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Posted By	Discussion Topic: CART Texas 600
NYR2119935	posted on 04-29-2001 @ 10:54 AM
Psychopath Registered: May. 00	Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, April 28 — Kenny Brack is on a roll. He claimed his first Champ Car pole in the season opener at Monterrey, started second in round two at Long Beach, and kept his streak of front row starting positions alive by securing his second pole this afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway. The personable Swede set the pace in practice yesterday with Team Rahal's Shell Ford-Cosworth/Lola B01/00, and while he was "only" fifth quickest in practice this morning - a scant 0.082sec behind Paul Tracy's draft-assisted 22.542sec, 236.678mph effort - Brack uncorked an impressive solo 22.854sec lap at 233.447mph to nip Patrick Carpentier's similarly motivated Player's Reynard by just 0.010sec. "I got all I could out of the car," said Brack, who played down the fact that he alone among the 26 entrants had previous experience on the high-banked 1.482-mile superspeedway following his five IRL events in the late 1990s. "I don't really think I had more knowledge at this track now. It is just which car has the best setup - with the least drag and most power. "It was hotter for us later in the session. We were a little faster overall with these cars than I expected, to be honest. We tested here at 221[mph] and that was back in December. I know they have shaved down the bumps and the track is faster. But I didn't think 12 miles an hour faster." Brack was the 17th driver to take to the track for single-car following by virtue of yet another new rule for this season. Frankly, in my opinion, the decision to base the qualifying order on championship positions rather than practice speeds (as used in the past, with the quickest cars going last) provided markedly less exciting. Nevertheless, there were several fine performances today - and some surprises. The fact that Carpentier was fast on an oval wasn't really among them, but it was especially meritorious since he is still recuperating from a broken left wrist sustained in an accident at Long Beach three weeks ago. The injury clearly hasn't affected his performance this weekend. "The car was loose, but loose was good on this track for qualifying," declared the French-Canadian. "Team Player's removed all the aerodynamic downforce they could. We had a good strategy for the day and they gave me the car I was looking for. The team worked a good portion of [Friday] evening to improve the car and we found the proper balance." Two more Ford-Cosworth cars ensured a rare sweep of the front two rows for a single manufacturer, thanks to the efforts of Oriol Servia and Bryan Herta. Servia showed that his form in the first two races of the season aboard Tom Wieringa's Sigma Autosport Lola was no fluke by annexing the best qualifying position of his young Champ Car career, while fellow former Indy Lights champion Herta also showed once again that he has what it takes to be fast on the ovals. Servia's effort was notable for the fact he had only one lap to achieve his fastest time as his engine failed comprehensively as he negotiated Turn One for the second time. "Well, first, it's a shame because the car was really good," said the Spaniard. "The first lap was good, not taking too many chances, and the second one was to be the good one...it's always a shame. For a moment, I held my breath because I felt something was wrong and you're hoping no oil goes under the tires, because for sure you're going to hit the wall, but no, nothing happened, so it's OK." Herta's run, happily for the Californian, was less eventful. "I would've liked to have been a little quicker to try and get a shot at the pole, but the important thing is we've had a good car all weekend, and hopefully we can stay up there at the front and run a nice clean race tomorrow." First non-Ford, surprisingly, was the Avex Group/Alpine Honda/Reynard of Japanese Champ car sophomore Shinji Nakano, whose confidence has improved immeasurably since joining the new Fernandez Racing team this season. "Actually, we spent most of our time this weekend working on our race setup," commented Nakano, who was only 25th fastest - out of 26 - on Friday. "We only put on the low-downforce package the first time for qualifying, so I'm very happy with our result. I have no good memories from any of the ovals last year, so I'm hoping to make some good memories this year instead." His performance this afternoon represented an excellent start. Another man looking to improve his fortunes was Alex Zanardi, who had experienced nothing but heartache during the first two events on his return to the CART FedEx Championship Series following a two-year absence. Well, he, too, took a major step forward by securing a place on row three of the grid for tomorrow's Firestone Firehawk 600 Presented by Pioneer aboard Mo Nunn Racing's Pioneer Honda/Reynard. "I must say I'm getting more and more comfortable here [at Texas Motor Speedway]," related the former two-time champion. "It was quite a shock yesterday morning to run my first oval track in three years at a place like this. But we worked and worked to make the car more balanced and I think we have a good race car for tomorrow. That's going to be important on this track, not the car that is fastest out there on its own." Defending series champ Gil de Ferran could manage no better than seventh in Marlboro Team Penske's heavily modified Honda/Reynard, followed by Alex Tagliani (Player's Ford/Reynard) and Christian Fittipaldi, whose Kmart Lola was, surprisingly, fastest of the Toyota contingent, two places ahead of Newman/Haas Racing teammate Cristiano da Matta, who emerged unscathed from a major crash this morning and did well to emerge 11th quickest in his backup car. Paul Tracy rounded out the top 10 in the fastest of Team Green's three Honda/Reynards. Qualifying results from Texas follow: 1) Kenny Brack, No. 8 Shell Team Rahal Ford/Lola, 22.854/233.447 2) Patrick Carpentier, No. 32 Player's/Forsythe Racing Ford/Reynard, 22.864/233.345 3) Oriol Servia, No. 22 Sigma Autosport Ford/Lola, 22.900/232.978 4) Bryan Herta, No. 77 Zakspeed/Forsythe Racing Ford/Reynard, 22.931/232.663 5) Shinji Nakano, No. 52 Avex/Alpine Fernandez Racing Honda/Reynard, 22.988/232.086 6) Alex Zanardi, No. 66 Pioneer Mo Nunn Racing Honda/Reynard, 23.003/231.935 7) Gil de Ferran, No. 1 Marlboro Team Penske Honda/Reynard, 23.067/231.291 8) Alex Tagliani, No. 33 Player's/Forsythe Racing Ford/Reynard, 23.077/231.191 9) Christian Fittipaldi, No. 11 Kmart Newman/Haas Racing Toyota/Lola, 23.079/231.171 10) Paul Tracy, No. 26 Team KOOL Green Honda/Reynard, 23.097/230.991 11) Cristiano da Matta, No. 6 Texaco/Havoline Newman/Haas Racing Toyota/Lola, 23.105/230.911 12) Adrian Fernandez, No. 51 Tecate/Quaker State Fernandez Racing Honda/Reynard, 23.116/230.801 13) Michel Jourdain Jr., No. 16 Herdez/Corona Extra Bettenhausen Ford/Lola, 23.120/230.761 14) Tony Kanaan, No. 55 Hollywood Mo Nunn Racing Honda/Reynard, 23.142/230.542 15) Nicolas Minassian, No. 12 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Toyota/Lola, 23.146/230.502 16) Dario Franchitti, No. 27 Team KOOL Green Honda/Reynard, 23.165/230.313 17) Max Papis, No. 7 Miller Lite Team Rahal Ford/Lola, 23.176/230.204 18) Michael Andretti, No. 39 Team Motorola Honda/Reynard, 23.215/229.817 19) Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Honda/Reynard, 23.292/229.057 20) Scott Dixon, No. 18 Powerware PacWest Racing Toyota/Reynard, 23.319/228.792 21) Bruno Junqueira, No. 4 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Toyota/Lola, 23.373/228.263 22) Jimmy Vasser, No. 40 Patrick Racing Toyota/Reynard, 23.479/227.233 23) Tora Takagi, No. 5 Pioneer/Denso Walker Racing Toyota/Reynard, 23.533/226.711 24) Roberto Moreno, No. 20 Visteon Patrick Racing Toyota/Reynard, 23.580/226.260 25) Max Wilson, No. 25 winnerB2B.com Arciero/Brooke Racing Phoenix/Reynard, 24.308/219.483 26) Mauricio Gugelmin, No. 17 Nextel PacWest Racing Toyota/Reynard, No Time CART Taco Bell Ice Hockey MetallicA This message was edited by NYR2119935 on 4-29-01 @ 10:58 AM
Dan-O	posted on 04-30-2001 @ 12:06 AM
Psychopath Registered: Nov. 00	Not that I give two shits about motor sports -- but this is very interesting... ------- FORT WORTH, Texas -- With drivers worried they could pass out at speeds of more than 230 mph, CART took the extraordinary step Sunday of calling off its inaugural race at Texas Motor Speedway. Some drivers were dizzy and disoriented after practicing for the Firestone Firehawk 600. CART medical officials found G forces were almost twice as high as normal on the high-banked track. After meeting with the drivers, CART postponed the race just before it was scheduled to begin. "The G forces were beyond what I could have ever imagined," said Michael Andretti, the biggest winner in CART history. "You feel very compressed when you get down in the corners. Everything is just compressing your body. It's a feeling I've never felt before." This was the first safety related postponement by CART since 1985, when tire concerns delayed a race at Michigan International Speedway for six days. This time, series officials were caught off guard by the impact of the 24-degree banking at Texas. By comparison, the banking at Indianapolis is just 9 degrees, and no other track in the CART series is steeper than 18 degrees. Dr. Steve Olvey, CART's medical director, said extended exposure to the G force felt in practice could have caused some drivers to lose consciousness during the race, which was scheduled for 250 laps on the 1.5-mile quad-oval. "This is a situation that in my 25 years involved in motorsports I've never heard of or seen," Olvey said. The track had no input into the discussions Sunday morning, general manager Eddie Gossage said. He was critical of CART for its dealings with the track. Gossage said safety questions were raised by track officials as recently as 10 days ago. There was no open testing, however, and the standard accepted by CART was the 220-224-mph range established by Kenny Brack during a private test in December. Brack earned the pole at 233.447 mph during qualifying Saturday. During practice sessions with most of the cars on the track, some drivers were turning speeds as high as 236.9 mph. "It should have been sufficiently tested months and months and months ago," Gossage said. "Both TMS and the fans are frustrated by what has happened." Teams said the G forces were above 5, when a range in the 3s is generally considered as high as drivers can endure on most race tracks. Olvey said all but four of the 25 drivers on the starting grid experienced some sort of inner ear or vision problems after running more than 10 laps at time. The others, including Andretti, did not go those distances. Bryan Herta, who qualified fourth at 232.663 mph, likened driving at Texas to the flight he once had in an F-16 aircraft. The high banks allow drivers to race at full throttle all the way around. "It's the fastest I've ever felt in a race car," Herta said. Olvey said the first indication of a problem came Friday when two drivers -- he didn't name them -- pulled off the track after long stints at over 230 mph and said they were dizzy and disoriented. Widespread problems were discovered when Olvey met with all drivers after qualifying Saturday. CART CEO Joseph Heitzler said the sanctioning body was considering rescheduling the race for later in the year. He said there was no opportunity to make immediate changes to the cars or the racing surface. "We are in uncharted waters," he said. The postponement comes at a time when safety is a top concern in racing, the attention heightened after the death two months ago of NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt in the season-opening Daytona 500. Four NASCAR drivers have been killed in the last 11 months, including truck series driver Tony Roper in a race at Texas last October. Roper was killed when he lost control of his truck in traffic on the frontstretch and slammed into the wall head-on. That is the only fatal record at the Texas track since it opened in 1997. Heitzler refused to blame the track for Sunday's action. "This is not an issue of safety at this track," he said. "This was safety of the drivers in their performance of their skills." The Indy Racing League has competed at Texas Motor Speedway since the track opened, and plans to return June 9 for the Casino Magic 500. Billy Boat set the IRL qualifying record of 225.979 mph in 1998. Mauricio Gugelmin and series points leader Cristiano da Matta were the only drivers to have accidents in practice for the CART race. In separate sessions, their cars spun out of control coming out of Turn 2 into the backstretch. Kirk Russell, CART's chief steward, said there appeared to be no mechanical problems with either car and believes the accidents was caused by the stress on the cars and drivers. "In theory, the incidents occurred because of the heavy G-loading in the turns and coming into the transition onto the backstretch, with turbulence of another car affecting it," said Russell, who talked to both drivers. Gugelmin was stiff and had withdrawn from the race, apparently ending his streak of 130 CART starts, the longest active streak. Da Matta had qualified 11th in a backup car. At first, most drivers thought they were alone in their feelings about racing Sunday, but began a dialogue that grew into virtual unanimity. "When you saw 24 hands go up, everyone was silent," Herta said. In 1985, the Michigan race was put off because of concerns over the radial tires Goodyear was to introduce on the circuit. After three accidents before the race, several drivers refused to compete. Goodyear solved the problem by withdrawing the radials, and the race was run safely with bias-ply tires. NASCAR stars struck over tire concerns before the inaugural race in Talladega, Ala., in 1969, and were replaced. That race also was completed without major problems, and the regulars were back in the cars for the next event. CART drivers had a lengthy meeting last year after Patrick Carpentier crashed in practice for the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey in Laguna Seca, Calif. A year earlier, rookie Gonzalo Rodriguez was killed while practicing on that track. Changes were made to the road course last year, and the race went on. The Texas track, owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc., underwent some remilling and widening of its fourth turn after NASCAR drivers complained about safety when they first began racing there. There also was a problem with water seepage from the asphalt at the track where the Winston Cup drivers have raced since it opened. "Art isn't easy"
NYR2119935	posted on 04-30-2001 @ 12:15 AM
Psychopath Registered: May. 00	It's a real shame that the race was cancelled, but I am very happy that CART really cares about their drivers and their safety. I am a bit surprised that these effects were not discovered during pre-season testing. oh well.....It's a real shame, but at least no one was hurt/killed. CART Taco Bell Ice Hockey MetallicA
WhackBagKid TALK TO ME, GOMEZ. HE WHO IS #1.	posted on 04-30-2001 @ 1:21 AM
O&A Board Regular Registered: Sep. 00	i read that story on espn.com today,, that shit is fucking scary Donator Of NSYNC Tickets GAME ON MOMMIES
CrackSweat	posted on 04-30-2001 @ 1:22 PM
Psychopath Registered: Oct. 00	This weekend is the last Cart race at Nazareth, maybe if they can't use the Texas track, they will decide to come back to Nazareth next year. I live only about 25 minutes from the track, and I've been going to the race for the past 4 years, it sucks that they might not come back. This message was edited by CrackSweat on 4-30-01 @ 1:28 PM
NYR2119935	posted on 04-30-2001 @ 4:30 PM
Psychopath Registered: May. 00	Hey CrackSweat, where are you sitting there? I will be in section 26 at the very top. This will be my second year at www.NAZARETHSPEEDWAY.com It's a real shame that CART won't be returning to Nazareth next year. But rumor has it that Mario and Michael Andretti are working behind the scenes to keep Nazareth on the schedule. If we can sell out Nazareth this year that would really help things out. I hope Michael Andretti wins the race. That would be terific! CART Taco Bell Ice Hockey MetallicA
CrackSweat	posted on 05-03-2001 @ 10:49 PM
Psychopath Registered: Oct. 00	Hey NYR2119935, I won't be at this race this year, But normally I'm in the Pits and hospitality tent for Target/Ganassi racing. My company Colgate/Mennen is a part sponsor (SpeedStick) for their team, so Myself and some others get special passes every time they came to Naz. I have some great pixs of Vasser and Zanardi and others, lots of autographs including the late Greg Moore...Hey did you use to be SilentCartFan.
Silent CART Fan	posted on 05-04-2001 @ 1:24 AM
Psychopath Registered: Jan. 01	yep Thanx CC from CT CART Taco Bell sim racing Hockey MetallicA New York Rangers, Yankees, Knicks, Giants, Metrostars, Hitmen
NYR2119935	posted on 05-04-2001 @ 1:26 AM
Psychopath Registered: May. 00	that's indeed me I can't wait till Sunday/ oh man. Think you could get NYR into the Target camp? :) CART Taco Bell Ice Hockey MetallicA
CrackSweat	posted on 05-07-2001 @ 8:29 AM
Psychopath Registered: Oct. 00	Hey NYR, sorry I didn't get back to you about the passes, But they were givin to other employee's, since we couldn't get to the race. It was nice to see Target on the pole anyway..

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