The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 28

D6 MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2001 THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR WWW.INDYSTAR.COM CART NOTEBOOK 1 "I I.II.J i .1.1,11.1,. ii.W! mmww 111 .1.1 Avoiding contact helps Castroneves, de Ferran Winston Cup Global Crossing (Top finishers) Driver Car 1. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 2. Jeff Burton Ford 3. Jeremy Mayfield Ford 4.

Ricky Rudd Ford 5. Todd Bodine Ford 6. Jerry Nadeau Chevrolet 7. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 8. Boris Said Ford 9.

Bobby Labonte Pontiac 10. Steve Park Chevrolet Series points leaders: Gordon 3,207, Rudd 3,013, Dale Jarrett 2,942, Sterling Martin 2,792, Tony Stewart 2,788 HI Associated Press Jason J. Molyet Full day's work: Ashley Judd, an actress and the fiancee of driver Dario Franchitti, holds a pit board for the driver. Penske always keeps his racing options open Teammates at the top: Helio Castroneves (right) and Gil de Ferran of the Penske team finished 1-2 at Mid-Ohio, just as they did in the Indianapolis 500. losing so many of its oval tracks.

Penske long has said open-wheel racing can't thrive until it returns to being one series. "Unfortunately, if you assess it today," he said, "(CART and IRL are) probably farther apart than we were a year ago." Winging to Europe CART will use a modified road-course rear wing for its debut on two ovals in Europe next month. A Firestone tire test with driver Alex Barron provided the opportunity to try various wing configurations for the races Sept. 15 at Eurospeedway in Lausitz, Germany, and the following week at Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, England. The smaller wing was chosen over the Handford device, the huge wing mandated on the superspeedways at Michigan and California, and a smaller version of the Handford.

Team owner Derrick Walker said the wing is similar to the standard speedway wing used years ago. "It should give us the right amount of downforce without creating the wake behind it that the Handford does," Walker said. Pit notes Indy Lights points leader Townsend Bell, 26, is scheduled to test today at Mid-Ohio with Patrick Racing. Owner Pat Patrick said nothing should be read into it concerning the futures of current drivers Roberto Moreno and Jimmy Vasser. "We're always on the lookout for new talent," Patrick said.

"This is not the first time we have tested a young driver, nor will it be the last." Contact Steve Ballard at 1-317-444-6184 or via e-mail at steve.ballardindystar.com Miller Lite 200 (Top finishers) Driver Car 1. Helio Castroneves R-H 2. Gil de Ferran R-H 3. Patrick Carpentier R-F 4. Paul Tracy R-H 5.

Tony Kanaan R-H 6. Roberto Moreno R-T 7. Alex Tagliani R-F 8. Christian Fittipaldl L-T 9. Oriol Servia L-F 10.

Cristiano da Matta L-T Chassis: R-Reynard, L-Lola. Engines: H-Honda, F-Ford, T-Toyota Series points leaders: Kenny Brack 104, Castroneves 103, de Ferran 89, Dario Franchitti 81, Michael Andretti 73 on that front has changed, but to the comment that Papis probably hadn't helped his cause, the boss replied, "I wouldn't think so, would you?" So while Team Rahal again was picking up the pieces, Team Penske was picking up the hardware. For the second year in a row, their finishing order was a reversal of how they started and it unfolded in almost identical fashion. Penske drivers compete, but don't tangle, unlike series leader Brack, Papis. By Steve Ballard STAFF WRITER LEXINGTON, Ohio What Team Penske has figured out that Team Rahal hasn't is that the first requirement in finishing 1-2 is to finish.

Duplicating their performance on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course from last year and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May Penske drivers Helio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran took the top two spots Sunday in the Miller Lite 200. Duplicating their finish in a Championship Auto Racing Teams event three weeks ago at Michigan, Rahal drivers Kenny Brack and Max Papis knocked out each other. "Silly, silly, silly," owner Bobby Rahal summed up. Brack's team was able to make repairs and get him back on the track, but with a 20th-place finish, his lead on Castroneves in the championship standings was cut from 22 points to one (104-103). So while Castroneves was enjoying his usual post-race fence climb after his third victory of the season and sixth of his career, Brack felt more like climbing the walls.

But he bit his lip and let Rahal do the talking. "I just spun around and that was it," Brack said. "I never saw him (Papis)." Any other questions regarding his teammate were met with a polite but firm, "No comment." Papis said he misunderstood Brack's intent. "He left me an opening and I thought he was letting me past," Papis said. "But then he turned Into the comer.

I was very surprised." Whereas the Michigan incident came with the Rahal teammates challenging for the lead, with both at least partially at fault, the repeat episode had only one culprit. "Max tried to pass in a place where he didn't have enough room to do it," said Rahal, who was further perturbed because Papis knew Brack was scheduled to pit at the end of that lap, the 31st of 83 around the 2.26-mile layout. "A mile later and Max was going to get him anyway. "You would expect a different behavior from a veteran like Max. For a teammate to do it is inexcusable." Papis' contract expires at the end of this season.

Rahal said nothing situation as he returned to the track, and he realized he might not have enough fuel to finish the race. He finished ninth. "I could see his car wanting to cut out in the corners," Lazier said. Added Buhl: "We needed that gallon and a half (to finish)." Buhl's misfortune essentially ended what was one of the season's top races, despite the fact that Sharp and Lazier led all but 11 of the 200 laps. The swapping of positions behind the leader in traffic was particularly good between Buhl, Lazier, Homish, Billy Boat and Eddie Cheever Jr.

"None of the leaders, much less me, made It easy (for the challengers)," said Sharp, who led the first 105 laps. "We made people pass on the outside, which was tough to do." Despite the flurry of bold moves, there was only minimal contact in the 300-mile event. Mark Dismore, the No. 2 qualifier, grazed the second-turn wall after cutting a tire on lap 30, and Eliseo Salazar lost control of his car entering pit road and spun. No one is sure how to beat Lazier, whom Homish accused of playing dirty in the late stages.

"I think (Buhl) should have (beaten) Buddy," Homish said. "But, you know, when he's weaving all over the back straightaway, it's kind of hard to get by him." Contact Curt Cavin at 1-317-444-6409 or via e-mail at curt.cavinindystar.com IRL NOTEBOOK GORDON Continued from Page 1 the pit stop on lap 57. After going back on the track, however, a problem in the battery pack connected to a box providing telemetry for the television broadcast of the race caused a fire inside the cockpit of the car. Robby Gordon sped down pit road and scrambled out of the car with the crew's help. His day was done with a 40th-place finish.

"NASCAR owes me one," he said. "We had the car to beat." NASCAR spokesman John Griffin said that the battery pack powered a global position system device made by Sport-vision that provides telemetry from all 43 cars in the field. The system, in use since the start of this season, feeds data to the television network carrying the race. In this case NBC, that is used in determining intervals between cars, laps speeds and other information shown during the telecast. "We have asked Sportvision to take what they could get out of the 31 car and try to come up with something that explains what happened," Griffin said.

"Obviously it's a concern to us. We need some answers quickly." Anybody else hoping to win this year's Winston Cup title needs to find some answers quickly, too, if they hope to deny Jeff Gordon a fourth title. Gordon has a series-leading five victories this season. Rudd finished fourth on Sunday, recovering to that position after being crowded out of third by road-race specialist Boris Said on the first of the two late restarts. Said himself got jostled back to an eighth-place finish on the final restart with seven laps to go when Jeremy Mayfield clawed his way into third place.

Before any of that, though, the move of the race came on lap 78. Pit strategy left Burton with a big lead as the race moved into its final third, but a yellow flag for Jarrett's second trip into the gravel pit on lap 70 ended that. Jeff Gordon was all over Burton after that restart, and finally made a move for the lead on the Inside entering turn one on lap 78. Burton sawed right back across Gordon's rear end, though, and got the lead back in turn two. They battled up the back portion of the 11-turn Watkins Glen course until Gordon took the inside line heading Into a chicane called the inner loop.

"I am still amazed that he made it," Burton said of Gordon's move in that portion of the track. "He drove in really deep and Just kind of pointed the car straight and put me in a position where I would either wreck or go in there with him. So 1 let him go and he got his car stopped. That was an awesome move he used to get by me." Gordon said he wasn't exactly sure he was going to make it, either. "I drove in there real deep and that's not my favorite place to pass," he said.

"That's a comer that you can overdrive it in and compensate. I clipped the curb and the car Jumped up and down a little bit and got sideways. Just got to take advantage of your momentum and I had a little momentum going there." Lwm's Lmgerie SEE IT MODELEC AND SAVE $10! jvrtn mis aa. Eastside (hOOF. Waslrinxttin Irvttqgon Plaza Westside 3113 Lafayette Kci.

ii Secret Desires I 1 3281 Tettl ltd. MOH -SAT. 9AMi12AM Aiispon Jamie Squire De Ferran, now third in the standings in defense of his CART title, started on the pole and led the first 28 laps. He pitted a lap ahead of his teammate, got caught in traffic on the way out and dropped to second when Castroneves made a smooth stop the next time around. "After that," de Ferran said, "I wasn't strong enough to overtake him on the racetrack." Castroneves was in charge the rest of the way except for 11 laps led by Oriol Servla, who was out of pit sequence.

The task was made a bit easier when not only Brack but contenders Michael Andrettl (blown engine on lap six), Jimmy Vasser (crash on lap 35) and Dario Franchitti (spin on lap 76) fell out. Patrick Carpentier notched his third consecutive podium finish. Paul Tracy and Tony Kanaan completed the top five. Starting on the pole and being out front might actually have cost de Ferran the race. Castroneves, by following to the first pit stop, got slightly better fuel mileage.

So when he saw a potential traffic Jam developing, he was able to decide at the last possible instant to stay out and run another lap. Once out front, Castroneves maintained a comfortable margin and won by 1.568 seconds. But even if the Penske cars had gotten side by side, both drivers said they would have exercised caution. "We've proved we can run together and not take each other out of the race. We showed it at Indianapolis," de Ferran said.

"We compete against each other, but we don't need to run into each other." Contact Steve Ballard at 1-317-444-6184 or via e-mail at steve.ballardindystar.com IRL's 12-degree rear wing, which series officials used to stabilize the cars on the bumpy Kentucky track, made for too easy of a day Sunday. "I'll answer that by letting you look at the blisters on my hands," he said. Sharp said the bumps were consistent in the comers and did not hurt the race. In fact, he said it improved the show, making the 1.5-mile oval "less of a power track" and emphasizing handling. "Buddy (Lazier) clearly had the best car on the bumps, and he won," he said.

Notes Lazier won Sunday's race despite fighting sore ribs from a crash in last week's International Race of Champions race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He dedicated the win to his maternal grandmother, Mazlne Lazier, who is battling cancer at age 95. Jaques Lazier was en route to another great Kentucky run Sunday, but three slow pit stops and a souring engine dropped him out of the lead pack. He finished 12th. For the fourth consecutive race since crashing as the leader late at Texas, 1999 IRL champion Greg Ray was no factor.

He finished 13th, three laps off the pace. In addition to Herbert, Heritage Motorsports brought European Formula Ford standout Danica Patrick of Rockford. 111., to Sunday's race. She is 19. The IRL's season-ending race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sept.

16 will Include a different kind of support series: daredevil Robby Knievel jumping 30 show cars on his motorcycle. Contact Curl Cavin at 1-317-444-6409 or e-mail curt.cavinindystar.com Leading team owner doesn't discount possibility of heavier involvement with IRL. By Steve Ballard STAFF WRITER LEXINGTON, Ohio Indy Racing League officials in recent weeks have expressed optimism that Roger Penske might soon be coming aboard. Asked about a possible switch of allegiances before Sunday's Championship Auto Racing Teams event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Penske didn't add much fuel to the fire, but he didn't exactly throw water on it, either. Owner of the most successful operation in the history of open-wheel racing, Penske expressed growing frustration with the direction CART is taking and confirmed Informal discussions with IRL founder Tony George.

Tony has talked to us about coming to his series," said Penske, who collected his 108th victory Sunday, courtesy of Hello Castroneves. "But we haven't made any commitment beyond what we did this year." That would mean a return to the Indianapolis 500, where Castroneves and teammate Gil de Ferran finished 1-2 in May, and at least one race before Indy. The Penske team ran at Phoenix this year. Asked if he would rule out going full time to the IRL at some point, Penske said, "At some point, no. When we make decisions, we do what it's In the best interest of our team and our people." Penske said CART needs to get its 2002 schedule and television package done quickly, and voiced disappointment that the series is Before the fuel Issue: Eventual the Belterra Casino 300.

Buhl LAZIER Continued from Page 1 zier regained the lead in traffic, Buhl seemed positioned to rally, That's when his car coughed and quit before a crowd of 47,323. Lazier drove to victory, Just like he did when Homish had a problem at Fountain, and Nashville, Tenn. He also won at Richmond. Va. Sunday, Lazier held off pole sitter Scott Sharp by 1.58 seconds.

Homish came across the line 4.2 seconds back. Lazier's only problem came on a mid-race caution, when he nearly ran into the back of Sharp while trying to slow down. "Just another great day," he said. "I can't believe eight (in a career). And four in one year? Wow." Buhl's predicament was linked to his final pit stop on lap 158.

Team leader John O'Gara signaled Buhl to leave before fueler Kevin Martin was finished. Buhl's sudden departure yanked the fuel hose loose, wreaking all sorts of havoc. Vent man Roy McAdams was clipped by the car and tire specialist Bill Weider was struck by the fuel tank as it toppled, spilling flammable methanol. The crewmen suffered only bruises and there wasn't a fire. "I screwed up," said O'Gara, who was named the IRL's top chief mechanic during the Indianapolis 500.

"I sent him (earlyj." Former F-l driver Herbert eager for test in IRL car The Courier Journal Jamie Rhodes winner Buddy Lazier (left) battles Robbie Buhl near the end of ran out of fuel, leaving him in ninth place. By Curt Cavin STAFF WRITER SPARTA, Ky. Former Formula One driver Johnny Herbert stood in the Kentucky Speedway grandstands Sunday and watched his first American oval-track race. He was somewhat disillusioned. "It wasn't as close (between the cars) as I thought it would be." he said.

Herbert's standards might have been too high. Before the Belterra Casino 300, he spoke of watching Indy Racing League races on television that resembled rush-hour traffic on a big-city freeway. He noted the breathtaking duels at Texas Motor Speedway. "It's four-abreast racing with people trying to make It five," he said. The lure of being in the middle of such action is what has him in the U.S.

this week. Today, he will test a Heritage Motorsports car on the same Kentucky track. If all goes well, he'll continue to work toward signing a deal to compete in the Indianapolis 500 next season. "I'm ready for a new challenge, which is why I'm driving in the American LeMans series," he said. "I've done Formula One.

I've won LeMans. I want to try oval tracks. And I definitely want to do Indy." Herbert, whose only oval-track experience came last month in a champ-car test at the new track in England, said he's talking to several American teams. But he stressed that he wants to be with one that can win Indy. Racing all season is another priority.

The IRL looks like the way to go," he said. "I really like it here." Bumps hurt only hands Scott Sharp was asked if the mOIHMClHBUHBUl Belterra 300 (Top finishers) Equipment Driver 1. Buddy Lazier D-A 2. Scott Sharp D-A 3. Sam Homish Jr.

D-A 4. Al Unser Jr. G-A 5. Donnie Beechler D-A 6. Billy Boat D-A 7.

Shigeaki Hattori D-A 8. Felipe Giaffone G-A 9. Robbie Buhl G-l 10. Jeff Ward G-A Chassis: G-G Force, D-Dallara Engines: A-Aurora, l-lnfiniti Series points leaders: Hornish 374, Lazier 349, Sharp 286, Giaffone 265, Eliseo Salazar 251 Buhl, a team part-owner, refused to blame the veteran O'Gara given the closeness of the competition Sunday. "(He) was anticipating the drop (of the car off its Jack) and there was a little hang up getting the fuel nozzle out," he said.

"His Job is to make up a half of a second to gain a spot or two." Buhl's team told him of the.