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[molive]

2000: A Tough Season Marked By Firsts And Lasts

A long and difficult season proves that CART is still the
most competitive and demanding open-wheel series in the world
By Marc Sproule


A first-time champion, the resurgence of one of CART’s storied teams, four first-time winners, the first race victories for Toyota and the last appearances of one of the most talented drivers in CART history were just some of the highlights of the 2000 FedEx Championship.

Along with the highlights there were enough lowlights and frustrations to last a lifetime. Mechanical unreliability and just plain bad luck marked one of the most competitive and demanding seasons on record. The six cars running at the finish of the season finale illustrated that statement all too well.

Gil de Ferran sat on pole five times, won two races and scored 168 points on his way to his first Champ Car crown. In so doing he brought Marlboro Team Penske its 100th Champ Car victory, its first victories since 1997 and first title since 1994, ending droughts that had many questioning whether the team could regain its former glory.

De Ferran averaged just over eight points per race, equivalent to slightly better than an sixth place each race. This low point-scoring total reflected how demanding this season was on the drivers, their teams and their equipment.

Max Papis, Helio Castroneves, Roberto Moreno and Cristiano da Matta all won for the first time in their Champ Car careers, three more first-time winners than last season.

Toyota finally got in the win column with wins by Juan Montoya (3), Cristiano da Matta and Jimmy Vasser. Montoya’s win on the oval at Milwaukee was the first for the manufacturer since it entered the series in ’96. Vasser’s win in the streets of Houston was the first road/temporary circuit victory.

Montoya’s victories were the final ones for him in his two-year career in the series with Target/Chip Ganassi Racing. Although he was unable to repeat his series championship (he finished ninth), he was still the dominant driver at the front, leading 820 of the 2830 laps. He also had the least number of finishes (8) of any driver in the top 10 in the standings. It was just another vivid illustration of the nature of the 2000 campaign.

De Ferran (Honda/Reynard) claimed the first pole of the season at Homestead. He led the most laps too, but a pitstop just before a yellow flag eliminated his chances for victory in his first race for Marlboro Team Penske.

Papis (Miller Lite Team Rahal Ford/Reynard) eventually surged to the front on that day way back in March, leading Moreno (Visteon Patrick Racing Ford/Reynard) and Paul Tracy (Team KOOL Green Honda/Reynard) to the podium with his first victory.

Montoya led at Homestead and his engine broke. Papis’ rookie teammate Kenny Brack (Shell) led and had engine problems. Preseason championship contenders Michael Andretti (BigKmart Texaco/Havoline Newman/Haas Ford/Lola) and Moreno’s teammate Adrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State) also did not finish. Engine problems.

No one fully realized it at that point; the tenor of the season had been set.

Nazareth was next on the schedule but snow on race day sent the teams to sunny California and the streets Long Beach for the second race. Montoya had won the pole at Nazareth but would have to wait to see if he could translate that into Toyota’s first victory.

De Ferran was once again on pole and led the most laps at Long Beach, but would eventually end up finishing seventh. Tracy took over the points lead with a masterful drive -- and fine pitwork -- to take the win. Unknown to him, Tracy’s victory would be only the second time in Long Beach history that the winner wouldn’t take the series title. Andretti led, but an exhaust-related fire led to another DNF. Moreno led too, but suffered a gearbox failure.

Castroneves might have won as well, but a pit speed violation and drive-through penalty relegated him to second. Vasser was next, giving Toyota its best result to date.

Tracy left Long Beach in the points lead and would stay in that position through the seventh round at Detroit. Although he would eventually get as high as second in the standings, he would never regain the top spot.

Fernandez won the next round in Brazil after qualifying 16th. Vasser moved Toyota up to the runner-up spot and Tracy finished third. Rookie polesitter Alexandre Tagliani (Player’s Team Forsythe Ford/Reynard) dominated the race. He led the most laps but two rookie mistakes-a pit violation and spin-took him out of contention.

Montoya qualified second, didn’t lead and then retired early with a broken gearbox. Andretti finally finished a race, coming home ninth, after qualifying a lowly 15th. De Ferran qualified 13th but brake problems put him on the sidelines with no points.

The oval at Motegi was the next stop and it was the first appearance of the single wastegate motors. Montoya put the Toyota on pole at Honda’s own track -- and should have delivered Toyota’s first victory, but a freak occurrence on what should have been his final stop took him out of contention. Montoya had thoroughly dominated the race -- at one point having a lead of over 10 seconds -- but the stop removed him from contention. He had led 172 laps.

The air hose that controls the onboard air jacks caught the wire that controls the popoff valve. The wire pulled off, there was no boost and Montoya had to return to the pits. He eventually finished seventh.

Andretti won the race but was lucky in so doing. Rain had postponed the race one day and it gave Andretti’s team the time to fix the throttle sensor on his Ford powerplant.

Like his teammate Montoya, Vasser looked to have the car to give Toyota that elusive first victory. He too ended the race on the sidelines, his engine expiring in a cloud of smoke.

Dario Franchitti, injured in a Spring Training crash, brought his TKG Honda/Reynard home in second just over .5 seconds behind Andretti. He was followed by Moreno. De Ferran started fifth and finished ninth, earning four very valuable points.

The return to Nazareth was next and De Ferran responded by giving the Penske team its 100th victory, in front of the team’s hometown crowd.

Mauricio Gugelmin (Nextel PacWest Mercedes/Reynard) finished second, giving Mercedes its best finish in the final year of the Mercedes powerplant in CART competition. Brack joined the two Brazilians for his first podium finish.

Montoya once again set the pace at the front, leading 110 of the 225 laps. A deflating tire slowed him at one point but he recovered to finish fourth.

Tracy came in 10th but still had an 11-point lead in the standings on Vasser. Moreno and de Ferran were next, 17 behind.

The inevitable happened the next weekend at Milwaukee.

Montoya finally finished a race at the front and gave Toyota its first victory. He qualified on pole -- and once again the race was delayed a day by rain -- and led 179 of the 225 laps. Andretti was second, followed by Tagliani’s teammate Patrick Carpentier.

Moreno, Fernandez and Brack all had a stint in the lead, but it was Montoya who was the only real leader that day. Tracy finished 15th and scored no points. De Ferran got the last point in 12th.

The circuit on Belle Isle was the next stop. Like last year, it was Montoya and Franchitti battling for the pole. They ended the battle in a dead heat to the thousandth of a second but the pole went to Montoya on the basis of his having the faster second fastest lap.

Montoya once again led the way but once again that way led back to the sidelines. He led most of the first 61 laps but a failed constant velocity joint brought his fifth DNF in seven races.

Castroneves jubilantly responded with his first career victory, followed by Papis and rookie Oriol Servia (Telefonica PPI Toyota/Reynard). It was Servia’s and the PPI team’s first podium finish.

De Ferran got caught in a shunt with two others and didn’t finish. Tracy was excluded after hitting one of his pit crew on a pit stop.

It was beginning to look like the championship was going to be won by whomever had the best luck.

The next weekend, Portland provided the scene for de Ferran’s push to the front of the standings.

He won his second consecutive race there, using the same strategy as last year when he won for Derrick Walker’s team. He ran hard, made an extra stop for fuel and won.

Moreno ran a fuel-conservation race and finished second, followed by a hard-charging Christian Fittipaldi (BigKmart Route 66 Newman/Haas Ford/Lola). This marked the first time the podium had been swept by Brazilian drivers.

Castroneves had been the dominant driver, though. He qualified on pole, led 85 of the 112 laps but suffered gearbox problems and then ran out of fuel within sight of the finish line. He finished seventh.

Moreno left Portland leading de Ferran in the points race, 68 to 67 . Tracy was eliminated in a first-corner crash and had his fourth non-points paying race in a row. Although he would rebound later in the season, his run atop the standings was over. Montoya had another engine failure.

Cleveland was the next weekend, the third race in as many weeks.

Moreno solidified his position at the top of the standings by qualifying on pole and dominating the race to win his first Champ Car event. He led 91 of the 100 laps and was never challenged the whole weekend. It was a popular win for the oldest driver in the series who was enjoying the first competitive full-time ride in his CART career.

It was also a frustrating day as there was an 11-car fracas in the first corner. Twelve of the 25 starters didn’t finish and no Honda powered cars made it to the checkered flag.

Brack finished second, further solidifying his grip on his Rookie of the Year award. Cristiano da Matta stood on the third spot at the end of the day.

Andretti finished fourth and left Cleveland as Moreno’s nearest pursuer, 22 points down with 68 points. De Ferran was still in third and Tracy had now fallen to 12th.

The streets of Toronto had been very good to Andretti -- he had won there five times in the past -- and they were once again this year.

He won for the sixth time, this time ahead of Fernandez and Tracy. It was his 40th career victory. It would also be his last for the Newman/Haas team. He now moves to the Motorola/Green team in 2001 after 10 seasons with the team that has become synonymous with the Andretti name.

It was another frustrating race for many concerned. Castroneves was once again on pole but his race ended with no laps led and a broken exhaust header.

Franchitti and Montoya collided on the first lap and were eliminated. Moreno had gearbox woes and finished with no points. Tracy continued his run of bad luck with bent suspension and no points.

The Michigan 500 was next, the next weekend. It proved to be one of the most exciting races of all time as the lead swapped hands as often as the stock market changes direction.

Montoya eventually won the battle, edging Andretti by .04 seconds, after using the draft of another Tarso Marques’ lapped Swift to give him the slim margin over Andretti.

They had run the last 10 laps separated by margins as small as inches and had all in attendance on their feet as they showed just how competitive this series is, especially at speeds over 230 mph.

Tracy qualified on pole but finished seventh. Castroneves started 22nd and ran at the front, ultimately finishing fifth. De Ferran went home with a broken finger after getting hit from some of the debris that came from the accident involving Brack and Fittipaldi. Moreno scored nothing after a gearbox failure. Andretti left the superspeedway as the points leader, 14 ahead of Moreno.

Cristiano da Matta was the winner the next weekend as he came out on top on the oval in Chicago. His first career win meant that he became the fourth first time winner during the season.

Andretti followed him in second place while de Ferran scored a solid third. Moreno finished sixth and sat 22 points adrift of Andretti, followed by de Ferran another nine back.

Montoya retired with a fuel-related fire in the engine compartment. Castroneves had a massive meltdown of his Honda, while teammates Tracy and Franchitti collided and ended the day with broken cars.

Mid-Ohio belonged to Team Penske as de Ferran qualified on pole, and finished second to Castroneves. As they had in the open test there prior to the event, the pair had thoroughly dominated the proceedings.

Andretti finished sixth, Moreno finished 11th and Tracy and Montoya didn’t finish.

De Ferran was now in second, 19 behind Andretti.

Road America was next and the victory went to Tracy after another charge through the field, much like Long Beach. His engine had died as the green flag waved, he got it restarted and then ended the day with his second win of the season.

His effort was aided by the mechanical woes of many of the others. Franchitti qualified on pole and lost a gearbox. De Ferran also lost a gearbox, as did early leader Tagliani. Andretti had a CV joint failure and Montoya had the shift cable break.

Fernandez finished second, garnering points for the fourth race in a row. Brack was third, followed by Moreno.

Andretti’s lead was now 125 to 112 for Moreno. De Ferran stood at 106 and Fernandez was only three back from there.

Team KOOL Green dominated the Vancouver weekend and had it not been for Franchitti’s engine stalling after his final pitstop the whole weekend would have belonged to him.

As it was, Tracy took the victory from his pole-sitting teammate. Fernandez was once again on the podium, this time in third.

De Ferran qualified third and finished fifth after a pit exit infraction cost him a drive through penalty.

Andretti scored no points but still left Vancouver in the lead, five ahead of Tracy, eight in front of Fernandez, nine to the good of de Ferran and 10 ahead of Moreno.

Laguna Seca was the next stop, the next weekend.

Once again it was a Team Penske benefit as Castroneves grabbed his third win of the year. De Ferran was next, followed by Franchitti and Bryan Herta, making a one-off appearance in a Forsythe Racing Ford/Reynard. They all finished in the order they qualified.

Behind them Tracy finished 11th after spinning on the final lap, chasing Servia. Fernandez scored one point for finishing 12th and Andretti and Moreno didn’t score.

No one knew it at the point, but the championship was over. De Ferran left Monterey with a six-point lead on Andretti, a dozen on Tracy, 14 on Fernandez, 17 on Moreno and 18 on Brack. He would not relinquish his advantage.

Andretti dominated the next weekend at Gateway and nearly lapped the field. His race went up in smoke once again.

Montoya’s posted his third victory of the season -- all of them came on ovals -- and his final one behind the wheel of the Target entry. He will move to the Williams F1 team for the 2001 season.

De Ferran fought an ill-handling car to eighth, increasing his lead to eight. Moreno moved to second in the points after finishing third. Andretti got the point for leading the most laps but fell to third in the standings.

Jimmy Vasser won the 18th round of the arduous schedule as he led Montoya home in the streets of Houston. It was Toyota’s first victory on a road/temporary circuit and would be Vasser’s last with the Target team. Like Montoya, Vasser has plans to move to another team, but the specifics of that have not been announced.


De Ferran led the first 47 laps at Houston after qualifying on pole. He had to make an extra stop for fuel but still ended the race in third. Tracy was next and that moved him into second in the points, albeit 19 away from de Ferran.

The streets of Surfers Paradise hosted the penultimate round of the year and Fernandez ran a fuel conservation race and came through the carnage to win. Brack was next, followed by Vasser.

Montoya and de Ferran came together in the first turn and they were eliminated on the spot. Tracy assumed the lead and looked to be on his way to knocking de Ferran out of first place in the points race.

Tracy and Servia collided in the latter stages of the race though, eliminating Tracy. Andretti added another DNF to his results and his title hopes were officially over. Moreno also failed to finish but still left Australia with slim hopes of overtaking de Ferran at Fontana.

Moreno’s hopes were dashed when he failed to qualify on pole. He, along with the rest of the field, had to stand and watch as de Ferran proved he wasn’t going to rest on his laurels as he set a new closed course speed record, qualifying on pole at over 241 mph.

The Marlboro 500 started the next day under threatening skies and would only go 33 laps before it was halted by rain. Tracy’s hopes for the title were gone before he knew what hit him. The plenum on the engine exploded on the 11th lap and with it went his title hopes.

The next day Fittipaldi led Moreno, de Ferran, Casey Mears, Fernandez and Tarso Marques across the line behind the pace car at the end of the 500 miles. There were no other cars running as most of the non-finishers had their engines expire. It had not been a very pretty race and was a rather unwanted, but almost fitting, description of what kind of season it had been.

Fittipaldi had his first win of the season and second of his career. He was the 11th different winner and that set a new record for most different winners in a season.

De Ferran’s third officially gave him his first series crown with a 10-point margin on Fernandez. Moreno was another 11 back and Brack ended the season 33 behind the champion, fourth overall. For all of those drivers it represented the highest season finish of their careers. Brack was a rookie, so he handily won the Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year award.

Now the focus turns to next year and preparations for the first race, which is scheduled to be in Monterrey, Mexico March 11.

Team Penske has returned to the top and will have the same driver, chassis and engine combination again next year.

Montoya, Vasser, Andretti, and Fernandez have all definitely left their respective teams. A number of other teams will be switching chassis or engines.

This will be an interesting, if not harried, off-season as the other teams try to prepare to stop Penske and his team from returning to the top again.

[mhferrari]

Of course it is more competitive, because many share the same engines and being on a certain team doesn't insure success or doom.

[NYR2119935]

Bravo !!!
Brilliant!!!
Bravisimo!!!
eXXXcellent post!!

[Billy]

"Brack was a rookie, so he handily won the Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year award."

Maybe his team mate from 1986 Formula Ford, Johnny Herbert, will be rookie of the year in 2001!

[indysteve]

I'll agree that CART is very competitive, because several drivers have a legitimate chance of winning. However, I can't agree that it is the most "demanding" open-wheel series. In just about every aspect (technology, driving ability required, etc.), F1 is a more demanding series. That doesn't mean that CART is bad -- it's great racing, but it isn't more demanding than F1.

[NYR2119935]

who cares what is more demanding

I wanna see the best racing possible! CART!

[indysteve]

Originally posted by NYR2119935
who cares what is more demanding

I wanna see the best racing possible! CART!

Ah, but "best" is in the eye of the beholder, is it not? To some the best racing is the most demanding racing. To others, the best racing is the most competitive racing.

I don't look at it from the perspective of one series being "best" and all others being second class. I enjoy several forms of motorsport (F1/CART/IRL/NASCAR). They all have some qualities that I like, and they all have some that I don't like. But I like them all enough to keep watching them.[p][Edited by indysteve on 11-06-2000]

[Beamer]

Allthough CART is spectacular to watch, a F1 car kicks any CART's car a*s on a road course!

CART''s are like the jocks in highschool: Big, heavy, strong and un-intelligent; but in the long run the smart guy wins while the jock still works in the factory

[moog101]

Heee HHee hee heh heh HOOOOOOooooo

Blimey my sides ache.

Working in a factory - that's a BRILLIANT analogy.

[Maldwyn]

Originally posted by indysteve
In just about every aspect...F1 is a more demanding series.

Demanding for who? Fans, drivers,team owners or technical directors?

[david_martin]

Originally posted by Billy
"Brack was a rookie, so he handily won the Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year award."

Maybe his team mate from 1986 Formula Ford, Johnny Herbert, will be rookie of the year in 2001!

Exactly. It is a bit naive calling the 33 year old Bräck a rookie - the guy had already won the IRL championship and the Indy 500 before he had turned a wheel in CART. Almost as daft as calling Nigel Mansell (at the tender age of 39) a rookie in 1993...

[Williams]

Just like Nigel Mansell was a rookie...

[molive]

I guess the whole point of this post is that, in order to win a title in CART you have to be good on all types of racing (street, road, short and long ovals), and you have to beat a bunch of guys with basically the same type of equipment.

So, to win the title, De Ferran had to beat Helio, Tracy, Andretti, Montoya, etc, etc...By comparison, to win the F1 WDC Schummy had to beat basically just one driver: Mika.

In a driver´s perspective, it´s tougher to win the CART championship. To win the F1 title is either easy or impossible, depending of which car you drive.

[The RedBaron]

CART ¿¿¿ Is it that South American series they run on US circuits??

[RedFever]

More competitive and demanding........that's why it's filled by 50-60% of the drivers that either failed to succeed in F1 or failed to even get a chance to race there. That's why the current winner De Ferran said last week that his success in CART might open F1 opportunities to him in the future. That is why last year's champ is leaving to go to F1. That's why JV left after winning title and Indy 500, because they were all soooooo tired and sooooo stressed about racing in the MOST COMPETITIVE AND DEMANDING formula that they all figured it was time to relax in F1 against losers like Schumacher and Hakkinen while driving non-competitive cars like Ferraris and McLarens and Williams..........What an imbecille article. Another article from someone who actually never watched one F1 race live but pretends to know everything.

[molive]

RedF,

where in the text does he mention F1?

or the prob is exactly that he does not mention it at all?

?

[RedFever]

Molive -

I will explain it to you. To say CART is the most competitive and demanding open-wheel series in the world, what does it imply???? I don't think it needs to be spelled out for you to get it, it means more competitive than F1 (and you can add F3000, Indy lights, F3, etc, any open wheel series). To me that is the most ridiculous statement. Demanding? more than F1? please..........

And again, why JV left? why is JPM leaving? why is de Ferran hoping to follow them??? mind you, these are the WINNERS in CART, not the ones left without a competitive seat trying to find some luck in another series. These are the best who leave for F1. Why if they are at the top of the game in the "most competitive and demanding" series? why?????????


PS. I understand that as a Brazilian it bothers you if CART is reduced in level since a Brazilian won the series this year. But the bottomline is: the best drivers are, were, and alway swill try to be in F1 because it is the most competitive, demanding, difficult, challenging open-wheel series in the world. Because Fangio, Clark, Prost, Lauda, Senna raced there, because today Schumacher and Hakkinen, the best drivers in the world, are racing there. For a JPM, trust me, it is way more fulfilling to beat these two guys rather than Michael Andretti and Paul Tracy. Trust me on this one.

[TBone]

Originally posted by RedFever
To say CART is the most competitive and demanding open-wheel series in the world, what does it imply????

Yes, the guy wrote that, but after having read the whole article, I think that his abstract should have read "A long and difficult season proves that CART is still the league with the most exciting championship race", or something along these lines.

Even though I'm a big CART fan, I admit that CART is not the "most demanding series in the world", as it is obvious that F1 is. That's where the best of the best (drivers, engineers, etc.) take on each other. That's where the big $$$ are. However I have to agree with the "most competitive" bit, if by "competitive" they mean that it's the open wheel racing league with close-to-equal-equipement where you get the best cars and drivers and where at the beginning of every race, you have quite a few guys that have a shot at the win.

[Louis Mr. F1]

go-kart @ a local kart track could be more competitive than any IndyCART race, but does that mean it's better than Indy?

[Pete Stanley]

What do you want the article to say: "We're second best!" ? That would be silly, wouldn't it?

RedFever, do you even know who Marc Sproule is?

[senninha]

Michael Schumacher ? Is he a German that try to be an italian ???

Cart rules !

[molive]

Originally posted by RedFever
I understand that as a Brazilian it bothers you if CART is reduced in level since a Brazilian won the series this year. But the bottomline is: the best drivers are, were, and alway swill try to be in F1 because it is the most competitive, demanding, difficult, challenging open-wheel series in the world.

I know, and I have no prob with that, specially because we have won championships in both series.;)

[tifosi]

Of course all of this would depend solely on your defination of competitiveness. If you mean simply a bunch of drivers circling a track racing against each other, then, yes, the Sunday afternoon spectacle of the race itself is probably much more competitive in CART. But is that is your reason for watching racing then you are really wasting your time watching Formula One. Tell the 100's of engineers and mechanics that spend countless hours throughout the year, trying to shave a millimeter off a particular body part, or getting a valve down to a fractional tolerance level, that they aren't competitive.
About 80% of the Formula One season takes place in January and Febuary. Another 15% occurs Monday through Saturday, OFF THE ACTUAL RACE TRACK. Only about 5% of Formula One is done by the driver on the track on a Sunday afternoon. This is the essense of F1. The competitiveness is found as the teams strive to build (as opposed to buying), the very best car they can. Looking at it from that perspective, CART isn't competitive at all.
BTW, I like both series, although where I live in the U.S. CART is always on at weird times that usually prevent me from watching.

[indysteve]

Originally posted by Maldwyn

Originally posted by indysteve
In just about every aspect...F1 is a more demanding series.

Demanding for who? Fans, drivers,team owners or technical directors?

Clearly, the author of the article was not discussing how demanding the series is for the fans, and neither am I. I'm saying that F1 is the most demanding open-wheel series for the participants:

• For the drivers, who must race against the world's most talented road racers. I admire the skill of oval track drivers (I live about three miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so oval track racing is my first love), but road course racing requires greater skill, and the best ones are in F1.
• For the team owners, who have a greater organizational and logistical challenge than in any other series.
• And for the technical directors, who quite obviously have to keep their teams on the leading edge of technology in F1 if they are going to have even a chance of winning.

It's hard to think of ways in which F1 is not more demanding. The only thing I can think of is that F1 drivers don't have to develop the skills needed to succeed on ovals; however, I still believe the skills they do develop for road course racing are more advanced than those required for oval track racing.

[RedFever]

Molive, true, but have you asked yourself why Senna, Nelson and Emmo are legends, while De Ferran, Moreno and Christian not really????

[senninha]

... but, Red, you forget the flesh blood with a great future, like da Matta, Castroneves, Kanaan, Marques, Junqueira...

They can be legends. The future we'll never know.

BTW, Brazil is the country that have more victories in F1, and 8 WDC's. In Cart, we're just beginning (only 2 WDC's and more or less 30 vics). Any statement implying Brazil isn't sucefull in F1 no make sense. Even this year, only 4 countries won in F1 and Rubens was there. [p][Edited by senninha on 11-08-2000]