the fans' Jeers turned to cheers after winning. After Montoya was knocked out during the pit stop competition on Thursday, the Championship Auto Racing Teams defending series champion said he heard chants of "IRL, IRL." But fans put the feud between the Indy Racing League and CART aside on Sunday and gave Montoya a warm reception after his victory. Staff Photo Matt Kryger All alone: Juan Montoya streaks by the grandstands. After Montoya moved back into the lead on lap 33 he led all but four laps the rest of the way.

"I saw a lot of people standing and it was great," he said. "It means a lot to me and to (owner) Chip (Ganassi)." Montoya led 167 of the 200 laps in his Target G-ForceAurora. "He may be the best that we've ever seen in America," Ganassi team manager Mike Hull said. "I don't know how to rate him because you can't rate drivers from previous decades, but this guy is pretty special." The dominating performance didn't surprise teammate Jimmy Vasser. "If you had been around CART, you've seen him do it at all the tracks last year," he said.

Montoya said he had fun the entire race. "The car was perfect," he said. "We didn't have to risk anything." Although he might have made it look that way, Montoya said winning certainly wasn't easy. "I was just trying to keep cool," he said. "You've got to keep aggressive.

Every lap (Sunday), I was pushing as hard as I could." Montoya praised the professionalism of the IRL drivers. "Going through traffic, everyone was clean with me," he said. "I thought it was going to be hard because they'll do some TTJ Vasser struggles with setup but still finishes 7th Target team's other driver provides some drama by gambling on fuel and briefly leading late in race. would be even tougher if more CART guys came. But hats off to the IRL: They put on a great officiating show here, and the drivers are very good to drive with.

There are fantastic teams here and tough guys to beat." Vasser said his team wasn't trying to make any statement about CART being better than the IRL. "I look at the list of drivers, and there's more guys there with CART experience than there are with any other kind of experience," he said. The goal would be for this race and the fans, if there's not going to be one series, is to have more CART guys come here in the month of May." This was Vasser's second top-10 finish in the 500 in five starts. The 34-year-old Californian finished fourth in the 1994 race. "We made some mistakes," he said.

"If we come back here next year, I assure you we won't make them again." beat up those guys. We took a chance on getting a yellow and getting out there in clean air, and it Just didn't work out. "It was a gamble that was worth trying at the time. We weren't going to win the race from where we were with the car we had." The gamble actually didn't cost Vasser much. "I was the last car on the lead lap before that, so I really didn't have anything to lose," he said.

"Maybe I would have gained a few spots." While Vasser had his frustrations, he was pleased his teammate came through. The best driver and the best team won," he said. "We came here as a team to win the race. It wasn't Jimmy Vasser, but it was Montoya. He's a great driver, and this is a great team." This was Vasser's first appearance in the 500 since CART and the Indy Racir League split.

"It's a touial race," he said. "It opposite to me on the setup," Vasser said. "We got out-engineered (Sunday)." Vasser's car was too loose while Montoya's was tighter. Vasser said his car finally began performing better in the final third of the race. "Right before the last segment, we thought we were pretty good," Vasser said.

"We made one last change, and it was OK." Vasser took a fuel strategy gamble late in the race, when he led four of his five laps. After Montoya passed him to take the lead for good on lap 180, Vasser stayed in second. But he was forced to pit for fuel on lap 196. "We throw the bones up In the air, and if there was a yellow we would havp been in good shape," he said. "I dicfn't have a car that would By Mark Ambrogl STAFF WRITER Jimmy Vasser spent Sunday's Indianapolis 500 in a battle with his car's setup.

For most of the day, Vasser said, he lost. "Sometimes it was awful, sometimes it was more than awful and sometimes it was OK," he said. "We struggled and made some mistakes in the pits. We fumbled a few times on our team, and we paid for it." Vasser finished seventh in the Target G-ForceAurora at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His teammate and fellow Championship Auto Racing Teams regular Juan Montoya won the race.

Vasser said he and engineer Julian Robertson made some poor decisions ci the setup last week. "Juan's Vetup was diametrically 1 Photo Bob Goshert Way to go: Jimmy Vasser gets congratulations from his team for persevering. He was running second with four laps go when he to pit for.