1994 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach news and quotes

Sunday morning practice
9:06 a.m.-Green Flag for IndyCar Practice.
#11-TEO FABI-The car was Black Flagged for a hot engine.
9:13 a.m.-#1-NIGEL MANSELL-The car spun and went into the run-off in Turn 1 and continued. There was no contact.
9:30 a.m.-#3-PAUL TRACY-The car is slow in the back stretch.
9:31 a.m.-#19-ROBBIE BUHL-The car is slow on the back stretch.
9:34 a.m.-#10-MIKE GROFF- The car stopped on course.
9:36 a.m.-Checkered Flag, the top three fastest are: #3-PAUL TRACY, #31-AL UNSER JR., #2-EMERSON FITTIPALDI.
#18-JIMMY VASSER-The car went into the run-off in Turn 6 with an oil leak, the driver got out of the car.
#11-TEO FABI-In the warm-up lap early on, a hose between the turbocharger and exhaust system caught fire. Dave Brzozowski, chief mechanic, directed the driver to drive back to the pits rather than to park the car out on the course. The crew doused the fire and replaced the hose. "Hopefully there won't be any more surprises," said Brozozowski.
#18-JIMMY VASSER-Conseco-STP/Hayhoe Racing Inc.-"We were struggling all weekend, that is until this morning, to find the right set-up. The car felt really good today. But on the last practice lap, we blew the engine. We'll do everything we can to be ready by race time."
#19 ROBBIE BUHL-MI-JACK/Dale Coyne Racing-"Everything shook down quite nicely this morning. We weren't sure how the car would react to the repairs made last night. There are still a few changes that I would like to make, but we've run out of time. I still feel comfortable in the car and hope to have a good race."

The race
1:06 p.m.-Green Flag
LL1-#3-PAUL TRACY-Maintains the lead after the Green Flag.
LL1-#4-BOBBY RAHAL-Heavy smoke and gear smell. A fire condition coming from the left rear of the car.
LL3-#4-BOBBY RAHAL-The driver pulled the car into the pits and the crew extinguished the flames. The driver has gotten out of the car.
LL4-#71-SCOTT SHARP-The car was restarted and continued.
LL6-Wheel-to-wheel contact between cars #64-FRANCK FREON and #14-DAVY JONES.
LL14-#17-DOMINIC DOBSON-The car spun and stopped in Turn 7. The Safety Flag is displayed, safety crew's responding.
LL20-Cars #10-MIKE GROFF and #3-PAUL TRACY contact in Turn 1. Car #3 spun going into the turn and collected car #10. Front wing and possible suspension damage on car #10. The safety crew is towing the #3 car to a restart.
LL21-#31-AL UNSER JR.-New Leader
LL29-#14-DAVY JONES and #15-MARK SMITH-Both cars in the run-off in Turn 6. #14 car was pushed to a restart and continued.
LL35-Cars #18-JIMMY VASSER and #15-MARK SMITH-contact in Turn 8.
LL38-#12-JACQUES VILLENEUVE-Single-car spin in Turn 7 into the tires and continued.
LL39-Leader pitted #31-AL UNSER JR., 4 tires, fuel
LL40-#2-EMERSON FITTIPALDI-New Leader
LL41-#2-EMERSON FITTIPALDI-Pitted, 4 tires, fuel.
LL42-#1-NIGEL MANSELL-Pitted, 4 tires, fuel.
LL42-#25-MARCO GRECO-The car went into the tires in Turn 1.
LL44-#71-SCOTT SHARP-Out of race.
LL46-#18-JIMMY VASSER-Out of race, suspension.
LL46-#3-PAUL TRACY-The car went into the tires in Turn 7.
LL47-FULL-COURSE YELLOW to retrieve car #25. The safety crew put the car on a wrecker.
LL52-Green Flag
#4-BOBBY RAHAL-Miller Genuine Draft Lola/Rahal-Hogan--"It's a shame that the oil line broke. Our crew had to do a lot of work right before the race with the gearbox. They got everything working well. The car felt great too. It was handling so good in the the slow corners. It was handling so good in the slow corners. It was the best we've had the car since the start of the year. I thought we were going to have a good run today. We just haven't had much luck." (This makes the fifth time in Rahal's IndyCar career that he will enter the Indy 500 with no PPG points. The other four years were 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1986--the year he won Indy and the PPG title.)
LL58-#50-DAVID KUDRAVE-The car went into the pits with a small fire. The car withdrew from the race.
LL60-Wheel-to-Wheel contact between cars #3-PAUL TRACY and #88-MAURICIO GUGELMIN in Turn 1.
LL61-#3-PAUL TRACY-Safety crews pushed the car to a restart and he continued.
#15-MARK SMITH-Craftsman Tool Ford/Walker Racing--"Vasser made a hard right turn in front of me and I hit him. I think he was trying to enter the back door into the pits and he didn't see me. My car was airborn for a good while. I think the tub might be damaged."
LL62-#2-EMERSON FITTIPALDI-The car is slow on course. The driver pitted a lap later, for 4 tires & fuel, the car stalled twice before returning to the track. The crew reported a gear box problem.
LL62-#31-AL UNSER JR.-New Leader.
LL67-#1-NIGEL MANSELL-The car has a right rear flat tire. The driver pitted on LL68 for 4 tires and fuel.
LL70-#2-EMMERSON FITTIPALDI-The car is out of the race, reason: transmission.
LL73-#3-PAUL TRACY-The car spun in Turn 6 and continued.
LL74-#17-DOMINIC DOBSON-The car spun in Turn 1. The car was pushed to restart by safety crew members.
LL79-AL UNSER JR.-The driver pitted for 4 tires and fuel. He did not loose the lead during his pit stop.
LL82-#9-ROBBY GORDON-The driver pitted for 4 tires and fuel.
LL90-#14-DAVY JONES-The car was Black Flagged for pit speed violation. On lap 92, penalty assessed.
LL94-#19-ROBBIE BUHL-The car pulled off in Turn 3, gear box problem.
LL105, 2:47 p.m.-Checkered Flag.

#3-PAUL TRACY-Marlboro Penske Ilmor Indy V8/Marlboro Penske Racing -"When downshifting, my Marlboro car would get hung-up in the corners and start axle-hopping. That's what caused the spins. The first spin really hurt because the engine stalled (which dropped him down six laps). We tried to keep going to try to stay in the race, but it kept repeating and the gearbox finally gave up. Obviously, I'm disappointed because I really needed the points, but now it's time to look ahead to Indy."

#31-AL UNSER JR.-Reference to teammate gearbox)-"My gearbox is great and my forth and fifth really worked good. I was really excited on my first stop,but I forget I had sequential shift and I started grinding the gears back and forth. The Marlboro Team Penske is a super operation and I'm really proud of them and proud of Richard Buck (Chief Mechanic)."

#1-NIGEL MANSELL-(Reference to close call with two cars)-"Did you see that on television on the back straight. Holy smoke. Then I almost spun, but then caught it, it was a bit dicey in there. Then 180/190 MPH on three wheels. I didn't enjoy that either. The crew worked fantistic and the Newman/Haas Team. God bless them. They got me through the finish."

#9-ROBBY GORDON-"Well, I think we played the same game last week in Phoenix. We had a car we could win with down there. We ran ourselves out of gas trying to play the game. You know, here we rode along all day and turned it up when we needed to, but I guess we didn't turn it up enough in traffic we just played it too cautious." (How tough was the traffic out there)-"Traffic was terrible. I saw about three accidents I front of me, and I didn't want to be involved in any of them, so I laid back a little bit and rode along." (Re: Indy coming up next)-"Indy is coming up next, we should get a few points, looking forward to it."

#11-TEO FABI-Pennzoil Special-"The Pennzoil car ran OK all day, but the traction was a problem. I had a lot of wheelspin. It was a long day. I came out of the pits behind Robby Gordon on the second pit stop and couldn't get around him. He was a lap ahead of me, and I don't think he knew it at the time. It was unfortunate, because I couldn't catch up to Gugelmin or Fernandez, and I think I might have been able to catch them if I had a clear track. They (the problems earlier this weekend) didn't make any difference. They make a nice excuse, but I don't need to make excuses."

#16-STEFAN JOHANSSON-Alumax Bettenhausen Penske Ilmor Indy V8-"We lost some spots because of our second pit stop. They had trouble with the wheel nut on the right rear. But it didn't matter anyway, because we ran out of fuel on the last lap. We had that problem all weekend. We ran out twice during practice. Obviously, we would have liked to have finished higher, but when you consider all that happened this weekend and where we were a year ago, it's nice to still score some points."

#19-ROBBIE BUHL-MI-JACK/Dale Coyne Racing-"The car was working exceptionally well today. As I mentioned earlier, I was still wanting to make changes this morning, but wasn't able to. Fortunately, that didn't become a problem. The car was great under braking and the Ford engine was strong on the straights. I ran most of the race behind Boesel who was in fourth of fifth. I think the lap time of my next to last lap was the quickest for that lap.

"I missed a couple of incidents between Tracy and Groff and then Vasser and spent the rest of the race trying to keep my nose clean. I was succeeding until my transmission broke with 10 laps to go."

#2-EMERSON FITTIPALDI-Marlboro Team Penske-"My car was flying. It was easy cruising and I was expecting to have my first win here at Long Beach. Then I had a problem with fourth gear. Then I lost third and second and finally fifth. I told Roger (Penske) to tell Al Jr. to be careful."

#40-SCOTT GOODYEAR-Budweiser King Lola/Ford-Cosworth XB-"In the beginning I was trying to keep the car and tires underneath me. I was trying to pick people off, which wasn't going too badly. I had a couple of problems getting gears the first few laps, and then there was a break in the shaft itself that forced us to make a long unscheduled pit stop. We fixed that and went back out and things didn't seem too bad. Finally, the gearbox all went away at the end and I had to stop."

#5-RAUL BOESEL-Duracell Charger-"Our tank is dry! The last two to three laps were very close on fuel. I was hoping it's not like the '93 event all over again. The car started sputtering throughout those last laps, so I had to start short-shifting to make it to the finish. On our second set of tires the car started to slide in most of the corners. We lost a lot of time with that set. It became very risky to pass other cars. I had to pick my spots very carefully going into the turns. In the end because of our fuel situation, I had to run very conservatively."

#10-MIKE GROFF-Motorola Lola-Honda-"We had the car going well. Although we didn't have that great of a starting spot, we had moved up a couple of spots. Then, kind of out of nowhere, Paul Tracy tried a bravado three-abreast move into Turn one. There was nothing wrong with the pass, but he spun in front of me and I couldn't avoid him. The front wing broke and it bent up the front suspension. That ended our day."

Robert Clarke, General Manager, Honda Performance Development, Inc.-"We're disappointed we weren't able to put on a good show at our 'hometown' track. We thought both Bobby and Mike had a chance to finish in the top 10 today, especially after Bobby gave the Honda Indy V8 its best starting position to date. All during the weekend we kept improving the engine and the chassis and we were looking forward to the race. Unfortunately, Mike couldn't avoid another car that spun and Bobby had a gearbox oil line break. We're looking forward to May and heading to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway."

#8-MICHAEL ANDRETTI-Target Scotch Video/Reynard Ford Cosworth-"That was a very long day for me. I had to stay on top of the car the whole way. The handling was loose all day. Early on, I was able to pass Gugelmin in the left hander before the hairpin. I caught him totally off guard. He had left me some room there for a few laps, and I just went outside of him which put me on the inside for the hairpin. Raul was right there and I might have hit him (Boesel). The key point of the race for me was when I though Emerson was in second. He was behind me and I thought the team told me he was in second, so I let him by. And when I did, the full course yellow flag came out. The flag literally came out on the next corner. If I would have known he was the leader, I would have made him pass me, but instead I was being the nice guy and it probably cost me fifth place and maybe even fourth. Mansell and I got together and I hit Mansell. It just happened that fast. On the re-sta! rt, my Dad was able to get by me b ecause I was in second gear when I should have been in first. His car was better than mine so he would have passed me anyway. I'm glad to get some points, but we have got to figure this car out."

#1-NIGEL MANSELL

Q: You never actually lead a lap. Couldn't you get past the Penskes?

A: You've got to be in front to do that. I had quite an exciting day out there. I don't know who the two cars were that colided on the back straight, but I almost got caught up in the accedent there, and then I got a wake-up call going down the main straight when the tire blew -- that was quite exciting. The Newman Haas team worked superb ... we just weren't quick enough to beat him (Unser)."

Q: Was it tough out there with 30 cars on the course?

A: "It was very exciting out there, and I'd just like to congratulate the officials and the safety crews. They had a lot of work to do today, and I think they did it very professionally and safely. I was in a couple situations were I didn't know which way to go, and they were already there pointing. All in all, it was a fabulous race, and a great winner sits next to me."

Q: Do you think that the flat tire that put you out of your pit sequence helped you secure second place?

A: "Absolutely not, it blew coming across the start finish line and I had to creep all the way around the track. If it would have happened on the back of the circuit it might have helped."

Q: It seemed that you were a little concerned about your straight-away speed?

A: "How do you know about that! Oh that's right you guys listen in...I hope you weren't listening when I blew the tire. Some of the other cars seemed to have more straightaway speed."

Re: The Mercedes motors running at Indy.

A: "I'm extremely happy with the generousity of the Penske team. I believe that they're going to lend us the engines if they go well". If that rule is still there we've got to do the same next year, which will obviously enhance the competitiveness of the sport."

#31-AL UNSER JR.-"I want to start out by saying that we were third the first day, second yesterday and first today. We kept the streak alive and I'm really really proud of my team; they did an awesome job preparing the car. I got into trouble with a penalty in the pits on that first stop because I was so excited I though. I was back in an 'H' pattern instead of a sequential shift position. When I grabbed a hold of that shifter, I didn't know where it was going. When pulling out of the pits, the car quickly accelerated and when the tires stopped buzzing, I was up past the speed limit in the pit lane. As soon as I realized it, I tried to stop, but the CART officials were sharp today and they got me."

"Emerson and I were close all day. When I was leading the race, I couldn't really pull away from him unless he got caught in traffic. It's a shame what happened to him, but his misfortune was my good fortune. (Re: being the point leader and going into Indy with momentum) - "It feels good to go into Indy driving for Marlboro Team Penske, that's what feels good about Indy. I've got the best team out there; hopefully we'll have a good month of May."

(Re: transmission problems of teammates)-"No, I wasn't (Nigel said he was). Roger called in and said watch fourth and fifth (gears) and I had been watching fourth and fifth from the start as I knew they were my weak gears. We were taking care of the box from the first lap except for my pit stop One fourth of Al's IndyCar wins being in Long Beach)-"The track was changed on me and it took a couple of years to get dialed into this track and all I can say is it is the fan support."

#9-ROBBY GORDON-(Re: Walker Racing having a great team this year)-"Yes, we really do! We've been right there every race this year. At Surfers we were running fourth until we had a problem. Phoenix, we were running third and riding along waiting to see what went down with Jr. and Emmo and luck didn't fall our way as we ran out of gas. I thank the team because they're doing a great job. We're getting to turn all the sessions; if the 'A' car has problems, the 'T' car is ready to go. It makes it a lot easier for me to have a team like that."

(Re: Close calls today)-"I did like I did at Phoenix last weekend and just laid back and watched everything go on in front of me, but I guess we laid back a bit too far."

(Re: Podium finish contributed to racing in hometown)-"No, I don't think so, it almost slowed me down too much. I didn't want to make any mistakes in front of all those people."

Indy Regency Racing team member Glenn Wheeler, of Indianapolis, Ind., was injured during today's race when he was struck by the No. 28 car as it came off the jacks. Wheeler suffered a left knee ligament injury during his duties as a fueler for the Indy Regency Team. He was admitted to IndyCar Medical Services Center for treatment and released.

#76-ROBBIE GROFF-Caalavar-Condor/Bettenhausen Motorsports-"Today was a fantastic finish to great first weekend in IndyCars. We did what we set out to do, to stay out of trouble, and bring the car home in one piece. I've never been so exhausted in my entire racing career, but to have raced against the likes of Mario, Mansell, and Fittipaldi was a tremendous experience. We're hoping to put something together with Tony Bettenhausen for Speedway, at least the Rookie Orientation program. We will run for sure with backing from condor at Portland."

#7-ADRIAN FERNANDEZ-Tecate Quaker State Reynard Ilmor/Galles Racing International-"It was a real hard race and the car was loose at the beginning and I just had to wait," said Fernandez. "Once the car got better I started making my moves. We lost a clutch in the pits and that's why we stalled. I'm proud of the guys and this is great for the next race."

Rick Galles was really please with Fernandez at the finish of the race and commented,"I am real proud of the team and the job they did today. We started 19th and passed a lot of cars and had great pit stops. This is just part of the good progression that this team is undergoing and where we are headed with Adrian. The team is doing a great job bringing him along. We now have a big chore ahead of us with the Speedway next month."

#28-ARIE LUYENDYK-Eurosport-Boost Monaco/IndyRegency Racing Inc.-"I made a few passes at the start, but I was passed again when the tires began to wear out. The car was very loose and from lap 20 on my left arm, which was injured at Phoenix last week, was really bothering me. I had excruciating pain up and down my are, and I was doing all I could to keep the car between the walls. On the front straight I was holding the wheel with one hand to give my left are a rest. It was so painful that if we would have finished better at the first two races I would have pulled it in early, but I wanted to finish for the everyone team. Now I am going to get my body fixed and get ready for Indy."

#12-JACQUES VILLENEUVE-Player's Racing Ltd.-I was having difficulty getting around slower traffic. I tried the inside then the outside, but when I checked my mirrors to make sure I was clear, I turned too late and caught the tire wall with the back of the car."

#64-FRANCK FREON-"I am very, very happy that I finished my first IndyCar race and got my first Indy point. The car was great. Andreas Leberle and Project Indy team gave me a good car. I lost the clutch for the last 20 laps. I was very, very tired, but I kept telling myself I must stay focused."

#24-WILLY T. RIBBS-Service Merchandise Pepsi Special/Walker Racing-"We could run with everyone today. I worked my way up from 22nd to 13th. The guys radioed me that my car was on fire so I came in. Something in my exhaust broke. It's a disappointed because we were approaching the points. I'll have my '94 car at INdy and on. I hope we have better luck then. I showed the '93 car some action before it was retired to a back-up car."

Grand Prix Association of Long Beach released attendance figures as a record breaking 204,500 for the weekend. Friday's attendance was 46,500, Saturday's, 74,000 and Sunday's 84,000. This marks the third-consecutive record-setting PPG Cup event in 1994.

Today's win at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the fifth win for Al Unser Jr. since his first win in April, 1991. One quarter of his total wins have been in Long Beach. This is Al's first win since Vancouver in 1993.

1994 PPG INDY CAR WORLD SERIES DRIVER PERFORMANCE CHART
FOLLOWING THE EVENT OF SUNDAY APRIL 17, 1994

RUN
AT TOP TMS LAPS LAPS MILES
RANK DRIVER PTS STS FIN FIN LED LED COMP COMP
( 360)( 520.675)
---- ----------------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- -------- -
1 EMERSON FITTIPALDI 37 3 2 1 4 146 321 458.665
2 AL UNSER Jr. 37 3 2 1 5 66 356 509.495
3 NIGEL MANSELL 35 3 3 2 1 19 358 516.880
4 MICHAEL ANDRETTI 29 3 2 1 1 55 321 481.085
5 STEFAN JOHANSSON 25 3 2 4 0 0 354 512.905
6 MARIO ANDRETTI 24 3 2 3 0 0 315 475.085
7 JIMMY VASSER 22 3 2 4 0 0 288 407.965
8 ROBBY GORDON 20 3 2 3 3 11 316 406.670
9 RAUL BOESEL 17 3 2 4 0 0 299 360.360
10 MAURICIO GUGELMIN 14 3 3 6 0 0 346 506.085
11 MIKE GROFF 14 3 2 6 0 0 269 377.140
12 TEO FABI 9 3 2 8 0 0 218 376.290
13 ADRIAN FERNANDEZ 8 3 3 8 0 0 350 504.700
14 SCOTT SHARP 6 3 2 9 0 0 258 359.625
15 SCOTT GOODYEAR 5 3 2 10 0 0 325 467.335
16 ARIE LUYENDYK 2 3 1 11 0 0 256 330.540
17 PAUL TRACY 2 3 0 16 3 63 176 290.255
18 DAVY JONES 1 3 2 12 0 0 321 435.645
19 DOMINIC DOBSON 1 3 2 12 0 0 204 351.030
20 FRANK FREON 1 1 1 12 0 0 101 160.590
21 BUDDY LAZIER 0 2 1 13 0 0 196 199.540
22 ROBBIE GROFF 0 1 0 13 0 0 100 159.000
23 BOBBY RAHAL 0 3 1 14 0 0 191 192.770
24 JACQUES VILLENEUVE 0 3 1 15 0 0 197 320.620
25 HIRO MATSUSHITA 0 2 1 15 0 0 92 178.160
26 ROBBIE BUHL 0 2 0 16 0 0 122 230.130
27 MARCO GRECO 0 2 1 16 0 0 220 243.600
28 JEFF ANDRETTI 0 1 1 17 0 0 179 179.000
29 WILLY T. RIBBS 0 3 0 18 0 0 140 248.230
30 JOHN PAUL JR. 0 1 1 18 0 0 177 177.000
31 BRIAN TILL 0 1 1 19 0 0 168 168.000
32 MARK SMITH 0 2 0 21 0 0 48 99.215
33 DAVID KUDRAVE 0 1 0 22 0 0 55 87.450
34 ALESSANDRO ZAMPEDRI 0 1 0 22 0 0 19 53.105
35 GARY BRABHAM 0 1 0 24 0 0 10 27.950
36 CLAUDE BOURBONNAIS 0 1 0 26 0 0 24 38.160