Race No. 13
Miller Genuine Draft 200
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lexington, Ohio
August 9-11, 1996
Sunday Quotes from drivers and managers at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course:
 | #12 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
JIMMY VASSER | |
| [finished second]: "I was trying as hard as I could to take thelead so I could do something spectacular and make it onSportsCenter. I didnt have anything for Alex. He was just a tickfaster all the way around. I drove a little conservatively tosave fuel and make sure I got points for the championship. I'vebeen up before in the points and then it was back down to onepoint, so its good to be up by a few [17] points again. I wontstart counting points until Vancouver." | |
 | #6 Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Lola Ford Cosworth XD |
MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| [finished third]: [On Bryan Hertas bid to overtake him late inthe race] "I knew it was going to happen, because he had done iton the other restart. He just had a lot more straightaway speed.And when we were all bunched up, he was able to get a run on me.I took the inside line and just tried to brake as late as Icould. And I was able to hold my line the first time. The secondtime, he was ready for me as well. We went in a little harder,and I was able to get myself far enough up on him that he wasn'table to come down and steal the inside line. I knew I couldtrust Bryan, because he is a really good driver, a good fairdriver. I was totally confident that we would both come out ofthat in one piece. "Well take the points. We did everything right and came awaywith what we deserved." | |
 | #34 Data Control Payton/Coyne Lola Ford |
Roberto Moreno | |
| [finished 23rd]:"The car was running fine. The Payton-Coyne [team] had it set up verywell for the race. The gearbox broke. Something happened when Iwas changing gears out there. It just locked up. I was runningbehind Stefan Johansson, trying to pass him, and the gearshiftbroke. That was the end of the day." | |
 | #21 PacWest Reynard Ford Cosworth |
MARK BLUNDELL | |
| [finished 10th]:"Balance-wise, the car was pretty good all day. Its just thattraffic was so bad, it was really tough to put together somegood, consistent lap times. I really had to work hard with thecar to get by anybody. Once I got alongside another car, it wasdifficult getting that little extra from the car to pass." | |
 | #11 Kmart/Budweiser Lola Ford Newman/Haas Racing |
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI | |
| [finished seventh]: "The car was loose all day. Something reallychanged from this mornings practice to when we got in the race.We were battling, chasing the car the whole day and I was notvery comfortable out there. Its tough, we just didn't have thecar. We did well to finish as strong as we did." | |
 | #25 MCI Arciero Wells Reynard Toyota |
MAX PAPIS | |
| "We had several problemstoday with the car, but that is part of developing a new engine.This is what we have to expect. It has been a fun weekend,though. This is a very competitive series and I feel like I amin a good place. We'll be back next weekend." | |
 | #8 Pennzoil Special Reynard Honda Hall Racing |
GIL de FERRAN | |
| [finished 17th]: [Onfirst lap incident] "If I hadn't have screwed it up, we couldhave had a top four finish, no doubt about it. I misjudged thestart. It was my mistake and I feel bad about it because Imessed up someone elses race and made it difficult for me tocatch up in the championship." | |
 | #28 Shell Reynard Mercedes-Benz Team Rahal |
BRYAN HERTA | |
| [finishedfourth]: "We ran a good race today. I lost a couple of shots dueto traffic. But Im thrill to be a part of this team. It took usawhile to learn each other. Youve seen Team Rahal really come onin the second half of the season. At the end of the race, I madea serious run on Michael [Andretti] and we really battledthrough the corners. We touched a little bit but he is tough.That kind of racing is really fun. I've said I'm very happy to beon this team because of the hard work and dedication everyoneput in this year. We've had a lot of bad luck early but weregetting closer to the winners circle. I still think we have agood shot to win this season." | |
 | #4 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
ALEX ZANARDI | |
| [finished first]: "We started the weekend with a good car onFriday and then we made some changes on Saturday and the car wasfabulous. Id have a 10-second lead, and then they would throwthe yellow and my lead would disappear. It was a concern becauseJimmy was right behind me and I know what he can do, but whenthe race started again, I was able to pull away. Im so happy tofinish first and second, and I'm so happy for Chip and theteam. "This is a very good win. It was more work than Portlandbecause I had that red car behind me the entire time. Im veryhappy he [Vasser] could finish second and score a lot of pointsfor the championship." | |
 | #31 LCI International Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group |
ANDRE RIBEIRO | |
| [finishedeighth]: "It was a very fast race. There were a lot of marbleson the track so overtaking was a challenge. It was verydifficult if you went off line and very slippery. At the end,the car was running well. Unfortunately Greg Moore didn't do aright move and collected my rear tire and put a puncture in it.He tried to pass me on a situation that he never had the gap ordistance to do it. He is becoming too aggressive without thecontrol of the situation. I hope the CART people, after so manyinstances, do something." | |
 | #32 Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group |
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | |
| [finished sixth]: "I think the team gave 100 percent and I didon the track. We didnt have the best car but we never gave upand we should be pleased because of that. At the beginning, thecar had a lot of push and we managed to correct some of that inthe first pit stop. In the second stop, we put too much and thatmade the car very loose. I had a few big moments in Turn One. Atthe end I was really just trying to keep on the track." | |
 | #5 Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Reynard Ford |
ROBBY GORDON | |
| "The car handled pretty good at the beginning of the race.The biggest disappointment was how slow we were in thestraights." [On his incident with #31 Andre Ribeiro and #3 JanMagnussen]: "Ribeiro took my line. There was no choice for me togo anywhere else but to the dirt. Then Magnussen, I guess hefigured I was going to drive the rest of the next corner in thedirt, too. I had to get back on the track sometime. We pittedunder the green, which wasn't too bad." [On his engine failure]"It made lots of noise. We were just hoping to finish and getpoints and we were in a position to do that. We just didnt runlong enough." | |
 | #16 Bettenhaused Racing Alumax Aluminium Reynard Mercedes-Benz |
STEFAN JOHANSSON | |
| [finished 11th]: "It would have been nice if the race had lastedanother lap, because we would have gained two more positions,but beggars can't be choosers. Considering the fact that wewerent in a points-scoring position when we took the white flag,were certainly grateful for the two points we got. After gettinga slow start to the season, we now have finished five of thelast six races, so its good that weve gained some reliability.However, I didn't have a car that I could attack with today, soreally, all I could do was try to hang on and capitalize onother peoples mistakes." | |
 | #18 Miller Racing Reynard Mercedes-Benz Team Rahal |
BOBBY RAHAL | |
| [finishedfifth]: "We were one of the few cars to pass on the track. Wewent from ninth to fifth and all on the track, not in the pits.I got held up early by Adrian [Fernandez] and the car was loose,sliding the rear end. But we changed the tire pressure at thefirst and second pit stops and the car was great. I think wewere one of the fastest cars one the track the second half ofthe race. This is a good finish for the team with Bryan [Herta]and myself. I had a great seat for that battle with Bryan andMichael [Andretti] at the end. I was waiting for the contact.The Goodyears were competitive. Im not sure theyre with theFirestones yet but theyre getting closer." | |
 | #17 Hollywood Reynard Ford |
MAURICIO GUGELMIN | |
| [finished 26th]: [On first-lap contact with #8 GIL de FERRAN]"Gil must have missed his breaking point by 200 yards - I gotthrough the first turn o.k. then I felt a bullet in my back. Hehit me so hard I still had the nose of his car in my rear tire.Both right rear suspension arms were damaged so it would havetaken 10-15 laps to repair it." | |
 | #98 Eagle Mk-V Toyota |
| photo Mike Levitt | |
P.J. JONES | |
| [finished25th]: "I was going good for awhile. I thought our Eagle Toyotaswere getting better and better as we got going. We were pickingup speed, but we just had an oil leak and it created a fire. It'sunfortunate, but thats what you get with a developmentprogram." | |
 | #36 Eagle Mk-V Toyota |
JUAN MANUEL FANGIO II | |
| [finished 20th]: "I think the Eagle Toyota was good enough tohang in there. I dont know if we got all of the potential out ofthe car, but it was possible for me to be confident during therace. I tried to keep up with the pace as much as I could. Butthen, I heard a different noise. Something didnt sound in theexhaust system. When they called me in for a pit stop [Lap 57],I saw the fire coming out of the back of the car on the backstraightaway. I went to the brakes at the end of the straightand the brakes were completely down and I went off thetrack." | |