Friday, July 16, 1999
Ganassi racers deal with failure
By Mike Harris
Associated PressTORONTO -- Jimmy Vasser's team isn't used to failure.
You have to go back to 1995, his first season with Chip Ganassi Racing, to find such disappointment. That's when he and then-teammate Bryan Herta failed to finish several races on the same day.
But ever since the 1996 season, with the emergence of Vasser as the series champion and the arrival of top CART rookie Alex Zanardi, the team has had better luck -- until last Sunday at Road America.
This time, Vasser slid into a gravel trap after just 15 laps, the victim of a brake failure. Rookie teammate Juan Montoya -- the replacement for Zanardi -- lost the lead and fell out of the race just six laps from the end when a balky gearbox finally broke.
"It's been a long time since we've had a day like that," Vasser said.
They'll get the chance to bounce back beginning today with the opening of practice and qualifying for the Toronto Molson Indy.
Although Montoya has emerged as an immediate star, winning four of his first 10 races and leading the standings at the halfway point of the season, his veteran teammate has had an awful season.
Aside from fourth-place finishes in the opener in Homestead, Fla., and last month in Milwaukee, Vasser hasn't finished better than 10th and is tied for 10th in the standings.
"This is definitely the most disappointing first half of a CART season I've ever experienced," Vasser said. "The good news is, the first half is over. I had a good race in Toronto last year and I'm planning to have another good race there on Sunday."
Vasser finished third last year, behind Zanardi -- now driving in Formula One -- and Michael Andretti, a five-time Toronto winner.
For Montoya, failing to finish a CART race was a new experience. It had not happened in his first nine races with Ganassi. Still, the first half of the season has been a big plus for the 23-year-old Colombian driver.
In fact, he already has a couple of rookie records, including three straight wins and most laps led by a first-year driver -- tied with Zanardi at 610.
With his gearbox going, the youngster was somehow able to stay in the lead at Road America for most of the second half of the race, even staying in control after a 360-degree spin. But the gearbox finally failed.
"I would have liked to have finished the first half of the year with a better result, but we gave it our best shot with a broken gearbox," Montoya said.
Now he too is focused on getting going again in Toronto.
"Of course, I want to win more races this year, and if I set a record, fine," Montoya said. "But there's one goal the whole team is focused on, and that's getting points for the championship."
Besides Vasser and Montoya, other non-finishers last Sunday included Gil de Ferran and Dario Franchitti. That considerably tightened the points battle.
Montoya still leads Road America runner-up Andretti by 18 points, 113-95, but second to seventh is now separated by only 16 points. De Ferran is third with 87, followed by Franchitti with 85, Road America winner Christian Fittipaldi with 82, Greg Moore with 81 and Adrian Fernandez with 79.
Each race has up to 22 points: One for a pole, 20 for winning and one for leading the most laps.
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