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Blundell and Mercedes-Benz End '97 CART Season in Victory Lane; PacWest Driver's Third Win Brings Mercedes' Total to Nine

28 September 1997

Blundell and Mercedes-Benz End '97 CART Season in Victory Lane; PacWest Driver's Third Win Brings Mercedes' Total to Nine

    FONTANA, Calif., Sept. 28 -- Mercedes-Benz, the 1997 PPG CART
World Series Manufacturer's Champion, ended the racing season with more wins
than all of its competitors combined, as Mark Blundell drove his Motorola
Reynard/Mercedes to victory in the Marlboro 500 at California Speedway in
Fontana, Calif.  Blundell's third win for the PacWest Racing team brought
Mercedes' season total to nine, including wins on every type of circuit the
PPG Cup series visits:  street courses, road courses, short ovals and
superspeedways.
    "A fantastic day," said the 31-year-old British driver.  "We had a few
problems with the tires, and we struggled with them a bit in the middle of the
race, but we kept getting better and better.  Even with the tire problems, the
car was very consistent.  The engine was just great, and my team kept me
informed all day about where we were in the field.  When Greg (Moore) had his
problem, he was out of the groove, and I was able to sweep past Jimmy
(Vasser), and then we were able to lead the rest of the way.  This feels so
great to win the first race here (at California Speedway), and it also means
our team won races on all of the different circuits, from superspeedways to
road courses to street courses.  This one is just fantastic."
    Blundell was one of three drivers with Mercedes power to lead the
250-lap race -- and have a shot at victory -- in the grueling 500-mile test
that included a variety of emotions from triumph to heartbreak for the
six Mercedes-powered entries.  Blundell recovered from mid-race tire problems
that dropped his as low as tenth place, one lap behind, at lap 116.  Fighting
back to the front, Blundell finally swept into the lead on lap 240 and held on
for the final 10 laps to win the inaugural CART race at the new two-mile
California Speedway oval.  The victory propelled him to sixth place in the
final PPG Cup driver's standings.
    "Today's victory puts the finishing touch on an outstanding season," said
Hal Whiteford, vice president, operations, Mercedes-Benz of North America.
"Clearly, winning nine races shows the strength of the Mercedes-Benz engine.
Winning the championship shows the strength of our partnerships."
    Blundell's teammate Mauricio Gugelmin led the first 66 laps of the race,
having qualified the Hollywood car on the pole yesterday with an all-time
record-setting lap of 240.942 mph.  Gugelmin powered into the lead again on
lap 215, and stretched his lead to more than three seconds before a blistered
tire caused him to pit with only 19 laps remaining.  Despite Gugelmin's
repeated troubles with tires, he was able to fight back for a fourth-place
finish in the race and a fourth-place ranking in the year-end PPG Cup
standings.
    After Gugelmin's tire trouble, another Mercedes-powered car rocketed into
the lead.  Greg Moore, who turned the fastest lap of the race at 236.388 mph,
moved the Player's Forsythe entry into the lead at lap 232.  With a dominant
lead, Moore was felled by a mechanical problem only ten laps from the end.
Moore, who became the youngest driver to win an Indy car event earlier this
year at Milwaukee, Wis., finished the season ranked seventh in points, giving
Mercedes four of the top seven drivers in 1997.
    Robby Gordon, who was driving for Carl Hogan's team on a one-race basis,
made the most of his opportunity by bringing the Hogan Reynard/Mercedes-Benz
home to an eighth-place finish.  Gordon, who recorded the fourth best lap of
the race, had not contested a CART event in more than a year.
    Marlboro Team Penske driver's Al Unser Jr. and Paul Tracy finished 22nd
and 26th, respectively.  Unser's race was running according to plan, allowing
him to move up through the field, until he pitted on lap 44 with a cracked
exhaust header, which started a small fire.  Tracy spun and struck the wall on
lap 12.
    Patrick Carpentier, despite not running this weekend due to a crash in
practice, took the Rookie of the Year title for the Team Alumax and
Bettenhausen Motorsports.

SOURCE  Mercedes-Benz North America