Balaclava Image Deep Throttle Logo
Auto Racing History Image
HOME THOUGHTS ESSAYS RANKINGS HISTORY
About Us
Russell's Ramblings
IMSA Thoughts
Photos
F1 Schedule
Master Schedule
Debunking Myths
News Links
Shopping
Ed Donath Archive
Guestbook
In Association with Amazon.com

2001 Nazareth Thoughts

RACE: After the only crash, the remainder of the race was a gripping tale of watching Brack slice daringly through traffic with the full expectation he would eventually take care of Dixon, but as the laps wound down and the impossible seemed possible, the finish turned into a stunner.

TRACK: It's up to Nazareth to convince CART to bring the race back, and not having half the seats sold is not the way to do it.

START: Okay, the start ... no, wait ... okay, now ... no, not yet ... finally, here's the start.

DIXON: Scott was clearly stronger coming out of Turn 4, and that is what kept Brack at bay. By the way, what were you doing when you were 20-years-old?

PACWEST: A roller coaster week.

BRACK: Is there any other possible way Kenny can lose a race? If so, tell him, because he probably can't imagine any more.

TRACY: Always does well at Nazareth.

VASSER: Had a car capable of winning if he had Dixon's luck.

JUNQUEIRA: Nice pole, but no surprise he was quickly passed in his first oval race. Nonetheless, Bruno did a good job running competitively all day.

GANASSI: It has to be said again -- Hey, Chip, there is talent in Indy Lights, sometimes better than what's over in Europe.

NAKANO: Who says Japanese drivers can't be fast and aggressive on ovals?

KANAAN: Kenny Brack had to have had the fastest lap in the race with the way he was running, right? Wrong. It was Tony who did the trick on lap 196, the only one to get into the 160 mph range, once again making everybody forget that Zanardi (whose fastest lap placed him next to last in that category -- even slower then Max Wilson) is his teammate.

ANDRETTI: Never had the car for this race, but his perseverance got him a good chunk of points.

JOURDAIN: Once again, another opportunity for his breakthrough race was lost.

HERTA: Another top qualifying spot thrown away at the first turn.

DE FERRAN: Gil, there really wasn't much room there.

FITTIPALDI: Don't be fooled by his finishing position. Da Matta outran Christian all day. With ease.

GUGELMIN: Our thoughts are with you.

DRIVEN: Everybody blasted the silly, unrealistic aspects of this movie. Then, the first weekend it comes out, there is a fiery, airborne, pieces scattering, multi-car pileup in an IRL race that seemed to come right out of Hollywood. One week later, a young good looking talented driver wearing Nextel colors comes out of nowhere to burst on the scene with his first win. Just like Jimmy Blye (though he carried the Motorola colors in the movie). Fact truly is stranger than fiction.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: How about Scott Dixon being the youngest driver to win a CART race at 20 years, 9 months, and 14 days? Let's top that. How about Dixon being the youngest driver to win in a major racing series, CART, IRL, F1 or NASCAR? Let's top that some more. How about Dixon being the first CART rookie ever to win his first event on an oval track? We haven't even mentioned the stat that this was the second furthest starting position a winner ever came from. Any one of these feats is amazing enough. All at the same time is just mind blowing.

HISTORICAL FACT OF THE WEEKEND: The last driver to win a Champ Car race at the old Nazareth National Speedway, then a 1.125-mile dirt oval, was Mario Andretti in 1969. The first driver to win at the new Nazareth Speedway when Champ Cars returned there in 1987 was Michael Andretti.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Scott Dixon on why he banged wheels with Max Wilson after taking the checkered flag, "I thought it was the white flag lap. I was going for a pass on Max. We touched a little and I cut a tire. I probably didn't need to do that, but I'm young, come on!"

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Former Benetton F1 Chief Mechanic and current Speedvision F1 analyst, Steve Matchett, on his first visit to a CART event, "This is great. I wish the ambience at F1 races was like this."

SCHEDULE: With some thrilling moments from Nakano and Takagi at the tricky Nazareth oval, the rabid local fans may have a lot to cheer about in Motegi.

Copyright © 2001 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.


Read what others said.


RACE RESULTS
  Driver Laps
1. Dixon(R) 225
2. Brack 225
3. Tracy 225
4. Vasser 225
5. Fittipaldi 225
6. Andretti 225
7. Junqueira(R) 225
8. Franchitti 225
9. Servia 225
10. da Matta 225
11. Castroneves 225
12. Moreno 225
13. Jourdain 224
14. Takagi(R) 224
15. Nakano 224
16. Kanaan 224
17. Wilson(R) 222
18. Minassian(R) 220
19. Fernandez 186
20. Zanardi 167
21. Herta 132
22. Tagliani 120
23. de Feran 120
24. Papis 76
25. Carpentier 28

Time of Race
1:51:12.419

Winner's Speed
114.840 mph

Margin of Victory
0.366 sec.

Caution Flags
6 for 51 laps

Lead Changes
3 among 3 drivers

Most Laps Led
Kenny Brack

Pole Position
Bruno Junqueira

CURRENT STANDINGS
  Driver Pts.
1. da Matta 40
  Tracy 40
3. de Ferran 30
  Vasser 30
5. Castroneves 29
  Brack 29
7. Dixon(R) 20
  Andretti 20
9. Franchitti 17
10. Kanaan 12
11. Junqueira(R) 11
12. Fittipaldi 10
13. Minassian(R) 7
14. Servia 4
15. Herta 3
  Moreno 3
  Takagi(R) 3
18. Papis 1
  Nakano 1
 
 
2008 Thoughts
Long Beach

2007 Thoughts
Preseason Las Vegas Long Beach Houston
Portland Cleveland Mont Tremblant Toronto
Edmonton San Jose Road America Belgium
Holland Surfers Paradise Mexico City Postseason

2006 Thoughts
Preseason Long Beach Houston Monterrey
Milwaukee Portland Cleveland Toronto
Edmonton San Jose Denver Montreal
Road America Surfer's Paradise Mexico City Postseason

2005 Thoughts
Preseason Long Beach Monterrey Milwaukee
Portland Cleveland Toronto Edmonton
San Jose Denver Montreal Las Vegas
Surfer's Paradise Mexico City Postseason

2004 Thoughts
Preseason Long Beach Monterrey Milwaukee
Portland Cleveland Toronto Vancouver
Road America Denver Montreal Laguna Seca
Las Vegas Surfer's Paradise Mexico City Postseason

2003 Thoughts
Preseason St. Petersburg Monterrey Long Beach
Brands Hatch Germany Milwaukee Laguna Seca
Portland Cleveland Toronto Vancouver
Road America Mid-Ohio Montreal Denver
Miami Mexico City Surfer's Paradise Postseason

2002 Thoughts
Preseason Monterrey Long Beach Japan
Milwaukee Laguna Seca Portland Chicago
Toronto Cleveland Vancouver Mid-Ohio
Road America Montreal Denver
England Miami Surfer's Paradise
Fontana Mexico City Postseason

2001 Thoughts
Preseason Mexico Long Beach Nazareth
Japan Milwaukee Detroit Portland
Cleveland Toronto Michigan Chicago
Mid-Ohio Road America Vancouver German
England Houston Laguna Seca
Surfer's Paradise Fontana Postseason

2000 Thoughts
Preseason Miami Long Beach Brazil
Japan Nazareth Milwaukee Detroit
Portland Cleveland Toronto Michigan
Chicago Mid-Ohio Road America Vancouver
Laguna Seca Gateway USGP Houston
Surfer's Paradise Fontana Postseason

1999 Thoughts
Preseason Miami Japan Long Beach
Nazareth Brazil Gateway Milwaukee
Portland Cleveland Road America Toronto
U.S. 500 Detroit Mid-Ohio Chicago
Vancouver Laguna Seca Houston
Surfer's Paradise Fontana Postseason

1998 Thoughts
Preseason Miami Japan Long Beach
Nazareth Brazil Gateway Milwaukee
Detroit Portland Cleveland Toronto
U.S. 500 Mid-Ohio Road America Vancouver
Laguna Seca Houston Surfer's Paradise Fontana

1997 Thoughts
Miami Surfer's Paradise Long Beach Nazareth
Brazil Gateway Milwaukee Detroit
Portland Cleveland Toronto
U.S. 500 Mid-Ohio Road America
Vancouver Laguna Seca Fontana
Site Index | Search | Contacts | Ad Rates |


Copyright © 1999-2024 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.
The names, logos, and taglines identifying Deep Throttle are proprietary marks of Deep Throttle. All other trademarks and service marks are property of their respective owners. Deep Throttle is an independent electronic publication and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any series, team, driver, or sponsor. Privacy Policy.