Lots of competition in CART opener
Nobody lives on past accomplishments, though it certainly is comforting for teammates Jimmy Vasser and Alex Zanardi to think about last year.
The two Target-Chip Ganassi Racing drivers are again among the favorites to compete for the PPG Cup trophy as CART's Indy-car season opens Sunday with the Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami.
"The start we got early in the (1996) season was the foundation for our championship," said Vasser, who last year won the inaugural race at the 1.517-mile Metro Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex oval.
He parlayed that victory into a championship, but takes nothing for granted as a result of it.
"But last year was last year," he said. ``It was fantastic, and something I'll have for the rest of my life. But it's time to get down to business in 1997."
Zanardi was the Rookie of the Year in 1996, finishing the season with a flourish that included starting from the front row a record-tying eight consecutive times and winning three races during that stretch.
"The record (for front-row starts) would be nice, but I think I'm facing the most difficult race for me because this is not simply an oval," he said. "It's a very difficult one.
"I'm not a rookie anymore, but my experience is not as great as Jimmy's and some of the other guys. I'm just going to try my best to win the pole, if it is possible, not for the record but because that will give me a (PPG Cup) point."
Others expected to contend for the championship in this 17-race season include former champion and last year's runner-up Michael Andretti, his Newman-Haas Racing teammate Christian Fittipaldi and Marlboro Team Penske's Al Unser Jr., a two-time series champion.
Andretti, competing against the vaunted Honda-powered Reynards driven by Vasser and Zanardi, still won a series-high five races last season.
This year, he and Fittipaldi will again rely on Ford power, but have switched from the Lola chassis to the all-new Swift.
"We look at what happened last year," Andretti said. ``For our team, we're excited because last year we able to do a little with a package we didn't think was the best. Now, we're going in with better package.
"We're very excited about our program. We've kept a lot of continuity in other areas - in personnel. And we think it's less of a gamble going with the Swift than with the Lola."
Fittipaldi, the nephew of longtime Formula One and Indy-car star Emerson Fittipaldi - now sidelined by injury - is not quite as confident about the Swift-Ford as his teammate. At least, not yet.
"I think we're about 90 percent," he said. ``We wanted to be 100 percent ready, but we are pretty confident considering the amount of time we've had on the track.
"I think in two or three races it will come. At the moment, it's better on the ovals than it is on the road circuits.
"I'm going to be honest with you. As far as I'm concerned, we did not equal the time that Vasser did. I don't think we're on the same level as those guys.
Fittipaldi is not discouraged, however.
"But the car handles well," said Fittipaldi, who is still looking for his first Indy-car win. "Maybe it wasn't the quickest car out there, but it was very comfortable to drive."
The Penske team, using Mercedes engines along with a new Penske chassis - with Reynards standing by in case the new cars don't pan out - is anxious for the season to get started.
Last season was the team's first since 1976 without a victory, and Unser is anxious to rectify that.
"By about halfway through last season, I felt we were very competitive with everybody out there," he said. "But we had a lot of bad luck, even when we did everything right.
"Hopefully, things will turn around for us. As a driver, I'm not going to change anything. We've got some new engineers at Penske. They've definitely brought new ideas to the team."
Other strong contenders include teammates Bobby Rahal and Bryan Herta, Unser's teammate Paul Tracy, Scott Pruett, Mauricio Gugelmin, Andrei Ribeiro and Gil de Ferran.
