 |
|
Saturday
Practice, Pits and Paddock |
| . |
Cristiano da Matta exits the pits in his MCI WorldCom-sponsored
Arciero Wells Racing Reynard-Toyota for a round of practice laps.
Click on the photos to see larger images.
10:07 Fujicolor Smart A200
|
 |
 |
A favorite for Boris
in his choices for the SpeedPick
Pick12 competition, this is Dennis Vitolo in the Payton Coyne
Reynard-Ford.
10:08 Fujicolor Smart A200
|
One lap later, Dennis is back in the pits looking for some
adjustments to get him up to speed .
10:08 Fujicolor Smart A200
|
 |
 |
Scott Pruett sits in the other Arciero Wells car.
10:10 Fujicolor Smart A200
|
Team owner Pat Patrick, who Scott raced with last year. This year
he runs cars for Adrian Fernandez and P.J. Jones.
10:12 Fujicolor Smart A200
|
 |
 |
Dario Franchitti was third fastest in practice, a big improvement
over his provisional qualifying position of 17th from the day before.
10:14 Fujicolor Smart A200
|
Greg Moore: "Trying to get a good
lap and trying to get a good time [during practice] was really
difficult, because it was an accordion out there. But we tested great
here two and a half weeks ago, and all in all, we've been improving on
our short oval setup, so we feel good about our chances for
tomorrow."
10:20 Fujicolor Smart A200
|
 |
 |
Max Papis with his new team owner Bobby Rahal.
What do you think about the Harley Davidson paint job on your
Miller Lite Ford? "I like the flames on my car. They are very
American."
10:25 Fujicolor Smart A200
|
Bryan Herta seemed unhappy with his car all weekend. This is a
pretty typical shot of the frowning face he was wearing every time I
saw him.
10:26 Fujicolor Smart A200
|
 |
 |
Rookie Cristiano da Matta was 18th in practice and so not entirely
happy with his car. Last year he won the Indy Lights championship, so
he's no stranger to oval tracks.
10:22 Fujicolor Smart A200
|
Mauricio Gugelmin, 12th fastest in the practice session, discusses
his setup with Roy McCauley, his race engineer.
10:31 Fujicolor Smart A200
|
 |
 |
Roberto Moreno did a good job substituting for the injured Mark
Blundell in the Motorola-sponsored PacWest Reynard-Mercedes.
Mark damaged his seventh cervical vertebra in testing at Gateway in
early May.
10:35 Kodak Advantix 200
|
Paul Tracy being interviewed on what he thinks are his chances to
win the race tomorrow.
10:39 Kodak Advantix 200
|
 |
 |
Pat Patrick taking a break in the Penske hospitality tent with
another of the sport's senior citizens. Let me know if you can identify who
this is!
10:54 Kodak Advantix 200
|
The Forsythe Racing team is now using the moniker "a Tradition
of Excellence" for their US races. As part of their settlement
with the state attorney-generals, the big tobacco
manufacturers are restricting their sponsorship to a single area of
activity per brand. The Canadian Player's name is licensed to Philip
Morris in the US, but its own Marlboro brand is already used to
sponsor Team Penske.
11:07 Kodak Advantix 200
|
 |
 |
Mario Ilien, co-founder with Paul Morgan of Ilmor Engineering, the
race engine-building arm of Mercedes-Benz, and chief designer for the
McLaren Formula One team is interviewed in the paddock.
11:10 Kodak Advantix 200
|
Juan Pablo Montoya is in good humor, despite being only sixth
fastest in practice.
11:24 Kodak Advantix 200
|
 |
 |
JP is interviewed by Inga Stracke of DF1,
the digital television station that covers Formula One and CART in
Germany.
11:28 Kodak Advantix 200
|
JP was kind enough to autograph his promotional card for me when I
stopped by to wish him good luck for the race.
|
 |
 |
A common sight around the paddock: Adrian Fernandez on his bike.
This was the last weekend for the "Frankenstein" car built
on a 1997 Reynard chassis with 1998 and 1999 parts. They had trouble
getting the set-up working well.
12:22 Kodak Advantix 200
|
Scott Pruett: "The car's uncomfortable, but it's always
uncomfortable. It's supposed to be that way to a certain extent. But
there are different levels of comfort, and we're looking for a higher
level. Tomorrow's race is going to be a real slippery son of a
gun."
12:26 Kodak Advantix 200
|
 |
 |
Mario Andretti rides his motorbike towards son Michael's pit area
in to prepare for qualifying.
13:01 Kodak Advantix 200
|
Dave Rutledge set the fastest lap for the Kool Toyota Atlantic race
at.144.190 mph, but despite leading for many laps slipped back to
finish tenth.
15:26 Kodak Advantix 200
|
 |
 |
Gather round! A team meeting for the Target Chip Ganassi team.
Notice the engineer still under Montoya's car!
16:36 Kodak Advantix 200
|
Robby Gordon has a luridly painted motorbike to match his car.
16:53 Kodak Advantix 200
|
 |
 |
Rick Mears gives an interview in the Penske hospitality tent.
16:56 Kodak Advantix 200
|
Bryan Herta sports a Nokia phone and casual attire.
16:57 Kodak Advantix 200
|
 |
 |
Helio relaxes with a little origami after qualifying in pole
position.
16:59 Kodak Advantix 200
|
Christian Fittipaldi answers questions in the CART Winners Circle
Fan Club: "Yes, I'm from Brazil".
17:39 Kodak Advantix 200
|
 |
 |
Cristiano da Matta also at the CART Winners Circle Fan Club
meeting: "I'm from Brazil too".
17:40 Kodak Advantix 200
|
Cristiano signs his promo card for me and we're done for the day..
|
 |
