Monday, June 28, 1999

Montoya runs away with
Cleveland GP

Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- Storm clouds had been gathering over this year's Grand Prix of Cleveland long before the torrential rains arrived.

Rookie sensation Juan Montoya ran away from the competition while maneuvering around huge puddles of water to win yesterday's CART event over Gil de Ferran and Michael Andretti.

Montoya, starting from the pole in his Ganassi Racing Reynard/Honda, opened a five-second lead early, navigated safely through a mid-race downpour and won by more than 10 seconds following two hours of water-logged racing.

"In the end," Andretti said. "Juan was gone. He just pulled away from Gil and myself."

Like Montoya, CART appears to be pulling away from Cleveland.

Unable to renew its contract with CART, promoter International Management Group is negotiating with Indy Racing League, CART's open-wheel nemesis, about coming to Cleveland beginning next summer.

CART, which has raced at Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport since 1982, was reportedly seeking $2 million for next year's race and IMG was refusing to budge above the current fee of $1.5 million.

If yesterday's event was the last for CART here, Cleveland fans were treated to a splashy finale.

Montoya dazzled with his aggressive driving on a 10-turn, bumpy circuit, some of which was under water at times. He had the fastest car on the track when it was wet, and he was even faster when things dried out with de Ferran on his tail.

"At that point in the race, I felt we were pretty evenly matched," said de Ferran, who won a week ago in Portland, Ore. "It was not that way later on."

Montoya, who has won four times this season, led for 76 laps. He averaged 93.931 mph.

GORDON OUTDUELS MARTIN

It took a lot of bottled water and a number of timely cautions for an ailing Jeff Gordon to pull off his fourth consecutive road course victory.

Ill with the flu, allergies and laryngitis, Gordon held off Mark Martin yesterday and won the Save Mart/Kragen 350 at Sears Point Raceway for the second straight year.

"I could tell I was just getting kind of worn out and I wasn't quite as sharp," Gordon said.

Gordon beat Martin by .197 seconds for his fourth straight road course victory in a string dating to 1997 at Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Points to Paradise race opens up Star-Bulletin staff Juan Montoya opened up a 25-point lead in the "Points to Paradise" chase for starting spots in the Hawaiian Super Prix with his win in the Grand Prix of Cleveland yesterday. The top 12 drivers in the FedEx Championship Series standings will receive automatic slots in the No. 13 race to be held at Kalaeloa Airport. After nine of 20 races in the CART season, the top 16 are: 1. Juan Montoya -- 112 2. Gil de Ferran -- 87 3. Dario Franchitti -- 85 4. Michael Andretti -- 78 5. Greg Moore -- 69 6. Adrian Fernandez -- 65 7. Christian Fittipaldi -- 62 8. Paul Tracy -- 58 9. Max Papis -- 41 10. Jimmy Vasser -- 34 11. Bryan Herta -- 31 12. PJ Jones -- 28 13. Patrick Carpentier -- 28 14. Roberto Moreno -- 26 15. Tony Kanaan -- 26 16. Helio Castro-Neves -- 21

CART Cleveland GP

At Cleveland

With starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown or country, laps completed and reason out, if any:

1. (1) Juan Montoya, Honda Reynard, 90; 2. (2) Gil de Ferran, Honda Reynard, 90; 3. (3) Michael Andretti, Ford Swift, 90; 4. (8) Paul Tracy, Honda Reynard, 90; 5. (14) Al Unser Jr., Mercedes Lola, 90.

6. (4) Bryan Herta, Ford Reynard, 90; 7. (6) Patrick Carpentier, Mercedes Reynard, 90; 8. (5) Roberto Moreno, Mercedes Reynard, 90; 9. (24) Robby Gordon, Toyota Swift, 89; 10. (25) Richie Hearn, Toyota Reynard, 88.

11. (21) Memo Gidley, Honda Reynard, 88; 12. (11) Christian Fittipaldi, Ford Swift, 88; 13. (26) Gualter Salles, Toyota Eagle, 88; 14. (27) Luiz Garcia Jr., Ford Reynard, 87; 15. (16) P.J. Jones, Ford Swift, 86.

16. (22) Max Papis, Ford Reynard, 86; 17. (18) Scott Pruett, Toyota Reynard, 70, engine; 18. (7) Greg Moore, Mercedes Reynard, 64, exhaust; 19. (12) Adrian Fernandez, Ford Reynard, 63, contact; 20. (13) Cristiano da Matta, Toyota Reynard, 37, suspension.

21. (9) Mauricio Gugelmin, Mercedes Reynard, 34, contact; 22. (19) Tony Kanaan, Honda Reynard, 33, contact; 23. (15) Jimmy Vasser, Honda Reynard, 33, contact; 24. (23) Tarso Marques, Mercedes Penske, 32, contact; 25. (10) Dario Franchitti, Honda Reynard, 19, throttle linkage.

26. (17) Helio Castro-Neves, Mercedes Lola, 19, out; 27. (20) Michel Jourdain Jr., Ford Lola, 2, transmission.

Time of race: 2 hours, 1 minute, 4.277 seconds.

Margin of victory: 10.604 seconds.

Winner's average speed: 93.931 mph.

Series points leaders: Montoya 112, de Ferran 87, Franchitti 85, Andretti 78, Moore 69, Fernandez 65, Fittipaldi 62, Tracy 58, Papis 41, Vasser 34..

NASCAR-Save Mart 350

At Sonoma, Calif.

With finishing position, starting position in parentheses, driver, type of car, laps completed, reason out, if any, and money won:

1. (1) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 112, $125,040; 2. (9) Mark Martin, Ford, 112, $86,775; 3. (31) John Andretti, Pontiac, 112, $72,675; 4. (4) Rusty Wallace, Ford, 112, $56,340; 5. (5) Jimmy Spencer, Ford, 112, $61,055.

6. (29) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 112, $53,940; 7. (34) Jeremy Mayfield, Ford, 112, $46,915; 8. (13) Kyle Petty, Pontiac, 112, $38,965; 9. (23) Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 112, $46,165; 10. (11) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 112, $46,675.

11. (17) Bobby Hamilton, Chevrolet, 112, $49,750; 12. (10) Darrell Waltrip, Ford, 112, $33,125; 13. (7) Bill Elliott, Ford, 112, $39,775; 14. (19) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 112, $33,025; 15. (2) Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 112, $35,965.

16. (37) Chad Little, Ford, 112, $38,175; 17. (16) Mike Skinner, Chevrolet, 112, $37,450; 18. (32) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 112, $37,625; 19. (6) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 112, $36,670; 20. (22) Ted Musgrave, Ford, 112, $32,900.

21. (41) Rich Bickle, Pontiac, 112, $29,775; 22. (18) Kenny Irwin, Ford, 112, $36,715; 23. (24) Rick Mast, Ford, 112, $29,080; 24. (12) Jeff Burton, Ford, 112, $43,800; 25. (21) Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet, 112, $36,180.

26. (35) Johnny Benson, Ford, 112, $36,050; 27. (14) Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 112, $42,115; 28. (33) Geoffrey Bodine, Chevrolet, 112, $28,630; 29. (25) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 111, $40,610; 30. (40) Ernie Irvan, Pontiac, 111, $35,070.

31. (28) Brett Bodine, Ford, 111, $32,725; 32. (38) Kevin Lepage, Ford, 111, $32,440; 33. (30) Tom Hubert, Pontiac, 110, $25,420; 34. (3) Jerry Nadeau, Ford, 110, $25,900; 35. (26) Ward Burton, Pontiac, 110, $36,480.

36. (43) David Green, Chevrolet, 109, $25,360; 37. (36) Derrike Cope, Pontiac, 109, $25,340; 38. (15) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 106, crash, $32,320; 39. (8) Ken Schrader, Chevrolet, 93, crash, $32,800; 40. (42) Robert Pressley, Ford, 93, $25,280.

41. (20) Wally Dallenbach, Chevrolet, 84, handling, $32,260; 42. (39) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 24, crash, $32,240; 43. (27) Butch Gilliland, Ford, 3, engine failure, $25,415.

Race Statistics

Time of Race: 3 hours, 6 minutes, 6 seconds.

Margin of Victory: .197 seconds.

Average Speed: 70.378 mph.

Point Leaders: Dale Jarrett 2494, Bobby Labonte 2337, Mark Martin 2328, Jeff Burton 2254, Jeff Gordon 2180, Tony Stewart 2111, Dale Earnhardt 2007, Jeremy Mayfield 1930, Rusty Wallace 1913, Ward Burton 1877.

NASCAR Busch 200

At Watkins Glen, N.Y.

With starting position in parentheses, driver, car make, laps completed, reason out, if any, and money won:

1. (3) Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Chevrolet, 82, $37,800; 2. (1) Ron Fellows, Chevrolet, 82, $23,425; 3. (7) Mike McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 82, $25,900; 4. (4) Jack Baldwin, Chevrolet, 82, $14,250; 5. (6) Jason Keller, Chevrolet, 82, $21,875.

6. (32) Butch Miller, Chevrolet, 82, $9,025; 7. (13) Mike Dillon, Chevrolet, 82, $12,950; 8. (8) Dave Blaney, Pontiac, 82, $11,775; 9. (33) Todd Bodine, Chevrolet, 82, $11,700; 10. (39) Hank Parker, Jr., Chevrolet, 82, $12,975.

11. (9) Elton Sawyer, Ford, 82, $11,425; 12. (16) Jack Sprague, Chevrolet, $8,975; 13. (20) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 82, $15,425; 14. (41) Scott Lagasse, Chevrolet, 82, $6,950; 15. (31) Jeff Fuller, Chevrolet, 82, $7,250.

16. (5) Matt Kenseth, Chevrolet, 82, $15,375; 17. (2) Randy LaJoie, Chevrolet, 82, $14,250; 18. (43) Mike Olsen, Chevrolet, 82, $7,225; 19. (21) Buckshot Jones, Pontiac, 82, $13,200; 20. (37) Dick Trickle, Chevrolet, 82, $8,300.

21. (24) Bill Lester, Chevrolet, 82, $8,750; 22. (17) Phil Parsons, Chevrolet, 81, $9,625; 23. (29) Bryan Wall, Ford, 81, $7,100; 24. (30) Shane Hall, Chevrolet, 81, $6,550; 25. (26) Scott Gaylord, Ford, 81, $6,500.

26. (38) Bobby Hamilton, Jr., Chevrolet, 80, $9,475; 27. (15) Tim Fedewa, Pontiac, 79, handling, $9,450; 28. (25) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet, 78, transmission, $6,400; 29. (22) Glenn Allen, Jr., Ford, 77, $8,625; 30. (10) Andy Santerre, Chevrolet, 77, $6,575.

31. (14) Kevin Grubb, Chevrolet, 76, $9,525; 32. (34) Adam Petty, Chevrolet, 74, $9,300; 33. (12) Curtis Markham, Chevrolet, 72, accident, $6,275; 34. (44) Kelly Moore, Pontiac, 68, handling, $6,875; 35. (28) Brad Loney, Chevrolet, 67, engine failure, $6,200.

36. (35) Jeff Purvis, Chevrolet, 65, $13,675; 37. (27) Mark Green, Chevrolet, 64, transmission, $9,150; 38. (36) John Preston, Chevrolet, 63, $6,125; 39. (19) Chris Cook, Chevrolet, 57, engine failure, $6,100; 40. (11) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 55, transmission, $9,075.

41. (23) Casey Atwood, Chevrolet,52, $8,050; 42. (40) Tony Roper, Pontiac, 46, handling, $6,025; 43. (42) Brad Leighton, Chevrolet, 35, transmission, $7,200; 44. (18) Eric Jones, Chevrolet, 10, engine failure, $5,975.

Time of race: 2 hours, 38 minutes, 32 seconds.

Winner's average speed: 74.483 mph. Margin of Victory: 1.110 seconds.

Driver standings: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., 2444; Matt Kenseth, 2315; Jeff Green, 2149; Elton Sawyer, 2090; Todd Bodine, 2046; Jason Keller, 2005; Jeff Purvis, 1900; Mik e McLaughlin, 1846; Tony Raines, 1789; Dave Blaney (1782).

F1 French Grand Prix

At Magny-Cours, France

Top 15 finishers, with starting position in parentheses, driver, country, make of car and laps completed on the 2.64-mile Magny-Cours circuit:

1. (5) Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Germany, Jordan-Mugen Honda, 72 laps; 2. (14) Mika Hakkinen, Finland, McLaren-Mercedes, 72; 3. (1) Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Stewart-Ford, 72; 4. (16) Ralf Schumacher, Germany, Williams-Supertec, 72; 5. (6) Michael Schumacher, Germany, Ferrari, 72.

6. (17) Eddie Irvine, Britain, Ferrari, 72; 7. (8) Jarno Trulli, Italy, Prost-Peugeot, 72; 8. (3) Olivier Panis, France, Prost-Peugeot, 72; 9. (10) Riccardo Zonta, Brazil, BAR-Supertec, 72; 10. (21) Luca Badoer, Italy, Minardi-Ford, 71.

11. (20) Toranosuke Takagi, Japan, Arrows, 71; 12. (19) Pedro de la Rosa, Spain, Arrows, 71; 13. (7) Giancarlo Fisichella, Italy, Benetton-Playlife, 42; 14. (18) Damon Hill, Britain, Jordan-Mugen Honda, 31; 15. (15) Alex Zanardi, Italy, Williams, 26.

Time of race: 1 hour, 58 minutes, 24.343 seconds.

Margin of victory: 11.092 seconds.

Winner's average speed: 92.269 mph.

Driver standings: Hakkinen 40; M.Schumacher 32; Irvine 26; Frentzen 23; R.Schumacher 15; Fisichella 13; Coulthard 12; Barrichello 10; Hill 3; Herbert 2; De la Rosa, Panis, Alesi, Wurz, Trulli and Diniz 1.