Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota
Homestead-Miami Speedway, Sunday, March 26
Sanctioning Body CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams)
Course 1.5-mile Oval
Distance 150 laps; 225 miles (tentative)
Starting Time 2 p.m., Sunday, March 26
Qualifying 1:30 – 3 p.m., Saturday, March 25
Practice 10:30 a.m. – noon; 2:30 – 4:15 p.m., Friday, March 24
9:45 –11:30 a.m., Saturday, March 25
10 – 10:30 a.m., Sunday, March 26
1999 Race Winner Greg Moore (136.671 mph)
Track Record: Michael Andretti, 144.339 mph (1998)
1999 Pole Winner Greg Moore, 217.279 mph/24.886 seconds
Track Record Greg Moore, 217.541 mph/24.856 seconds (1998)
Past Winners: Jimmy Vasser, 1996
Michael Andretti, 1997 Michael Andretti, 1998
Greg Moore, 1999
Pole Winners: Paul Tracy, 1996
Alex Zanardi, 1997
Greg Moore, 1998
Greg Moore, 1999
Support Races CART Toyota Atlantic Championship (Two Races)
Barber Dodge Pro Series
Television ESPN
Radio CART Radio Network
Tickets (305) 230-RACE
HMS Contacts J.J. O’Malley, Director of Public Relations, (305) 230-5249
Wendy Knowles, Manager of Promotions, (305) 230-5244
Rob Katz, Director of Marketing/Communications, (305) 230-5209
Directions:
Take the Florida Turnpike South to exit 6 (Speedway Blvd.), and turn left.
From the Keys: Turn right at the first light in Florida City (Palm
Drive).
Pre-Race Notes:
This will be the fifth consecutive year the CART FedEx Championship
Series season opens at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In 1995, the CART season
opened its season on the street course in the Miami Bayfront, won by Jacques
Villeneuve. CART closed its season in Tamiami Park in Miami from 1985
through 1988, with race winners Danny Sullivan (1985), Al Unser Jr. (1986
and 1988), and Michael Andretti (1987).
1999 recap: Greg Moore reversed the finish of the 1998 Marlboro
Grand Prix of Miami presented by Toyota in 1999, edging Michael Andretti by
1.110 seconds. Andretti edged Moore in 1998 by a scant .075 seconds.
1999 qualifying: Greg Moore won the pole position for the Marlboro
Grand Prix of Miami presented by Toyota, breaking the 25-second barrier
(over 217 mph) both times. The only other driver to break 25 seconds was
Adrian Fernandez in qualifying for the 1999 event, timed at 24.934 seconds
(216.861 mph) in the Patrick Racing Tecate/Quaker State Ford.
d.. CART annually holds Spring Training at Homestead-Miami Speedway, combining a media event with a pre-season test. In 2000, Spring Training was
held March 8-10. Max Papis was quickest in 2000 Spring Training with a lap
of 25.760 (209.907 mph), followed by Team Rahal teammate Kenny
Brack, 208.651 mph.
The 1999 CART FedEx Series championship was the closest in history,
with rookie Juan Montoya and Dario Franchitti finishing the year tied in
points. Montoya won the title, due to winning more races, seven to three for
Franchitti.
Juan Montoya and Jimmy Vasser will attempt to win the fifth straight
CART FedEx Series championship for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing in 2000.
Vasser won the 1996 title, with Alex Zanardi capturing the crown in 1997 and
1998. The only active former champion in addition to Montoya and Vasser is
Michael Andretti, who won the 1991 title.
Michael Andretti is CART’s all-time leading driver with 38
victories, followed by Al Unser Jr., 31; Rick Mears, 26; Bobby Rahal, 24;
Emerson Fittipaldi, 22; and Mario Andretti, 19. The second leading active
driver is Paul Tracy with 15 victories, followed by Vasser (8) and Montoya
(7).
Andretti is also second on CART’s list of all-time pole winners.
Rick Mears is the leader with 39, followed by Andretti (32), Mario Andretti
(30) and Sullivan (19). Second in the active category for pole positions is
Tracy (12), followed by Franchitti (8), and Bryan Herta, Vasser and Montoya
(7).
Teams competing in the Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami presented by
Toyota will use the Handford Mk II device, a low-downforce rear wing, which
will slow the cars, improve handling in traffic, and improve cornering
performance.
Greg Moore’s No. 99 will be retired by CART during pre-race
ceremonies. Moore lost his life in a racing accident late in the 1999
season.
Visit www.racemiami.com for race day information,
the latest news and times.
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