CART: Dario Franchitti Scores First Champ Car Win
17 August 1998
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Franchitti's 30th career start began from the sixth position on the grid. He seized the lead for the first time on lap 26. He gave up the lead when he pitted two laps later, but regained the lead on lap 30. Franchitti ran away with the race after the final round of pit stops, leading 23 of 50 laps.
For team owner Barry Green, today's victory was his first win in 51 races when Jacques Villeneuve won in Cleveland on July 23, 1995. Villeneuve won five races for Green, and like Franchitti, his first victory came at Road America on Sept. 11, 1994. Green's team now has six career CART victories, including three on the 4.048-mile Road America course. Villeneuve recorded a second victory here on July 9, 1995.
Paul Tracy, meanwhile, drove his KOOL-Reynard Honda from the 17th position on the grid to a sixth place finish. Today's race was more grueling than usual for Tracy, who ran without any water because of a broken dispenser and fought with an ill-handling car throughout the day.
DARIO FRANCHITTI, #27 TEAM KOOL GREEN REYNARD/HONDA/FIRESTONE:
(Started 6th / Finished 1st ; Currently 7th in the PPG Cup standings
with 88 points)
"The first win is great. I hope it is the first of many. When I looked at my pit board after the last stop and saw P1 and +10 to Michael (Andretti), I said 'I've seen this before? in Toronto'. And I just slowed it down. I was careful with the brakes and just took it easy. The Team KOOL Green guys gave me great pit stops and that enabled me to run away with it."
BARRY GREEN, TEAM KOOL GREEN OWNER:
"This is a special race track and it has been a long time. It was just a matter of time with Dario. And what a perfect race he drove. The pit crew was perfect. And for Paul to finish sixth from where he had to start; it's just a great day for Team KOOL Green.
"I'm just emotionally drained. We've finally got the monkey off our back. To get that second win is going to be very, very hard. But, I think it will be easier than this one."
PAUL TRACY, #26 TEAM KOOL GREEN REYNARD/HONDA/FIRESTONE:
(Started 17th / Finished 6th ; Currently 12th in the PPG Cup standings
with 54 points)
"I was just hanging on the last 10 laps. My drink dispenser didn't work the whole race and the handling of the car wasn't that good. But, we finished sixth and picked up some points. And I'm really happy for Dario because he certainly deserves it."
KOOL/Toyota Atlantic Championship - RACE
Anthony Lazzaro won today's 15-lap race at Road America, taking the checkered flag 3.766 seconds before runner-up Memo Gidley. Kenny Wilden finished third, while KOOL-sponsored driver Jeff Shafer was the highest-finishing rookie in fourth place.
Shafer started from the eighth spot on the grid, running clean in a race marked by attrition. Most of the cars making contact in the race were among the leaders. KOOL-sponsored driver Matt Sielsky was challenging for sixth place with three laps remaining when he tangled with Rino Mastronardi. Sielsky hit the Italian from behind when Mastronardi who braked early heading to Turn 1.
Lee Bentham finished 19th today, but continues to lead the championship with 121 points. Gidley narrowed the gap to seven points, standing second with 114 points. Betham's teammate is third with 101 points, followed by Andrew Bordin with 98 and Anthony Lazzaro with 92. Sielsky drops a position to sixth overall with 87 points, while Shafer has jumped to 15th overall with 31 points.
JEFF SHAFER, #24 PPI-DEREK DALY ACADEMY SWIFT-TOYOTA:
(Started 8th / Finished 4th ; Currently 15th overall in the
championship with 31 points)
"The car felt as good as it has all weekend at the start and we were able to jump up a spot to seventh. I had some rubber build-up that slowed me and I even went off the track briefly. We lost two spots and I was battling with Rino Mastronardi and Matt Sielsky for seventh when they had their problems. I just barely missed it. Each race, we are getting better and better, both in finishing position and comfort level. So, we'll be looking to keep this momentum going in two weeks up in Vancouver."
MATT SIELSKY, #16 LCI INTERNATIONAL SWIFT-TOYOTA:
(Started 10th / DNF - 23rd ; Currently 6th overall in the championship
with 87 points)
"Mastronardi was blocking me on the straightaway, which was no big deal - I certainly expected him to. But, as I came up on him to make a pass, I got to the first brake marker and he got 100% on the brakes. In these cars, we'll go flat out in fourth gear through Turn 1 and just brake a little bit at the last brake marker. So, it was something intentional. I was surprised because he knew as well as I did, if he was going to brake-check me, it was going to take us both out. It hurts us because we could have picked up a couple of spots in the championship."
Barber Dodge Pro Series - RACE
ALEX GURNEY, #27 TEAM KOOL GREEN REYNARD-DODGE
(Started 10th / DNF - 21st)
"I had some very good battles with several guys, particularly Thomas Schie and Eric Tressler. We were running faster than we qualified; the draft really helped that. There was some very aggressive by most everybody. I guess that took a toll on suspensions because four different guys had the same problem. My left rear suspension let go just as I was exiting Canada Corner."
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