CARPENTIER, VASSER SET THE PACE AS CART SPRING TRAINING OPENS

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Feb. 3, 1999) -- Patrick Carpentier and Jimmy Vasser posted the fastest times as CART’s FedEx Championship Series teams took to the track in a pair of practice sessions Wednesday at Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex in the second day of CART Spring Training.Wednesday’s practice session was the first official session of the year for CART, which opens its 1999 season March 21 in the Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota.

Carpentier led the morning session with a lap of 25.375 seconds (213.092 mph) on the 1.5-mile oval in the Player’s Mercedes Reynard. He was just shy of teammate Greg Moore’s track record of 217.5 mph, set in qualifying last March.

Patrick Carpentier turned the fasted lap in morning practice averaging 213.092 mph

"When we put the car on the track this morning, it was very fast right out of the box," said Carpentier. "We had a good day today. I gave 100 percent all the time."

Jimmy Vasser, the 1996 CART champion, led the afternoon session with a lap of 25.439 (212.558) in the Target Honda Reynard. Vasser actually went quicker in the morning, running a lap of 212.723 mph.

"I see no reason why the success we’ve had the past three or four years shouldn’t carry over," said Vasser. "Juan (Montoya, who replaced 1997-98 CART champ Alex Zanardi, it doing a great job. He’s going to be aq great replacement for our missing champion."

Jimmy Vasser turned the fasted lap in afternoon practice averaging 212.723 mph

Third quickest of the day was Max Papis, who ran a lap of 212.305 mph in the Miller Lite Ford Cosworth formerly campaigned by car owner Bobby Rahal.

In the only incident of the day, Shigeaki Hattori destroyed the Epson Mercedes-Reynard after heavy contact with the Turn Four wall. Hattori was treated and released from the CART Mobile Medical facility, but the Bettenhausen Motorsports team was finished for the week as they only brought one car to Spring Training.

In other various news throughout the day:

• Penske Racing formally announced plans to run a single car team in 1999. Al Unser Jr. will drive the Penske Racing Mercedes-Penske, while Andre Ribeiro will partner with Penske in various business ventures in Latin America. Penske left the door open for a two-car team in the future.

• NASCAR Winston Cup driver Darrell Waltrip visited Homestead for the first time, joining Michael Andretti and Christian Fittipaldi for a photo shoot. All three drivers compete in cars sponsored by Kmart and partly owned by Carl Haas.

• Payton-Coyne Racing announced that driver Dennis Vitolo would drive under NicoDerm CQ and Nicorette sponsorship in seven races, beginning with the Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota.

• Omega Timing gave a presentation of its methods for timing qualifying and races, and gave a presentation of its world-wide services.

• Homestead-Miami Speedway processed credentials for 474 members of the media, an event record.

CART Spring Training concludes Thursday, Feb. 4, with practice from 9 - 11:45 a.m. and 1:15 - 4 p.m. While the event is closed to the public, CART Winner’s Circle membership -- allowing access to the infield and paddock -- will be sold for $14.99 at registration.

Tickets are now on sale for the March 19-21 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota. The weekend also includes the opening round of the 1999 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season in Saturday’s Florida Dodge Dealers 400, plus the Dayton-PPG Indy Lights Series. For ticket orders, call (305) 230-7223. For additional information, visit the official Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex website, www.racemiami.com.