2000 Toronto - Championship Auto Racing Teams

Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was formed in 1979 to sanction American open-wheel car racing. By 1999, the series was very strong, with FedEx taking on the role of the primary sponsor.

Variety was a critical element of the championship’s success.

There were a number of different chassis used by the teams:

Reynard 99I
Swift 010.c
Lola B99/00
Eagle 997
Penske PC27-B

There were also several engine choices available:

Honda HRS
Ford-Cosworth XD
Mercedes IC 108E3
Toyota RV8D

In addition to the availability of diverse chassis and engine combinations, there was also competition between the tire companies Firestone and Goodyear.

All these variables contributed to five year-end awards:

Drivers' champion
Constructors' Cup
Manufacturers' Cup
Nations' Cup
Rookie of the Year

In 1999 the series traveled to twenty circuits, with five tracks located outside the United States (two in Canada, one in Australia, one in Brazil and one in Japan). Round thirteen at Detroit’s Belle Isle was an addition to this season’s calendar.

Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami – Homestead, Florida
Firestone Firehawk 500 – Motegi, Japan
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach – Long Beach, California
Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix – Nazareth, Pennsylvania
Grand Prix Rio Telemar Rio 200 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Motorola 300 – Madison, Illinois
Miller Lite 225 – West Allis, Wisconsin
Budweiser/G.I. Joe’s 200 – Portland, Oregon
Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland – Cleveland, Ohio
Texaco/Havoline 200 – Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Molson Indy Toronto – Toronto, Ontario
U.S. 500 – Brooklyn, Michigan
Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix – Detroit, Michigan
Miller Lite 200 – Lexington, Ohio
Target Grand Prix of Chicago – Chicago, Illinois
Molson Indy Vancouver – Vancouver, British Columbia
Honda Grand Prix of Monterey – Monterey California
Texaco Grand Prix of Houston – Houston, Texas
Honda Indy 300 – Surfers Paradise, Australia
Marlboro 500 – Fontana, California
Toronto was round eleven of the twenty-race Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) series. It had been a very competitive season with seven different race winners in its first ten events. The track is an eleven-turn 1.755-mile temporary street circuit at Toronto’s Exhibition Place. The ninety-five-lap event, sponsored by Molson Breweries, proved quite a challenge for teams as only sixteen of the twenty-seven starters were running at the finish.
Below are images from a pitlane walk at Exhibition Place during the 1999 Molson Indy event.

The No. 27 Reynard 99I, with a Honda HRS engine, was driven by Dario Franchitti. Franchitti joined the team last season and scored three victories – Elkhart Lake, Vancouver and Houston. At round eleven in Toronto, he qualified second fastest. However, Franchitti moved into the lead on lap-1 at turn three and went flag-to-flag for the win. The result moved him to within seven points of the championship leader, Juan Montoya.

Finishing behind Dario Franchitti was his teammate and the hometown hero, Paul Tracy, qualified sixth fastest. Tracy drove the No. 26 KOOL sponsored Reynard 99I. He joined Team KOOL Green last season with little success; his best result was a fifth-place finish and thirteenth in the final standings. In 1999, he collected a victory in round seven at Milwaukee.

The winner of the most recent event on the 1999 FedEx Championship calendar was Christian Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi, piloting the No. 11 Newman/Haas Racing Ford-Cosworth XD powered Swift 010.c, qualified fourth fastest at Elkhart Lake and led the last seven laps for the victory. At Toronto, the former Formula 1 driver was fifth fastest during the qualifying session and captured the final position on the rostrum.

Earning the pole at Toronto and his second of the season was Gil de Ferran in the No. 5 Walker Racing Reynard 99I. In addition, de Ferran was the fastest qualifier at Firestone Firehawk 500 in Japan and won round eight a Portland International Raceway. He lost the lead of the race on the first lap but ran second early in the event. After hitting a tire in the pit lane, de Ferran fell out of contention and retired on lap-71.

Another favourite for the Canadian fans to cheer for was Greg Moore. He was joined by fellow Canadian Patrick Carpentier at Forsythe Racing. Moore raced the No. 99 Player’s sponsored Reynard 99I powered by a Mercedes IC 108E3. He dominated the opening weekend of the season with a pole and victory at the Grand Prix of Miami. Toronto would not be one of Moore’s best events. He retired with a cooling related issue.

Honda was the dominant engine supplier in 1998. Their Honda HRK Turbocharged V8 scored fourteen victories and earned the company its second consecutive Manufacturer’s Championship. The motor also powered the top three drivers in the final standings. Honda’s latest version, the HRS, was used by Target Chip Ganassi Racing, Team KOOL Green, Walker Racing and McDonald’s Championship Racing.

Roberto Moreno has many open-wheel titles, including the 1988 Formula 3000 championship. His racing resume includes stints in Formula 1 and CART, but he is probably best known for the moniker ‘Super Sub.’ Moreno often filled in for injured drivers. In 1999, he took Mark Blundell’s seat at PacWest Racing for eight events after Blundell was injured in a testing accident. Moreno started seventeenth at Toronto and finished fourth.

Since 1989 Michael Andretti has had five victories (1989, 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1995) at Toronto. It appeared that he would be the best bet for adding another win to his impressive list. However, that was not the case this year. Earlier in the season Andretti, captured first place at Gateway, driving the No. 6 Newman/Haas Racing Swift 010.c. In Toronto, he started third and retired on lap-3 after contact with Gregg Moore.

In the off-season, Juan Pablo Montoya left the F3000 series in favour of CART. Montoya joined the Chip Ganassi team driving the No. 4 Target Reynard 99I, which was powered by a Honda HRS. He was sensational in his rookie season, scoring four victories before the championship made its stop at Toronto. In round eleven, Montoya qualified eighth but retired after contact on lap-59.

FINISH	START	DRIVER	CAR/ENGINE	LAPS	RETIREMENTS
1	2	Dario Franchitti	Reynard 99I / Honda HRS	95	-
2	6	Paul Tracy	Reynard 99I / Honda HRS	95	-
3	5	Christian Fittipaldi	Swift 010.c / Ford-Cosworth XD	95	-
4	17	Roberto Moreno	Reynard 99I / Mercedes IC 108E3	95	-
5	18	Max Papis	Reynard 99I / Ford-Cosworth XD	95	-
6	23	Adrian Fernandez	Reynard 99I / Ford-Cosworth XD	95	-
7	11	Scott Pruett	Reynard 99I / Toyota RV8D	95	-
8	4	Jimmy Vasser	Reynard 99I / Honda HRS	95	-
9	25	Al Unser, Jr.	Lola B99/00 / Mercedes IC 108E3	95	-
10	29	P.J. Jones	Swift 010.c / Ford-Cosworth XD	95	-
11	12	Patrick Carpentier	Reynard 99I / Mercedes IC 108E3	95	-
12	15	Memo Gidley	Reynard 99I / Honda HRS	95	-
13	22	Robby Gordon	Swift 010.c / Toyota RV8D	95	-
14	16	Mauricio Gugelmin	Reynard 99I / Mercedes IC 108E3	95	-
15	9	Bryan Herta	Reynard 99I / Ford-Cosworth XD	93	-
16	21	Richie Hearn	Reynard 99I / Toyota RV8D	93	-
17	7	Tony Kanaan	Reynard 99I / Honda HRS	92	Accident
18	27	Dennis Vitolo	Reynard 99I / Ford-Cosworth XD	82	Transmission
19	1	Gil de Ferran	Reynard 99I / Honda HRS	71	Accident
20	10	Greg Moore	Reynard 99I / Mercedes IC 108E3	66	Cooling System
21	19	Michel Jourdain Jr.	Lola B99/00 / Ford-Cosworth XD	59	Accident
22	8	Juan Montoya	Reynard 99I / Honda HRS	59	Accident
23	26	Shigeaki Hattori	Reynard 99I / Mercedes IC 108E3	56	Accident
24	13	Cristiano da Matta	Reynard 99I / Toyota RV8D	29	Accident
25	24	Gaulter Salles	Eagle 997 / Toyota RV8D	25	Transmission
26	3	Michael Andretti	Swift 010.c / Ford-Cosworth XD	11	Accident
27	14	Helio Castroneves	Lola B99/00 / Mercedes IC 108E3	10	Transmission

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