Teamwork - Page 2

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Page 2

Sep 5, 2000

At least until the second round of pit stops.

It was to be fuel only. And, according to reports around the Internet, Franchitti claims that was his downfall. Apparently, the pit rev-limiter on the improved Honda shuts down the engine if the wheels won't spin on pit exit.

As I understand it, CART machines use relatively small clutches and high gearing. Thus, it requires significant engine rpm to get them moving. Spinning the wheels also has the effect of putting heat into the rear tires which gives them more grip.

Regardless of the reason, Franchitti sat in the pits long enough to allow Tracy to leave first.

Since Franchitti clearly had the faster car, that shouldn't have been a problem, right?

Wrong.

Tracy was 6th in the season points race going in to Vancouver and Franchitti was 14th. A victory for Tracy would push him to 2nd and thus give Team Kool Green a chance for a championship.

And that's the way it played out - Dario did the right thing, or, at least, he followed team orders. And, with point leader Michael Andretti's last lap fuel problems and resulting 12th place finish, the points race has tightened considerably, and Tracy is back in the hunt.

Other notables did poorly as well. Team Target-Chip Ganassi tried a short-pit strategy with Juan Montoya, and, for the second race in a row, the champion ended up parked on the back side of the course with a DNF in his pocket.

His teammate Jimmy Vasser finished 6th, apparently having lost some of his competitive fire with his contract termination.

Cristiano da Matta was also on a short pit strategy and would have secured a podium finish had there been another caution. He pitted 4 laps from the end and dropped to 7th.

Race Reviews

Speedvision: Paul Tracy Wins Second Straight

Autoracing 1: Tracy leads Franchitti to 1-2 Team Kool Green finish at the Molson Indy Vancouver by Mark Cipolloni

News and Views

ABC commentator referred several times during the broadcast to Team Kool Green re-signing both Tracy and Franchitti. Tracy must seem at home in CART, for he snagged a 5 year contract. Franchitti must still have his heart set on an F-1 ride, for he only signed for 1 year. The official story is on the CART site.

Rumors. We Love Rumors.

Just thinking about some of the scenarios written up on the The Autoracing 1 Web site makes for some interesting bench racing. Mo Nunn and Carl Haas chasing Cristiano da Matta's contract ... Mark Blundell losing his seat to Indy Lights phenon Scott Dixon ... Johnny Herbert to Newman-Haas ... Michael Andretti as a team owner sponsored by British-American Tobacco.

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