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Sunday, August 15, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
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
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
Unser scores fifth Long Beach win (1994 rewind)
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Al Unser Jr. scored a record fifth win in today's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Unser chased teammate and pole-winner Paul Tracy until Tracy spun. Unser then led through his first pitstop, and was then given a stop-and-go penalty for speeding in the pitlane. Unser's penalty allowed teammate Emerson Fittipaldi to lead until Fittipaldi's transmission failed. That left Unser in command of the race.
Unser drove on to finish without a problem, running carefully in the closing stages to protect against any possible transmission problems of his own. This was Unser's first win with Marlboro Team Penske and his fifth win at Long Beach. He becomes the first man to win at Long Beach more than four times, breaking a tie with Mario Andretti.
Second place was taken today by 1993 PPG Cup champion Nigel Mansell. Mansell moved up to second following the problems encountered by Tracy and Fittipaldi. Two-thirds of the way through the race however Mansell suffered a tire failure on the front straight. He had to limp around to the pits, but was still able to come back to finish second.
Third today was local hero Robby Gordon who drove a solid race. Gordon was faultless today, finishing on the same lap as winner Unser. Fourth place went to Raul Boesel who was followed home by Mario and Michael Andretti. Mauricio Gugelmin, Adrian Fernandez and Teo Fabi rounded out the top 10.
Unser Jr. leaps into the PPG Cup point lead with 37 following today's win. Fittipaldi, who also has 37, but is listed in second based on finishing positions, still carries momentum going into round four of the 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series, despite failing to finish today. Defending champion Nigel Mansell moves up to third in the points. The PPG Indy Car World Series now moves to Indianapolis for month of May with the 78th running of the Indianapolis 500 taking place on May 29th.
PENSKE SWEEPS LONG BEACH TOP THREE ----------------------------------
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The three-car Marlboro Team Penske operation scored a clean sweep in final qualifying for tomorrow's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The Penske drivers qualified one-two-three with Paul Tracy taking the pole from Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi. This is the first time sine Penske's team swept the front row at Indianapolis in 1988 that any team has taken the first three qualifying positions for any PPG Cup race.
Tracy scored his first IndyCar victory in last year's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, and he demonstrated today that he's capable of winning the race for a second year in a row after a series of problems on Friday with a brand new car. The new car was built this week in California from new parts shipped in from Penske's car-building factory in England. This was to replace the car written-off in an accident during last Sunday's PPG Cup race at Phoenix Int'l Raceway. Problems with the gear-changing mechanism and brakes meant Tracy managed very little practice on Friday, but he bounced back in style today to take his second pole in as many weeks.
"It's been a constant struggle," said Tracy. "We had some teething problems with the new car on Friday but we hit on the right set-up today. I think the reason the team has done so well today is that we all work together. I was in trouble yesterday, and I was able to use Al and Emerson's set-ups to get myself in the ballpark today."
Tracy failed to finish the first two races of this season, so he's anxious to see the checkered flag tomorrow and collect some valuable points toward this year's PPG Cup championship. "The key thing for me tomorrow," said Tracy, "is to finish and get some points. That's what I've got to do to get my season rolling."
Tracy said 1993 PPG Cup champion Nigel Mansell will be the primary threat to Marlboro Team Penske tomorrow. "I think you have to look at Mansell as a threat," commented Tracy. "But it's very competitive all down the field. It could be a train tomorrow. It's going to be a tough race."
Al Unser Jr. is a four-time winner (1988-1991) of this race, and will also be a hard man to beat tomorrow. Unser was delighted with his performance today, qualifying only .021 sec. slower than Tracy. "Once I saw everybody getting into the 52s on the first set of tires I knew I could get into the 52s. We were sitting in the pits working on my car, and Paul did a 52.8. I said, 'God dang it! I wanted to do that.' Then we went out and the car ran good. We couldn't quite beat Paul, but I'm very happy. The car is working great. I think we've got a real shot at winning."
Fittipaldi was just .048 sec. slower than Unser so that Penskes three cars were separated only by .07 sec. today. "They have no respect for age!" joked Fittipaldi about his younger teammates. Fittipaldi said be braked too hard and flat-spotted a tire during qualifying. "I was a little too hard on the brakes and flat-spotted a tire," said Emerson. "There was a big vibration from the tire but I still did my fast lap with it shaking like that. I think it was an incredible qualifying session. It was a lot of fun!
"My car was running really nice the whole day," added Fittipaldi. "When I did a 52.8, I thought I had the pole and they got on the radio and said Paul had done a 52.7. I said, 'Shit!'."
PPG Cup champion Nigel Mansell was fourth fastest today in his Newman-Haas Kmart/Texaco Lola-Ford. Mansell went quicker than yesterday, but he wasn't able to compete with the Penskes. Mansell tried all he could to match the three Penskes, including trimming his wings entirely in an effort to find more straightline speed.
"We have a balanced car," said Mansell. "It's not as if we have a bad car. The car is good. I have no major complaint. We're just not quick enough today. In race condition, I'd like to think we're closer.
"The Penskes are very, very good. The thing is, they have a three-pronged attack. When one of them finds something, bang, they all have it. It's no big surprise. It's just coming sooner than I expected. Our team has to push now in every area we can. Nothing stands still in motor racing."
An impressive fifth fastest today was Robby Gordon in the Walker Motorsport/Valvoline-Cummins Lola-Ford. Gordon was fastest in the morning session and qualified within one-tenth of a second of Mansell's similar car. Gordon lost some time in the middle of the session when the front wings flew off his car. "The car is really good," said Gordon. "We can race with them tomorrow, no doubt about it."
Also impressing today was Mario Andretti who qualified sixth, just over half a second behind teammate Mansell. Seventh was Raul Boesel in Dick Simon's Duracell-Fuji-Mobil 1-Sadia Lola Ford while Brazilian driver Mauricio Gugelmin also turned heads today by qualifying his Ganassi/Hollywood Reynard-Ford eighth.
Ninth and 10th today were Michael Andretti and Stefan Johansson, both of whom survived accidents. Andretti, clipped a wall and missed half of the session while bent front suspension was replaced. Johansson was less lucky, hitting the wall hard early in the session and knocking a front wheel clean off his car.
One driver who improved substantially today was Bobby Rahal who qualified his Rahal-Hogan Miller Lola Honda 11th. Rahal was just inside one second of pole winner Tracy's time today. "We found a few things in practice that helped our car's handling today," said Rahal. "We've been struggling with the front end not sticking, but we got it working much better today. I'm fairly satisfied. We can go racing tomorrow. Last year we started 11th and finished second so anything is possible."
Tomorrow's 20th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach starts at 1 p.m. PDT. The race will be televised live on ABC.
MANSELL REPEATS LONG BEACH POLE
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Nigel Mansell took the provisional pole position for Sunday's 20th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Mansell missed setting a new track new track record today, but still managed to beat Emerson Fittipaldi by only 36/100 second. Fittipaldi's Marlboro Penske teammate Al Unser Jr. was another half a second behind in third place, followed by Robby Gordon and Surfers Paradise winner Michael Andretti.
Mansell admitted to locking his brakes at least three times on his best lap today aboard his Newman/Haas Kmart/Texaco Lola Ford. "I think I locked the right front wheel three times on my quick lap," said Mansell. "I came real close to the wall on the exit of the third and fourth turns. That told me I was it, that was the limit. In the car, it felt like a 51-second lap. Mansell's pole lap took 53.040 sec.
The defending PPG Cup champion also said he believes he will half by half a second faster tomorrow if he is to retain pole position. "I think we've got to find about half a second for the pole," said Mansell. "It's going to be hard but one of us will find it."
Marlboro Team Penske driver Fittipaldi believed he might have beaten Mansell today had he not run out of fuel during his qualifying run. "The car is beautfiul to drive," said Fittipaldi. "I'm still lacking a little traction out of the corners, but the car is really well balanced, really good. I ran out of fuel on my fast lap so I think we're in good shape. I think we can go quicker tomorrow."
Third-fastest Al Unser Jr. said he thinks it will be difficult to catch Mansell or Fittipaldi but also said he is confident about being competitive in the race. "Half a second is light years on this track," said Unser. "We'll have a telescope under my car this evening trying to figure out how to make it better. But to be honest with you I'm quite comfortable because we're within reach of them. We're able to run competitive race speeds."
Robby Gordon was fourth quickest today in his Walker Racing Valvoline Lola Ford, exactly one-tenth of a second behind Unser. Gordon was very competitive in both practice and qualifying and was at the top of the time sheets for a while. "The car feels really great," said Gordon. "We can definitely run with them this weekend. We'll be trying for the pole tomorrow."
Surfers Paradise winner Michael Andretti was fighting his Ganassi Target/Scotch Reynard Ford a little today, and said he was confident of improving tomorrow. "I never did a clear lap on my second set of new tires," said Michael. "I reckon there is a bit more in the car. We're still working on it. We're putting in a fresh engine tonight, and we have a few things we want to do, so tomorrow should be better."
Stefan Johansson was sixth today in his Bettenhausen/Alumax Penske. "Not bad eh?" grinned Johansson who is currently second in the PPG Cup points. "The car feels quite good. It's not perfect, but I'm pretty happy with it."
Last year's Long Beach winner Paul Tracy qualified seventh today. Tracy lost time in the morning session with transmission and braking problems. Starting the day with a brand new car which he hadn't had the opportunity to shake-down, Tracy encountered downshifting problems. Jumping into his spare car he found he was short of full braking power, and finished the first session down in 17th. Tracy improved substantially in the afternoon, but was still struggling to get his set-up correctly. "The car's not right yet," said Tracy. "It's a little loose on the exits. We'll be more competitive tomorrow."
Today's provisional top 10 were completed by rookie Jacques Villeneuve, veteran Mario Andretti and rookie Scott Sharp. Villeneuve said he wasn't completely happy with his car, but was otherwise unaffected by his big accident during last year's PPG Cup race at Phoenix. "I feel good, no problem," said. "We're struggling a little with the car, but we're in the ballpark. I think we should move up tomorrow."
Thirty-three drivers recorded qualifying times today. None of them damaged their cars today, so all 33 are expected to run again tomorrow. There are 30 places in the field for Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, which means that three drivers will go home without a race. Final qualifying takes place at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday.
PROVISIONAL BOXSCORE
PPG INDY CAR WORLD SERIES RACE NO.3
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Long Beach, CA
SUNDAY APRIL 17, 1994
FIN STR CAR
POS POS NUM DRIVER/HOMETOWN
CAR
QUAL QUAL LAPS TOT
SPEED TIME LAPS STATUS PTS PTS
1 2 31 AL UNSER Jr./Albuquerque, NM
Marlboro Penske 94 Ilmor V8/D
108.407 52.801 105 99.283 21 37
2 4 1 NIGEL MANSELL/Clearwater, FL
Kmart Texaco Havoline L94 Ford-Cos
108.173 52.915 105 98.646 16 35
3 5 9 ROBBY GORDON/Orange, CA
Valvoline-Cummins L94 Ford-Cos XB
108.004 52.998 105 98.530 14 20
4 7 5 RAUL BOESEL/Key Biscayne, FL
Duracell Fuji Film L94 Ford-Cos XB
106.833 53.579 104 RUNNING 12 17
5 6 6 MARIO ANDRETTI/Nazareth, PA
Kmart Texaco Havoline L94 Ford-Cos
106.837 53.577 104 RUNNING 10 24
6 9 8 MICHAEL ANDRETTI/Nazareth, PA
Target-Scotch Video R94I Ford-Cos XB
106.614 53.689 104 RUNNING 8 29
7 8 88 MAURICIO GUGELMIN/Curitiba, BRZ
Hollywood R94I Ford-Cos XB
106.660 53.666 104 RUNNING 6 14
8 19 7 ADRIAN FERNANDEZ/Mexico City, MEX
Tecate-Quaker State R94I Ilmor V8/D
105.695 54.156 104 RUNNING 5 8
9 12 11 TEO FABI/Milan, ITA
Pennzoil Special R94I Ilmor V8/D
106.408 53.793 104 RUNNING 4 9
10 10 16 STEFAN JOHANSSON/Monte Carlo, MON
Alumax Aluminum Penske 93 Ilmor V8/D
106.480 53.756 102 FUEL 3 25
11 16 28 ARIE LUYENDYK/Rosmalen, NET
Eurosport-Boost Mon L94 Ilmor V8/D
106.014 53.993 102 RUNNING 2 2
12 27 64 FRANK FREON(R)/Paris, France
Marcelo Group L93 Ford-Cos XB
104.085 54.993 101 RUNNING 1 1
13 29 76 ROBBIE GROFF(R)/Los Angeles, CA
Condor Penske 93 Ilmor V8/C+
103.769 55.161 100 FUEL 0 0
14 25 14 DAVY JONES/Lake Tahoe, NV
Foyt-Copenhagen Racing L94 Ford-Cos
105.122 54.451 100 RUNNING 0 1
15 14 12 JACQUES VILLENEUVE(R)/Monte Carlo, M
Player's Ltd R94I Ford-Cos XB
106.241 53.877 100 RUNNING 0 0
16 26 19 ROBBIE BUHL/Grosse Pointe, MI
The Mi-Jack Car L93 Ford-Cos XB
104.272 54.895 92 GEARBOX 0 0
17 17 17 DOMINIC DOBSON/Truckee, CA
PacWest Racing L94 Ford-Cos XB
105.791 54.107 91 RUNNING 0 1
18 22 24 WILLY T. RIBBS/San Jose, CA
Service Merchandise L93 Ford-Cos XB
105.439 54.287 80 EXHAUST SYS 0 0
19 15 40 SCOTT GOODYEAR/Toronto, CAN
Budweiser King L94 Ford-Cos XB
106.083 53.958 80 GEARBOX 0 5
20 1 3 PAUL TRACY/West Hill, CAN
Marlboro Penske 94 Ilmor V8/D
108.450 52.780 75 GEARBOX 1 2
21 3 2 EMERSON FITTIPALDI/Key Biscayne, FL
Marlboro Penske 94 Ilmor V8/D
108.308 52.849 66 GEARBOX 0 37
22 20 50 DAVID KUDRAVE/Los Angeles, CA
AGIP-Dinema-Herollon L93 Ilmor C+
105.670 54.169 55 EXHAUST SYS 0 0
23 13 25 MARCO GRECO/Sao Paulo, BRZ
Arciero Proj Indy L94 Ford-Cos XB
106.408 53.793 40 CONTACT 0 0
24 23 18 JIMMY VASSER/Discovery Bay, CA
Conseco-STP R94I Ford-Cos XB
105.421 54.297 36 SUSPENSION 0 22
25 18 15 MARK SMITH/McMinnville, OR
Craftsman Tools L94 Ford-Cos XB
105.707 54.150 29 CONTACT 0 0
26 28 45 CLAUDE BOURBONNAIS(R)/Ile Perrot, CA
Player's Ltd INDECK L93 Ilmor C+
104.058 55.008 24 EXHAUST SYS 0 0
27 24 10 MIKE GROFF/Los Angeles, CA
Motorola L94 Honda V8
105.301 54.359 19 CONTACT 0 14
28 21 71 SCOTT SHARP(R)/Wilton, CT
PacWest Racing L94 Ford-Cos XB
105.471 54.271 11 ENGINE 0 6
29 30 23 BUDDY LAZIER/Vail, CO
Financial World Mag L93 Ilmor V8/C+
103.288 55.418 6 EXHAUST 0 0
30 11 4 BOBBY RAHAL/Dublin, OH
Miller Genuine Draft L94 Honda V8
106.445 53.774 3 OIL LINE 0 0
CHASSIS LEGEND: L=Lola; R=Reynard
ENGINE LEGEND: Ford-Cos XB=Ford-Cosworth XB; Ilmor=Ilmor Indy
DID NOT START LEGEND: DNG=Did Not Start; DNP=Did Not Participate;
DNQ=Did Not Qualify
(R) Rookie driver
M = Marlboro Pole Award ($10,000)
TIME OF RACE: 1:40:53:582
AVERAGE SPEED: 99.283 mph
CAUTION FLAGS:
Laps 47-51, Contact Car #25
LAP LEADERS: 7 lead changes, 4 drivers
Paul Tracy, 1-20 20 Laps
Al Unser Jr., 21-39 19 Laps
Emerson Fittipaldi, 40-41 2 Laps
Al Unser Jr., 42 1 Lap
Emerson Fittipaldi, 43-62 20 Laps
Al Unser Jr., 63-80 18 Laps
Robby Gordon, 81-82 2 Laps
Al Unser Jr., 83-105 23 Laps
TOTALS:
Al Unser Jr. 61 laps
Emerson Fittipaldi 22 laps
Paul Tracy 20 laps
Robby Gordon 2 laps
PPG INDY CAR WORLD SERIES
STARTING GRID
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
STR CAR
POS ROW NUM DRIVER/HOMETOWN & CAR TIME SPEED
--- --- --- ----------------------------------- -------- -------
1 1 3 PAUL TRACY/West Hill, CAN 52.780 M* 108.450
Marlboro Penske 94 Ilmor V8/D
2 1 31 AL UNSER Jr./Albuquerque, NM 52.801 108.407
Marlboro Penske 94 Ilmor V8/D
3 2 2 EMERSON FITTIPALDI/Key Biscayne, FL 52.849 108.308
Marlboro Penske 94 Ilmor V8/D
4 2 1 NIGEL MANSELL/Clearwater, FL 52.915 108.173
Kmart Texaco Havoline L94 Ford-Cos
5 3 9 ROBBY GORDON/Orange, CA 52.998 108.004
Valvoline-Cummins L94 Ford-Cos XB
6 3 6 MARIO ANDRETTI/Nazareth, PA 53.577 106.837
Kmart Texaco Havoline L94 Ford-Cos
7 4 5 RAUL BOESEL/Key Biscayne, FL 53.579 106.833
Duracell Charger L94 Ford-Cos XB
8 4 88 MAURICIO GUGELMIN/Curitiba, BRZ 53.666 106.660
Hollywood R94I Ford-Cos XB
9 5 8 MICHAEL ANDRETTI/Nazareth, PA 53.689 106.614
Target-Scotch Video R94I Ford-Cos XB
10 5 16 STEFAN JOHANSSON/Monte Carlo, MON 53.756 106.480
Alumax Aluminum Penske 93 Ilmor V8/D
11 6 4 BOBBY RAHAL/Dublin, OH 53.774 106.445
Miller Genuine Draft L94 Honda V8
12 6 11 TEO FABI/Milan, ITA 53.793 106.408
Pennzoil Special R94I Ilmor V8/D
13 7 25 MARCO GRECO/Sao Paulo, BRZ 53.793 106.408
I N T Sports Ltd L94 Ford-Cos XB
14 7 12 JACQUES VILLENEUVE(R)/Monte Carlo, 53.877 106.241
Player's Ltd. R94I Ford-Cos XB
15 8 40 SCOTT GOODYEAR/Toronto, CAN 53.958 106.083
Budweiser King L94 Ford-Cos XB
16 8 28 ARIE LUYENDYK/Rosmalen, NET 53.993 106.014
Eurosport-Boost Mon L94 Ilmor V8/D
17 9 17 DOMINIC DOBSON/Truckee, CA 54.107 105.791
PacWest Racing L94 Ford-Cos XB
18 9 15 MARK SMITH/McMinnville, OR 54.150 105.707
Craftsman Tools L94 Ford-Cos XB
19 10 7 ADRIAN FERNANDEZ/Mexico City, MEX 54.156 105.695
Tecate-Quaker State R94I Ilmor V8/D
20 10 50 DAVID KUDRAVE/Los Angeles, CA 54.169 105.670
AGIP-Taumarin L93 Ilmor C+
21 11 71 SCOTT SHARP(R)/Wilton, CT 54.271 105.471
PacWest Racing L94 Ford-Cos XB
22 11 24 WILLY T. RIBBS/San Jose, CA 54.287 105.439
Service Merchandise L93 Ford-Cos XB
23 12 18 JIMMY VASSER/Discovery Bay, CA 54.297 105.421
Conseco-STP R94I Ford-Cos XB
24 12 10 MIKE GROFF/Los Angeles, CA 54.359 105.301
Motorola L94 Honda V8
25 13 14 DAVY JONES/Lake Tahoe, NV 54.451 105.122
Foyt-Copenhagen Racing L94 Ford-Cos
26 13 19 ROBBIE BUHL/Grosse Pointe, MI 54.895 104.272
The Mi-Jack Car L93 Ford-Cos XB
27 14 64 FRANK FREON(R)/Paris, France 54.993 104.085
Marcelo Group L93 Ford-Cos XB
28 14 45 CLAUDE BOURBONNAIS(R)/Ile Perrot, C 55.008 104.058
Player's Ltd INDECK L93 Ilmor C+
29 15 76 ROBBIE GROFF(R)/Los Angeles, CA 55.161 103.769
Condor Penske 93 Ilmor V8/C+
30 15 23 BUDDY LAZIER/Vail, CO 55.418 103.288
Financial World Mag L93 Ilmor V8/C+
16 22 HIRO MATSUSHITA/San Clemente, CA 56.424 101.445
Panasonic Duskin L94 Ford-Cos XB
16 55 ALESSANDRO ZAMPEDRI(R)/Brescia, ITA 56.644 101.052
AGIP-Hawaii Trp-Dinema L93 Ilmor C+
17 39 JOHNNY UNSER(R)/Ketchem, ID 57.978 98.727
AGFA Dale Coyne Racing L92 Indy V8/A
CHASSIS LEGEND: L=Lola; R=Reynard
ENGINE LEGEND: Ford-Cos XB=Ford-Cosworth XB; Ilmor=Ilmor Indy
(R) Rookie driver
M = Marlboro Pole Award ($10,000)
* = New Track Record
Toyota Grand prix of Long Beach
Friday, April 15, 1994
Friday qualifying times:
POS NO DRIVER TIME SPEED
-- --- ------------------ ------- -------
1 1 Nigel Mansell 53.040 107.919
2 2 Emerson Fittipaldi 53.076 107.846
3 31 Al Unser Jr. 53.582 107.827
4 9 Robby Gordon 53.682 106.629
5 8 Michael Andretti 53.689 106.614
6 16 Stefan Johansson 53.756 106.480
7 3 Paul Tracy 53.859 106.278
8 12 Jacques Villeneuve 53.877 106.241
9 6 Mario Andretti 53.956 106.087
10 71 Scott Sharp 54.374 105.272
11 24 Willy T. Ribbs 54.398 105.224
12 10 Mike Groff 54.419 105.184
13 40 Scott Goodyear 54.419 105.183
14 88 Mauricio Gugelmin 54.434 105.155
15 14 Davy Jones 54.451 105.122
16 25 Marco Greco 54.483 105.060
17 11 Teo Fabi 54.500 105.028
18 17 Dominic Dobson 54.564 104.905
19 15 Mark Smith 54.572 104.888
20 4 Bobby Rahal 54.727 104.592
21 5 Raul Boesel 54.739 104.569
22 7 Adrian Fernandez 54.855 104.347
23 19 Robbie Buhl 54.895 104.272
24 18 Jimmy Vasser 54.974 104.123
25 45 Claude Bourbonnais 55.008 104.058
26 50 Alessandro Zampedri55.098 103.887
27 64 Frank Freon 55.121 103.844
28 28 Arie Luyendyk 55.295 103.517
29 23 Buddy Lazier 56.053 102.118
30 76 Robbie Groff 56.089 102.052
31 22 Hiro Matsushita 56.424 101.445
32 55 David Kudrave 57.133 100.187
33 39 Johnny Unser 59.517 96.174
Track Length: 1.5900 Miles
Saturday practice notes
9:00 a.m.-Green Flag-IndyCar Practice
#76-ROBBIE GROFF-There was smoke observed coming from the rear of the car, there was a fire in the engine area as the car entered pit in. Safety crews extinguished the fire.
9:09 a.m.-#1-NIGEL MANSELL-The car went into the tires in Turn 3, the driver is out of the car and OK. The car was transported back into the garage area on the hook of the tow truck. Damage was to the left front wing and a cut left front tire.
9:20 a.m.-Green Flag, 11 min., 23 sec. total Red Flag time will be added back into the session.
9:23 a.m.-#71-SCOTT SHARP-The car spun in Turn 1, safety pushed the car to a restart.
9:28 a.m.-#40-SCOTT GOODYEAR-The car spun, safety crews flat towed the car to a restart and he continued.
9:32 a.m.-The top three fastest cars are: #9-ROBBY GORDON, #2-EMERSON FITTIPALDI, #31-AL UNSER JR.
#4-BOBBY RAHAL-The car went into the runoff in Turn 6, corner workers pushed the car and it continued.
#6-MARIO ANDRETTI-The car stopped on the course in Turn 1, the safety crew towed the car.
ROBBIE GROFF-The driver will continue the practice in the #16X car.
#1-NIGEL MANSELL-The driver returned to the primary car.
9:50 a.m.-Red Flag to retrieve the #45 car of CLAUDE BOURBONNAIS. The car spun and stopped in the Breakers section of the track. Heavy rear wing and suspension damage. The driver is OK and the safety crew took the car back on the hook.
9:59 a.m.-Green Flag, 8 min., 29 sec. of Red Flag time will be added back into the session.
10:05 a.m.-#3-PAUL TRACY-The car spun in the Turn 6 runoff, continued.
#15-MARK SMITH-The car spun and went into the runoff in Turn 6, and continued.
#11 - An analysis of the Pennzoil/Hall team's computer tapes reveals that Teo Fabi shifts 16 times a lap. To complete the race tomorrow, he will have to change gears at least 1,680 times, not including the shifts necessary to make two pit stops.
10:20 a.m.-Checkered Flag The top three fastest cars are: #9-ROBBY GORDON, 53.080 sec., 107.837 mph, #3-PAUL TRACY, #1-NIGEL MANSELL.
Friday practice notes
11:40 AM-Green Flag, IndyCar practice.
12:02 p.m.-The top three fastest cars are: #1-NIGEL MANSELL, #8-MICHAEL ANDRETTI, #9-ROBBY GORDON.
12:19 p.m.-#23-BUDDY LAZIER--The car spun in turn 8, contact with the wall, damage to the left front and rear wheels and the left rear suspension.
#10-MIKE GROFF-The car has left flat rear with a possible broken rim. The car was on a hook back into the pit area.
12:31 p.m.-Red Flag to retrieve car #10-MIKE GROFF.
According to IndyCar officials,the pit speed has been changed to 70 mph for the weekend.
12:36 p.m.-Green Flag, 5 min., 45 sec. Red Flag time will be added back into the session.
#3-PAUL TRACY-The car spun Turn 1, no contact and continued.
12:44 p.m.--The top three fastest cars are: #1-NIGEL MANSELL, #2-EMERSON FITTIPALDI, #31-AL UNSER, JR.
#3-PAUL TRACY-The car spun and stalled in Turn 8.
1:15 p.m.-Checkered Flag
The top three fastest cars at the end of this session are: #1-NIGEL MANSELL, 53.405 sec., 107.180 mph., #16-STEFAN JOHANSSON, #9-ROBBY GORDON.
IndyCar Series News for the week of April 14, 1994
NEW TELEVISION AGREEMENT ANNOUNCED ----------------------------------
(April 14, 1994) -- IndyCar president and chief executive officer Andrew Craig and ESPN president Steve Bornstein have announced a new television package for the PPG Indy Car World Series. IndyCar and the all-sports television network have entered into a five-year agreement in which ESPN owns all domestic American TV distribution rights and a portion of IndyCar's international rights.
The agreement means that ESPN, through its subsidiary OCC Sports, will take over all TV advertising sales of IndyCar races. OCC (Ohlymeyer Communications Company) has produced all IndyCar races for the past 11 years, and will now take over from IndyCar buying the time slots for the races which are broadcast on ABC. Half of the IndyCar schedule is broadcast on ABC and half on ESPN, with one race airing on NBC. The Indianapolis 500 is telecast under an entriely separate and independent agreement between the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and ABC.
The five-year contract between ESPN and IndyCar means that IndyCar is out of the "time buy" business which was the innovative method it used to get onto network television 10 years ago. The "time buy" responsibility is now carried by ESPN which guarantees to rebroadcast every race a second time either on ESPN or its new youth-oriented second network, called ESPN2.
Tim Dolman, who has been IndyCar's senior vice president of marketing and broadcast operations, moves to OCC Sports to take over the management of Indycar racing's television package. With Dolman's move to OCC, IndyCar's New York office will folded into the Bloomfield Hills, Michigan headquarters, with all aspects of IndyCar's management and administration now consolidated in one office.
ILMOR PHASE TWO DEBUTS ----------------------
(April 14, 1994) -- Ilmor produced a new 'phase two' version of its latest Indy V8 turbo engine
for last weekend's Slick-50 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. The new engine was raced by Penske's three cars. It took the pole with Paul Tracy and finished one-two with Emerson Fittipaldi and Al Unser Jr. The latest Ilmor Indy V8 was also raced last Sunday by Teo Fabi's Hall Reynard and Arie Luyendyk's Indy Regency Lola.
The new engine features revised cylinder heads and intake plenum system. Last Friday was the first time one of the engines had run in a car, and going into the weekend the plan was to practice and qualify with the new engines and race with the standard-spec V8. There were no problems however, and the all five cars raced the new Ilmors.
CRAIG MEETS WITH GEORGE -----------------------
(April 14, 1994) -- IndyCar's president Andrew Craig spent a day with Indianapolis Motor speedway president Tony George last week, discussing their differences. "As I've said, we're learning to understand our differences, and trying to find common ground," said Craig. "Other than that, I can't comment about our discussions at this stage."
Craig will meet again with George next week, following the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, which is the last PPG Cup Indy Car World Series race before the month of May at Indianapolis. Craig said he intends to spend much of next month in Indianapolis, something no previous IndyCar president or chairman has done.
CRAIG CALLS HIS CUSTOMERS -------------------------
(April 14, 1994) -- Four spectators received minor injuries (a scrape, a bruise and two small cuts) when a wheel from Michael Andretti's car flew over the turn three retaining fence at Phoenix International Raceway last Sunday. None of the spectators needed medical treatment.
Later on Sunday evening, IndyCar president Andrew Craig was able to speak to each of the four spectators on the telephone. Craig expressed his concern, told them he hoped they had enjoyed their afternoon and asked about their health to insure they were not injured in any way.
RIBBS IN NEW LOLA -----------------
(April 14, 1994) -- Willy T. Ribbs who drives one of Derrick Walker's three Lola-Ford Indy cars, will have a new 1994 Lola chassis for Indianapolis. Ribbs is in his second year with Walker's team, sponsored by Bill Cosby and Service Merchandise. He ran year old equipment last year, and started this season with a 1993 chassis. "It'll be the first time since I've been racing Indy cars that I'll have a brand new car," said Ribbs about next month's 78th Indy 500.
(April 14, 1994) -- IndyCar president and chief executive officer Andrew Craig and ESPN president Steve Bornstein have announced a new television package for the PPG Indy Car World Series. IndyCar and the all-sports television network have entered into a five-year agreement in which ESPN owns all domestic American TV distribution rights and a portion of IndyCar's international rights.
The agreement means that ESPN, through its subsidiary OCC Sports, will take over all TV advertising sales of IndyCar races. OCC (Ohlymeyer Communications Company) has produced all IndyCar races for the past 11 years, and will now take over from IndyCar buying the time slots for the races which are broadcast on ABC. Half of the IndyCar schedule is broadcast on ABC and half on ESPN, with one race airing on NBC. The Indianapolis 500 is telecast under an entriely separate and independent agreement between the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and ABC.
The five-year contract between ESPN and IndyCar means that IndyCar is out of the "time buy" business which was the innovative method it used to get onto network television 10 years ago. The "time buy" responsibility is now carried by ESPN which guarantees to rebroadcast every race a second time either on ESPN or its new youth-oriented second network, called ESPN2.
Tim Dolman, who has been IndyCar's senior vice president of marketing and broadcast operations, moves to OCC Sports to take over the management of Indycar racing's television package. With Dolman's move to OCC, IndyCar's New York office will folded into the Bloomfield Hills, Michigan headquarters, with all aspects of IndyCar's management and administration now consolidated in one office.
ILMOR PHASE TWO DEBUTS ----------------------
(April 14, 1994) -- Ilmor produced a new 'phase two' version of its latest Indy V8 turbo engine
for last weekend's Slick-50 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. The new engine was raced by Penske's three cars. It took the pole with Paul Tracy and finished one-two with Emerson Fittipaldi and Al Unser Jr. The latest Ilmor Indy V8 was also raced last Sunday by Teo Fabi's Hall Reynard and Arie Luyendyk's Indy Regency Lola.
The new engine features revised cylinder heads and intake plenum system. Last Friday was the first time one of the engines had run in a car, and going into the weekend the plan was to practice and qualify with the new engines and race with the standard-spec V8. There were no problems however, and the all five cars raced the new Ilmors.
CRAIG MEETS WITH GEORGE -----------------------
(April 14, 1994) -- IndyCar's president Andrew Craig spent a day with Indianapolis Motor speedway president Tony George last week, discussing their differences. "As I've said, we're learning to understand our differences, and trying to find common ground," said Craig. "Other than that, I can't comment about our discussions at this stage."
Craig will meet again with George next week, following the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, which is the last PPG Cup Indy Car World Series race before the month of May at Indianapolis. Craig said he intends to spend much of next month in Indianapolis, something no previous IndyCar president or chairman has done.
CRAIG CALLS HIS CUSTOMERS -------------------------
(April 14, 1994) -- Four spectators received minor injuries (a scrape, a bruise and two small cuts) when a wheel from Michael Andretti's car flew over the turn three retaining fence at Phoenix International Raceway last Sunday. None of the spectators needed medical treatment.
Later on Sunday evening, IndyCar president Andrew Craig was able to speak to each of the four spectators on the telephone. Craig expressed his concern, told them he hoped they had enjoyed their afternoon and asked about their health to insure they were not injured in any way.
RIBBS IN NEW LOLA -----------------
(April 14, 1994) -- Willy T. Ribbs who drives one of Derrick Walker's three Lola-Ford Indy cars, will have a new 1994 Lola chassis for Indianapolis. Ribbs is in his second year with Walker's team, sponsored by Bill Cosby and Service Merchandise. He ran year old equipment last year, and started this season with a 1993 chassis. "It'll be the first time since I've been racing Indy cars that I'll have a brand new car," said Ribbs about next month's 78th Indy 500.
Preview of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (April 6, 1994) -- Long Beach is IndyCar street racing at its best. This year's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is the 20th running of the race (including its days as a stop on the Formula One circuit and a year of Formula 5000 racing) through the city streets of the Southern California port city.
The race has been a cornerstone of the redevelopment program which has transformed Long Beach into one of the Pacific Rim's leading convention center cities.
In its 20 years, the Long Beach street race has built a strong American tradition with the Andretti and Unser families at its heart. Mario Andretti won at Long Beach for the first time in 1977 when the race was for Formula One cars, a prelude to Andretti winning the F1 world championship in 1978. Mario added three more PPG Indy Car World Series victories at Long Beach in 1984, 1985 and 1987, with son Michael winning his first and only Long Beach Grand Prix in 1986. In 1988, Al Unser Jr. started a four-year win streak in Long Beach, almost winning a record five straight in 1992 until a late-race incident between he and teammate Danny Sullivan, who went on to victory.
Last year, Michael was in Formula One with the McLaren team while Al Unser Jr. hit the wall while trying hard to pass Nigel Mansell. That left Paul Tracy to score the first PPG Cup Series race win of his career. The 25-year old Tracy is in his fourth year with Penske. He made his PPG Cup debut at Long Beach in 1991 with Dale Coyne's team, joining Penske in July, 1991. Tracy would like to stake his claim to this year's PPG Cup title by scoring his second win in a row at Long Beach.
"We had a great race at Long Beach last year," said Tracy. "I'll always remember winning my first IndyCar race there in California. Long Beach was my best race from the first part of last year. It was a few months before I was able to put it all together to win my second race. So this year, I'd like nothing more than to win at Long Beach and keep the ball rolling through the rest of the season."
There will be plenty of competition for Tracy however, starting with new teammate Unser Jr., who'll be looking for a record fifth win on the California streets. "I love Long Beach," said Unser. "I've been fortunate to have a lot of success there and I really enjoy the race and the fans. This year we've got great equipment. We had some problems in Australia, but we're ready for Long Beach -- but there's plenty of competition out there. It will be tough."
Among those who'll be tough to beat is Penske teammate Emerson Fittipaldi who has a series of second and third-place finishes in Long Beach, but has never won in California. PPG Cup champion Nigel Mansell was on the pole in Long Beach last year but faded to third at the finish, nursing a painful back after crashing at Phoenix the week before. Mansell's record in IndyCar street races hasn't been as impressive many expected, so he too will be trying hard to win this year's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Then of course, there are the Andrettis, Mario and Michael. Promoter Chris Pook says Mario has meant more to the success of the Long Beach G.P. than any other driver, and the senior Andretti would be delighted to win one more time in his final appearance racing through the city streets. Meanwhile, son Michael is one of this year's favorites, particularly after winning the PPG Cup street racing season-opener in Surfers Paradise.
"I feel good about the road circuits and street circuits," said Michael after winning in Australia. "The areas on the racetrack in Australia where I felt like I was really quick were the Long Beach-style corners. That's where I felt I was making a lot of time. I felt I was really fast through the last section where it goes up that little hill and around the back through that left, right. Through there, the car felt really good and that's a lot like Long Beach. So hopefully, our car will be like that at Long Beach."
Also capable of running at the front in Long Beach is Robby Gordon in the Walker Racing Valvoline-Cummins Lola Ford. Gordon has won before in IMSA sedans in Long Beach. Other drivers who might qualify in the top ten include Adrian Fernandez in Galles Racing's Tecate-Quaker State Reynard Ilmor and rookie Jacques Villeneuve in Forsythe-Green's Player's Reynard Ford. Interest will continue as well in the progress made by Honda in its first season of PPG Cup competition with Rahal/Hogan Racing and drivers Bobby Rahal, the 1992 PPG Indy Car World Series champion and Mike Groff.
The provisional entry list for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach includes 32 drivers who will attempt to qualify for the 28 places in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach starting field. Qualifying takes place on Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16, with the 105-lap, 166.95-mile race starting at 1 p.m. PDT time on Sunday, April 17.
THE TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH is event No. 3 of the 16-race 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series. This race covers 105 laps (166.96 miles) of this 1.59-mile, eight-turn downtown street circuit.
THE TRACK is laid out on city streets along the seaside and marina portions of Long Beach, California.
TRACK RECORDS: Qualifying (one lap/1.59 miles) -- Nigel Mansell; April 17, 1993; 52.908 sec.; 108.198 mph. Race (105 laps/166.95 miles) -- Paul Tracy; April 18, 1993; 1 hr., 47 min., 36.418 sec., 93.089 mph.
DEFENDING CHAMPION is Paul Tracy, who captured his first career IndyCar win on the streets of Long Beach in 1993.
RACE TIME is 1 p.m. PDT (4 p.m. EDT), Sunday, April 17. Broadcast airs live on ABC Sports (4-6 p.m. EDT) and the Kmart IndyCar Radio Network.
PENSKE TO COMPETE WITH MERCEDES ENGINE IN 1994 INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS (APRIL 13, 1994) -- Roger Penske and Mercedes-Benz today announced that a newly designed Mercedes-Benz Indy 500 engine developed by Mercedes-Benz partner Ilmor Engineering will be used by Marlboro Team Penske in the 1994 Indianapolis 500.
The developmental engine has been designed to meet the United States Auto Club (USAC) National Championship Division regulation for the Indianapolis 500 under the category of the new pushrod-operated (in-block single camshaft), two-valves-per-cylinder design. Mercedes-Benz and Ilmor also have an all new engine currently under design for the 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series, including the Indianapolis 500.
Ilmor Engineering was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in 1983. It has a workforce of 150 employees with design and manufacturing operations at its headquarters in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, England. Ilmor-powered
entries have won five PPG Indy Car World Series Championships and 87 races (70%) out of 125 starts including six consecutive Indianapolis 500 victories.
Mercedes-Benz and Ilmor started their collaboration in November, 1993, with a comprehensive plan for the development, construction, and running of Formula 1 and Indy Car racing engine. Mercedes-Benz holds a 20 percent interest in Ilmor's U.S. affiliate. The acquisition of a similar interest in the United Kingdom engineering firm by Mercedes-Benz is nearly completed.
Roger Penske, who has fielded entire for 26 consecutive years sat the Indianapolis 500 with a record nine victories, said, "In looking at the USAC rules for the 1994 Indianapolis 500 with Mercedes-Benz, we thought the push rod/two-valve design would be a competitive power plant, considering the past success of the Buick pushrod engine. With this commitment from Merceds-Benz, we are addressing the challenge of developing this new engine
for the 1994 Indianapolis 500."
Helmut Werner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-Benz AG, commented, "We think that together with Penske and Ilmor, we have an unique opportunity to go to Indianapolis in 1994 with three champion drivers:
Emerson Fittipaldi, Paul Tracy, and Al Unser, Jr. Indianapolis is the world's largest single day sporting event. The Indianapolis 500 presents a substantial challenge for a manufacturer to demonstrate technical excellence. But most importantly, Mercedes-Benz want to support its U.S. market offensive by its participation in this most important motor race."
Werner continued, "The direct pressure of competition is a great incentive for the technical transfer of knowledge from the race cars to create quality and total performance in our passenger cars. it is also a great motivator for
our employees who build the cars as well as the public, who buys our cars."
Through Detroit Diesel Corporation, Penske and Mercedes-Benz parent, Daimler-Benz AG, also collaborate on the development, production and distribution of diesel engines in the field of commercial vehicles.
Mario Illien, designer of the new Mercedes-Benz Indy engine, said, "The engine ran for the first time in late January, so of course, there are risks associated with the short time frame for development In addition, it is most important to have a car and transmission designed to utilize the pushrod/two-valve engine. We are working closely with Marlboro Team Penske on a track testing program to develop durability. These elements of risk are essential to the development of a news engine, especially for the world's most important race."
The new 94 Marlboro Penske Indy car powered by Mercedes-Benz was designed by Nigel Bennett and constructed by Penske Cars, Ltd., Pool, England. The development testing program and race preparation is being managed at the team's headquarters in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Mercedes-Benz participation in Formula 1, with the Sauber Team, and Indy Car racing is another example of its leadership in the international automobile market, where it will be competing with many of the most important manufacturers from Europe, Asia, and America. A successful racing heritage of the great Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows will be revived and be promoted with a worldwide market offensive with both present and prospective Mercedes-Benz customers.
TECHNICAL DATA (Mercedes-Benz Engine for 94 Indianapolis 500)
MODEL: Mercedes-Benz V8 - 72 degree
DISPLACEMENT: 3.43 liters (209.3 cu. in.)
VALVE TRAIN: Single Cam Pushrod; 2 valves per cylinder
TURBOCHARGER: 12.3 PSI (55 inches boost), wastegate controlled boost
FUEL: Methanol
WEIGHT: 124 kilos (273.37 lbs)
LENGTH: 561 mm (22.09")
WIDTH: 509.5 mm (20.06")
HEIGHT: 653.5 mm (25.73")
PENSKE SCORES A ONE-TWO AT PHOENIX (1994 rewind)
PHOENIX -- Emerson Fittipaldi and Al Unser Jr. scored a one-two sweep for Marlboro Team Penske in today's Slick-50 200. Fittipaldi and Unser finished one lap ahead of third place Nigel Mansell, following a dramatic, incident-filled race. Fittipaldi took the PPG Cup championship lead with his victory on April 10.
Paul Tracy was leading the race when he was eliminated in a multi-car accident early in today's 200-mile race. Tracy crashed while trying to avoid the crashed cars of Hiro Matsushita and Teo Fabi. Also taken out but this incident were Jacques Villeneuve and Dominic Dobson. Fortunately, none of the drivers were seriously injured.
Another multi-car accident later in the race took out both Mario and Michael Andretti. The senior Andretti crashed following an unidentified mechanical failure. Michael came upon the incident and hit the slower car of John Paul Jr. amid blowing sand, knocking a front wheel off on the tail of Paul's car. Four spectators received slight injuries from flying debris from this accident.
The last half of the race was dominated by Fittipaldi and Unser who were the only cars to complete the full 200 laps. PPG Cup champion Mansell lost a lap in the pits early in the race and was unable to make up the distance. Robby Gordon lost the chance at a strong finish by running out of fuel while leading and coasting into the pits, losing four laps. Fourth place was taken today by Stefan Johansson, followed by Jimmy Vasser and Mike Groff.
Today's victory was the 21st IndyCar victory of Fittipaldi's career. Following his second place in the PPG Indy Car World Series, Fittipaldi takes the point lead with 37 points, ahead of Jimmy Vasser (22), Stefan Johansson(22) and Surfers Paradise winner Michael Andretti (21).
TRACY AND VILLENEUVE -- ALL-CANADIAN FRONT ROW
PHOENIX -- Marlboro Team Penske driver Paul Tracy took the first oval track pole of his IndyCar career today. Tracy set a new track record of 176.266 mph and will start tomorrow's Slick-50 200 with fellow Canadian Jacques Villeneuve beside him on the front row. This is the first time that two Canadians have been on the front row for an Indy car race.
Tracy set the pace in this morning's practice session and repeated his performance when it counted in qualifying. Some changes to the set-up of his car and to the line he was taking around the one-mile PIR oval helped Tracy find the speed to take today's pole.
"We put Emerson's set-up on my car last night, and I talked to Rick (Mears) about my line," said Tracy before going out to qualify. "Thanks to Rick I tried running a different pattern around the track than I have before, and that seemed to help. I think we've got a good shot at the pole."
Tracy said his qualifying run was clean without any major problems. "After my first lap I came back to full soft on my front anti-roll bar," said Tracy. "We had a little understeer this morning and I wanted to avoid that in qualifying. In fact the car got a little loose in turns three and four and I had to back pedal a little on the throttle.
"It feels good to be on the pole here at Phoenix," added Tracy. "I had my first Indy Lights win here and I'm just happy to have my first oval pole. Conditions were tough today. The wind was pinning the front end of my car and making it a little loose, and it was tough to guess how the temperature was going to affect things."
Tracy said he doesn't believe the line he used in qualifying will be useful in the race. "It's something you won't be able to use in the race," said Tracy. "I think it's going to be a pretty tough race. We'll be chasing the car all day. You'll see lots of guys getting loose tomorrow and that's not what you need here."
Tracy wins a $10,000 bonus from Marlboro for winning the pole. An additional $15,000 is paid by Marlboro to any pole winner who goes on the win the race. If he fails to do so the $15,000 is rolled-over to the next race. Since Tracy was the last driver to win from the pole at Road America last September he is now eligible to win $90,000 from Marlboro if he wins tomorrow's race.
Impressive as Tracy's pole-winning effort may have been, rookie Villeneuve's outside front row qualifying run was even more remarkable. The young Canadian celebrated his 23rd birthday today and tomorrow's Slick-50 200 will be only the second IndyCar race Villeneuve has started. He was running fifth before crashing in his IndyCar debut
at Surfers Paradise three weeks ago. Villeneuve is the son of Gilles Villeneuve, the legendary Canadian Ferrari F1 driver who was killed in qualifying for the Dutch GP 12 years ago.
Villeneuve said his goal tomorrow is to finish the race without incident. "I don't have the experience of these other guys," said Villeneuve. "It would be crazy of me to think I could blow them off in my first oval race. I will try to take it easy and make the finish. That's my goal for tomorrow."
PPG Cup champion Nigel Mansell qualified third fastest today. "I have no complaints," said Mansell. "The team did a fantastic job. We just didn't guess right on the wing set-up for qualifying. We've been having a few hiccups. We'll go back and re-engineer the car. I think the conditions changed quite a bit from this morning, and we just didn't guess right." He then added, smiling fondly at Villeneuve. "I'd like to say how proud I am of Jacques."
Mario Andretti was fourth fastest today, only .064 sec. slower than teammate Mansell. Andretti wasn't happy with his qualifying run, fighting understeer. "It's the first time all weekend I've had a push," said Andretti who won this race last year. "On my second lap I got right up into the grey in turn two. I tried to make it stick. I just tried to ingore it. But the car feels good overall. We should be good in the race."
Fifth fastest qualifier was Raul Boesel, who was a strong second to Andretti here last year. Boesel was happy with his car and also feels he'll be competitive in tomorrow's race. Emerson Fittipaldi on the other hand was bitterly disappointed to qualify only sixth today. Fittipaldi was quickest yesterday and was second to Tracy in this
morning's practice. He had trouble with his pop-off valve in qualifying however.
"The valve popped-off on my first lap," said Fittipaldi. "Then it just kept popping-off and I was down to 41 inches on my last lap. The car was beautiful to drive. It's too bad, because I'm sure we had a chance at pole. I'm very disappointed."
Seventh in qualifying was Robby Gordon who was unfazed by a big crash in testing at PIR two months ago. "I had a big push in turn one on my second lap, and I was a little loose in turn four," said Gordon. "But overall I'm happy with the car. I think we'll be competitive tomorrow."
Teo Fabi was eighth in qualifying with Al Unser Jr. and Scott Goodyear completing the top 10. Fabi complained of understeer in qualifying while Unser, like teammate Fittipaldi, also had a problem with his pop-off valve. Another disappointed driver was PPG Cup championship leader Michael Andretti who qualified 12th today. Andretti improved
substantially from yesterday in this morning's practice, but fought understeer in qualifying.
"I had the best back end I had all weekend," said Andretti. "We've been fighting the car being loose most of the weekend, but it just pushed really bad in qualifying. I hope we can get it right for the race."
Also among those to have handling troubles so far this weekend are the pair of Rahal-Hogan Lola-Hondas driven by Bobby Rahal and Mike Groff. The Honda-engined cars are about 10 mph slow down the straightaways and Rahal admits to being down on power compared to the Ilmor and Ford-powered competitors, but both he and teammate Groff have been fighting understeer.
"We're working on the car for the race and we're getting good fuel mileage," commented Rahal. "Arie (Luyendyk) won the race here a few years ago with one less fuel stop and we won Nazareth in 1992 the same way, so strategy could play a big role tomorrow."
FITTIPALDI FASTEST IN PHOENIX PRACTICE
PHOENIX -- Marlboro Team Penske driver Emerson Fittipaldi was fastest in practice today for Sunday's Slick-50 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Fittipaldi was fifth fastest in the morning practice session, but improved
dramatically in the afternoon. He was unofficially half a second under the track record, averaging 177.037 mph on a track made slippery by hot afternoon sun. Fittipaldi ran off a string of quick laps, a handful of the quicker than the best lap turned in by anyone else.
"It's great!" grinned Fittipaldi. "When I get it right I only have to lift half out of the throttle in turn one and the get right back on it, bam! Full throttle. We're a little down on boost today, but the power is good. We're quick on the straight. I told the guys, 'Don't touch the car, just polish
it'."
All three Marlboro Team Penske cars ran today with a vertical fin fitted atop the engine cover in front of the rear wing. The team has tested this aerodynamic tweak extensively and plan to run the fin in most oval races this year. Fittipaldi's teammates Paul Tracy and Al Unser Jr. were fifth and 11th today with Unser only three-quarters of a second slower than Fittipaldi.
Second quickest in today's practice was Raul Boesel in Dick Simon's Duracell-Mobil 1-Sadia Lola-Ford. Boesel was second in last year's race at PIR and was delighted to be on the pace today after struggling in Australia three weeks ago. "Yes, it's a big change," said Boesel. "We keep improving the car. We did three or four laps in a row the same time. It's a good sign for qualifying."
PPG Cup champion Nigel Mansell was third quickest today. Mansell was fastest in the morning practice, but slipped to third in the afternoon. After setting the pace in testing at PIR earlier this week, Mansell was a little disappointed today.
"I can't honestly tell you I'm comfortable here yet," said Mansell. "This is a very, very demanding place. The speeds here are incredible, and there is a lot of grip from the track surface." Mansell had trouble with his pop-off valve in the afternoon. He said he was happy with his car's handling although he did have a scary slide in the fourth turn on one lap.
Newman-Haas/Kmart-Texaco teammate Mario Andretti was seventh fastest today, just a quarter of a second behind Mansell. Andretti won this race last year, the 52nd victory of his career. He was delighted with his car this morning,
but less happy in the afternoon after a couple of trips out of groove, close to the wall.
"Everything's going pretty good really," said Andretti. "Everybody's obviously having to chase the conditions that we haven't experienced at all during testing. Just toward the end there, I think we found the direction, so I feel pretty good about tomorrow."
An impressive fourth fastest today was Teo Fabi in Jim Hall's Pennzoil Reynard-Ilmor. Fabi had a tough time in winter testing at PIR, but looked very good today. He was fastest Reynard driver today ahead of Jimmy Vasser
who was sixth fastest in Jim Hayhoe's Conseco Reynard-Ford. Surfers Paradise winner Michael Andretti struggled today with his Chip Ganassi Target-Scotch Reynard-Ford. Andretti was a disappointed 14th, one second slower than pacesetter Fittipaldi.
"I wish I knew what's wrong," said Michael. "Our car was great in testing here, but we just haven't been able to hit the right combination this week. It was binding up in the left front this morning and we thought once we'd fixed that we'd be OK but the car wants to push for the first two laps and then it goes loose and I mean it's loose!"
Thirty-one drivers practiced today. Qualifying takes place at 11:30 a.m. PDT tomorrow with each driver taking two flying laps in an attempt to make the 26-car grid.
SLICK-50 200 Phoenix International Raceway Sunday, April 10, 1994 EXTRA
In final practice on Saturday afternoon for today's Slick-50 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, defending PPG Cup champion Nigel Mansell spun and crashed in the fourth turn, taking rookie driver Jacques Villeneuve with him into the outside wall. Mansell said he was slowing down and considering coming into the pits when his car snapped out of control. Villeneuve, following closely, was an innocent victim of Mansell's accident.
Mansell will switch to a backup Newman/Haas Kmart-Texaco Lola Ford for today's 200-mile race while Villeneuve's Forsythe-Green/Player's Reynard-Ford was repaired last night. Both drivers retain their starting positions, Villeneuve on the front row and Mansell on row two.
"I really don't know what happened," said Mansell. "I had slowed down, and was thinking about coming into the pits, and the car just swapped ends. I don't know why it happened, and that's the worrying thing. I have to say I'm very disappointed for Jacques because he was just an innocent victim."
Mansell was able to jump into his back-up car for a few laps late on Saturday afternoon. He had not previously driven the car this weekend although he had run some practice laps in the car during testing at PIR earlier this week. In the final four minutes of practice, Mansell was able to get the spare up to 13th overall in the session.
PROVISIONAL BOXSCORE
PPG INDY CAR WORLD SERIES RACE NO.2
Slick-50 200
Phoenix, AZ
SUNDAY APRIL 10, 1994
FIN STR CAR
POS POS NUM DRIVER/HOMETOWN
CAR
QUAL QUAL LAPS TOT
SPEED TIME LAPS STATUS PTS PTS
1 6 2 EMERSON FITTIPALDI/Key Biscayne, FL
Marlboro Penske 94 Ilmor V8/D
173.346 20.768 200 107.437 21 37
2 9 31 AL UNSER Jr./Albuquerque, NM
Marlboro Penske 94 Ilmor V8/D
172.342 20.889 200 107.221 16 16
3 3 1 NIGEL MANSELL/Clearwater, FL
Kmart/Caltex Havoline L94 Ford-Cos
175.478 20.515 199 RUNNING 14 19
4 15 16 STEFAN JOHANSSON/Monte Carlo, MON
Alumax Aluminum Penske 93 Ilmor V8/D
168.330 21.387 197 RUNNING 12 22
5 11 18 JIMMY VASSER/Discovery Bay, CA
Conseco-STP R94I Ford-Cos XB
171.912 20.941 197 RUNNING 10 22
6 20 10 MIKE GROFF/Los Angeles, CA
Motorola L94 Honda V8
164.453 21.891 196 RUNNING 8 13
7 7 9 ROBBY GORDON/Orange, CA
Valvoline-Cummins L94 Ford-Cos
173.113 20.796 195 RUNNING 6 6
8 5 5 RAUL BOESEL/Key Biscayne, FL
Duracell Charger L94 Ford-Cos XB
173.357 20.766 195 RUNNING 5 5
9 13 71 SCOTT SHARP(R)/Wilton, CT
PacWest Racing L94 Ford-Cos XB
170.240 21.147 194 RUNNING 4 6
10 16 7 ADRIAN FERNANDEZ/Mexico City, MEX
Tecate-Quaker State R94I Ilmor V8/D
167.820 21.452 194 RUNNING 3 3
11 10 40 SCOTT GOODYEAR/Toronto, CAN
Budweiser King L94 Ford-Cos XB
172.303 20.893 192 RUNNING 2 5
12 17 14 DAVY JONES/Lake Tahoe, NV
Foyt-Copenhagen Racing L94 Ford-Cos
165.428 21.762 190 RUNNING 1 1
13 25 23 BUDDY LAZIER/Vail, CO
Financial World Mag L93 Ilmor C+
159.872 22.518 190 RUNNING 0 0
14 22 4 BOBBY RAHAL/Dublin, OH
Miller Genuine Draft L94 Honda V8
161.889 22.237 188 RUNNING 0 0
15 28 88 MAURICIO GUGELMIN/Curitiba, BRZ
Hollywood R94I Ford-Cos XB
156.431 23.013 187 RUNNING 0 8
16 18 25 MARCO GRECO/Sao Paulo, BRZ
Arciero Proj Indy L94 Ford-Cos XB
165.009 21.817 180 RUNNING 0 0
17 27 55 JEFF ANDRETTI/Nazareth, PA
AGIP-Hawaii Trp-RainX L92 Ilmor V8/A
157.806 22.813 179 RUNNING 0 0
18 23 45 JOHN PAUL JR./Atlanta, GA
Pro Formance L93 Ilmor Indy C+
160.518 22.427 177 RUNNING 0 0
19 26 19 BRIAN TILL/Columbus, OH
The MI-JACK Car L93 Ford-Cos XB
158.255 22.748 168 RUNNING 0 0
20 12 8 MICHAEL ANDRETTI/Nazareth, PA
Target-Scotch Video R94I Ford-Cos XB
171.204 21.028 162 CONTACT 0 21
21 4 6 MARIO ANDRETTI/Nazareth, PA
Kmart/Caltex Havoline L94 Ford-Cos
174.932 20.579 156 CONTACT 0 14
22 19 28 ARIE LUYENDYK/Rosmalen, NET
Eurosport-Boost Mon L94 Ilmor V8/D
164.552 21.878 146 ELECTRICAL 0 0
23 1 3 PAUL TRACY/West Hill, CAN
Marlboro Penske 94 Ilmor V8/D
176.266 20.424 62 CONTACT 1 1 M
24 14 17 DOMINIC DOBSON/Truckee, CA
PacWest Racing L94 Ford-Cos XB
168.848 21.321 61 CONTACT 0 1
25 2 12 JACQUES VILLENEUVE(R)/Monte Carlo, M
Player's Ltd. R94I Ford-Cos XB
176.110 20.442 61 CONTACT 0 0
26 8 11 TEO FABI/Milan, ITA
Pennzoil Special R94I Ilmor V8/D
172.355 20.887 60 CONTACT 0 6
27 21 22 HIRO MATSUSHITA/San Clemente, CA
Panasonic Duskin L94 Ford-Cos XB
162.440 22.162 44 CONTACT 0 0
28 24 24 WILLY T. RIBBS/San Jose, CA
Service Merchandise L93 Ford-Cos XB
160.518 22.427 26 CONTACT 0 0
CHASSIS LEGEND: L=Lola; R=Reynard
ENGINE LEGEND: Ford-Cos XB=Ford-Cosworth XB; Ilmor=Ilmor Indy
DID NOT START LEGEND: DNG=Did Not Start; DNP=Did Not Participate; DNQ=Did Not Qualify
(R) Rookie driver
M = Marlboro Pole Award ($10,000)
TIME OF RACE: 1:51:41:615
AVERAGE SPEED: 107.437 mph
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 13.482 Secs
CAUTION FLAGS:
Laps 28-41 Contact Car #24
Laps 62-88, Contact (5 Cars)
Laps 165-174, Contact Car #6 & Car #8
LAP LEADERS: 7 lead changes, 5 drivers
Paul Tracy, 1-10 10 Laps
Nigel Mansell, 11-29 19 Laps
Paul Tracy, 30-62 33 Laps
Robby Gordon, 63 1 Lap
Emerson Fittipaldi, 64-141 78 Laps
Al Unser Jr., 142-146 5 Laps
Robby Gordon, 147-154 8 Laps
Emerson Fittipaldi, 155-200 46 Laps
TOTALS:
Emerson Fittipaldi 124 laps
Paul Tracy 43 laps
Nigel Mansell 19 laps
Robby Gordon 9 laps
Al Unser Jr. 5 laps
PPG INDY CAR WORLD SERIES
STARTING GRID
Slick-50 200
STR CAR
POS ROW NUM DRIVER/HOMETOWN & CAR TIME SPEED
--- --- --- ----------------------------------- -------- -------
1 1 3 PAUL TRACY/West Hill, CAN 20.424 M* 176.266
Marlboro Penske 94 Ilmor V8/D
2 1 12 JACQUES VILLENEUVE(R)/Monte Carlo, 20.442 176.110
Player's Ltd. R94I Ford-Cos XB
3 2 1 NIGEL MANSELL/Clearwater, FL 20.515 175.478
Kmart/Caltex Havoline L94 Ford-Cos
4 2 6 MARIO ANDRETTI/Nazareth, PA 20.579 174.932
Kmart/Caltex Havoline L94 Ford-Cos
5 3 5 RAUL BOESEL/Key Biscayne, FL 20.766 173.357
Duracell Charger L94 Ford-Cos XB
6 3 2 EMERSON FITTIPALDI/Key Biscayne, FL 20.768 173.346
Marlboro Penske 94 Ilmor V8/D
7 4 9 ROBBY GORDON/Orange, CA 20.796 173.113
Valvoline-Cummins L94 Honda Indy V8
8 4 11 TEO FABI/Milan, ITA 20.887 172.355
Pennzoil Special R94I Ilmor V8/D
9 5 31 AL UNSER Jr./Albuquerque, NM 20.889 172.342
Marlboro Penske 94 Ilmor V8/D
10 5 40 SCOTT GOODYEAR/Toronto, CAN 20.893 172.303
Budweiser King L94 Ford-Cos XB
11 6 18 JIMMY VASSER/Discovery Bay, CA 20.941 171.912
Conseco-STP R94I Ford-Cos XB
12 6 8 MICHAEL ANDRETTI/Nazareth, PA 21.028 171.204
Target-Scotch Video R94I Ford-Cos XB
13 7 71 SCOTT SHARP(R)/Wilton, CT 21.147 170.240
PacWest Racing L94 Ford-Cos XB
14 7 17 DOMINIC DOBSON/Truckee, CA 21.321 168.848
PacWest Racing L94 Ford-Cos XB
15 8 16 STEFAN JOHANSSON/Monte Carlo, MON 21.387 168.330
Alumax Aluminum Penske 93 Ilmor V8/D
16 8 7 ADRIAN FERNANDEZ/Mexico City, MEX 21.452 167.820
Tecate-Quaker State R94I Ilmor V8/D
17 9 14 DAVY JONES/Lake Tahoe, NV 21.762 165.428
Foyt-Copenhagen Racing L94 Ford-Cos
18 9 25 MARCO GRECO/Sao Paulo, BRZ 21.817 165.009
I N T Sports Ltd L94 Ford-Cos XB
19 10 28 ARIE LUYENDYK/Rosmalen, NET 21.878 164.552
Eurosport-Boost Mon L94 Ilmor V8/D
20 10 10 MIKE GROFF/Los Angeles, CA 21.891 164.453
Motorola L94 Honda V8
21 11 22 HIRO MATSUSHITA/San Clemente, CA 22.162 162.440
Panasonic Duskin L94 Ford-Cos XB
22 11 4 BOBBY RAHAL/Dublin, OH 22.237 161.889
Miller Genuine Draft L94 Honda V8
23 12 45 JOHN PAUL JR./Atlanta, GA 22.427 160.518
Team Losi X X L93 Ilmor Indy C+
24 12 24 WILLY T. RIBBS/San Jose, CA 22.427 160.518
Service Merchandise L93 Ford-Cos XB
25 13 23 BUDDY LAZIER/Vail, CO 22.518 159.872
Financial World Mag L93 Ilmor C+
26 13 19 BRIAN TILL/Columbus, OH 22.748 158.255
MI-JACK Car L93 Ford-Cos XB
27 14 55 JEFF ANDRETTI/Nazareth, PA 22.813 157.806
AGIP-Gillette L93 Ilmor Indy C+
28 14 88 MAURICIO GUGELMIN/Curitiba, BRZ 23.013 156.431
Hollywood Indy Car R94 Ford-Cos XB
0 50 DAVID KUDRAVE/Los Angeles, CA 23.033 156.295
AGIP-Taumarin L93 Ilmor Indy C+
0 39 JOHNNY UNSER/Vacnuver, CAN 23.140 155.576
AGFA Film L92 Ilmor V8/A
0 15 MARK SMITH/McMinnville, OR WITHDRAWN
Craftsman Tools L94 Ford-Cos XB
CHASSIS LEGEND: L=Lola; R=Reynard
ENGINE LEGEND: Ford-Cos XB=Ford-Cosworth XB; Ilmor=Ilmor Indy
(R) Rookie driver
M = Marlboro Pole Award ($10,000)
* = New Lap Record
Slick-50 200
Phoenix, Arizona
Friday, April 8, 1994
3rd Practice -- Combined Practice Report
-----------------------------------------
POS DRIVER TIME SEED
---------------------------------------------------
1 Emerson Fittipaldi 20.335 177.037
2 Raul Boesel 20.622 174.568
3 Nigel Mansell 20.699 173.921
4 Teo Fabi 20.707 173.852
5 Paul Tracy 20.831 172.820
6 Jimmy Vasser 20.918 172.105
7 Mario Andetti 20.936 171.953
8 Robby Gordon 20.990 171.510
9 Scott Sharp 21.011 171.340
10 Scott Goodyear 21.027 171.209
11 Al Unser, Jr. 21.072 170.842
12 Jacques Villeneuve 21.146 170.245
13 Dominic Dobson 21.192 169.874
14 Michael Andretti 21.303 168.988
15 Stefan Johansson 21.306 168.963
16 Mike Groff 21.557 166.999
17 Arie Luyendyk 21.757 165.468
18 Marco Greco 21.799 165.144
19 Bobby Rahal 21.801 165.130
20 Adrian Fernandez 21.821 164.978
21 Mark Smith 21.946 164.040
22 Stefan Johansson 21.970 163.856
23 Jacques Villeneuve 21.116 162.774
24 John Paul Jr 22.339 161.150
25 Davy Jones 22.409 160.649
26 Buddy Lazier 22.690 158.662
27 Mauricio Gugelmin 22.722 158.4367
28 Willy T. Ribbs 22.771 158.097
29 Brian Till 22.786 157.992
30 Hiro Matsushita 23.012 156.440
31 Mike Groff 23.177 155.326
32 Johnny Unser 23.363 154.090
33 Jeff Andretti 23.728 151.721
34 David Kudrave 24.244 148.491
35 Mark Smith NO TIME NO SPEED
1994 PPG INDY CAR WORLD SERIES DRIVER PERFORMANCE CHART
FOLLOWING THE EVENT OF SUNDAY APRIL 10, 1994
RUN
AT TOP TMS LAPS LAPS MILES
RANK DRIVER PTS STS FIN FIN LED LED COMP COMP
( 255)( 353.725)
---- ----------------------- --- --- --- --- --- ---- ---- -------- -
1 EMERSON FITTIPALDI 37 2 2 1 2 124 255 353.725
2 STEFAN JOHANSSON 22 2 2 4 0 0 252 350.725
3 JIMMY VASSER 22 2 2 4 0 0 252 350.725
4 MICHAEL ANDRETTI 21 2 1 1 1 55 217 315.725
5 NIGEL MANSELL 19 2 2 3 1 19 253 349.930
6 AL UNSER Jr. 16 2 1 2 1 5 251 342.545
7 MARIO ANDRETTI 14 2 1 3 0 0 211 309.725
8 MIKE GROFF 14 2 2 6 0 0 250 346.930
9 MAURICIO GUGELMIN 8 2 2 6 0 0 242 340.725
10 ROBBY GORDON 6 2 1 7 2 9 211 239.720
11 SCOTT SHARP 6 2 2 9 0 0 247 342.135
12 TEO FABI 5 2 1 8 0 0 114 210.930
13 RAUL BOESEL 5 2 1 8 0 0 195 195.000
14 SCOTT GOODYEAR 5 2 2 10 0 0 245 340.135
15 ADRIAN FERNANDEZ 3 2 2 10 0 0 246 339.340
16 DAVY JONES 1 2 1 12 0 0 221 276.645
17 DOMINIC DOBSON 1 2 1 12 0 0 113 206.340
18 PAUL TRACY 1 2 0 16 2 43 101 171.005
19 BUDDY LAZIER 0 1 1 13 0 0 190 190.000
20 BOBBY RAHAL 0 2 1 14 0 0 188 188.000
21 HIRO MATSUSHITA 0 2 1 15 0 0 92 178.160
22 MARCO GRECO 0 1 1 16 0 0 180 180.000
23 JACQUES VILLENEUVE 0 2 0 17 0 0 97 161.620
24 JEFF ANDRETTI 0 1 1 17 0 0 179 179.000
25 WILLY T. RIBBS 0 2 0 18 0 0 60 121.030
26 JOHN PAUL JR. 0 1 1 18 0 0 177 177.000
27 BRIAN TILL 0 1 1 19 0 0 168 168.000
28 ROBBIE BUHL 0 1 0 20 0 0 30 83.850
29 MARK SMITH 0 1 0 21 0 0 19 53.105
30 ARIE LUYENDYK 0 2 0 22 0 0 154 168.360
31 ALESSANDRO ZAMPEDRI 0 1 0 22 0 0 19 53.105
32 GARY BRABHAM 0 1 0 24 0 0 10 27.950
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