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

2002 Japan Thoughts

RACE: The dueling between the top three, some of it like there was no tomorrow, was fabulous. It was disappointing when Kanaan and Tracy dropped out, causing the excitement to diminish quite a bit. Overall a good race -- a middle of the meter ranking.

TRACK: The combination of a better wing package and the track configuration make this oval quite racy.

JUNQUEIRA: A solid, solid weekend. Will this be the breakout race that the commentators alluded to? Perhaps. But the five week layoff could cool Bruno off.

TOYOTA: A huge smile on their faces.

TAGLIANI: Another fine oval performance. One of these days, Alex has got to get his first win.

FRANCHITTI: No wins this year, yet, but consistency has put him on top of the standings. When he does start winning, watch out.

KANAAN: What an opportunity spoiled by the racing gods. No doubt, Tony was the class of the field.

TRACY: The good Tracy -- controlled aggression and super fast. His wheel bearing failure didn't just let Paul down. It let the fans down who missed out on a potentially super finish.

HONDA: So, they once again did not win a race on their own track. And worse yet, it was Toyota that beat them this time. Normally, we would feel sorry for them. But, now that they might abandon CART, we don't feel so sorry.

JOURDAIN: Just two points out of first place in the standings. Sure, the season is young, but he already has more points than any other season in his career. And it's only three races old. So, just how is that Herdez ride doing these days?

TAKAGI: Gave the local fans a lot to cheer about.

PAPIS: Max always does well on ovals. However, it's either podium or bust for his car. If you want a dark horse at Indy, Mad Max is your man.

BELL: Three races. Three crashes. Townsend is fast. No doubt about that. It's been awhile since a promising rookie has had such a rough start. But, it's up to Bell. He has got to stop overdriving the car.

PWR: Just how much trouble is this team in? That sponsorship that Scott Dixon absolutely insisted was going to materialize, hasn't. Bruce McCaw is spending a lot of his own money on this team. Quite frankly, with the talent this team has between Servia and Dixon, they are doing terrible. How long can this last?

NAKANO: Hey, Shinji, I think you're missing something there.

SPEED LIMIT: The extension of the pit lane speed limit till after turn 2 led to an interesting (and exciting!) race between Kanaan and Tracy. Just goes to show, you don't always need speed to produce fun action. And the drag race afterwards ... maybe the NHRA should experiment with rolling starts...

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Ford - 4, Toyota - 1, Honda - 0.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Despite only having two cars on the lead lap, the streak of not having the winner lap the entire field continues. The last time that happened was back in 1994 when Scott Goodyear lapped the entire field to win the Michigan 500.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: To Jimmy Vasser for the understated thought when flames were beginning to engulf him, "I got to get out of this deal."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Whatever the Honda brass is saying behind closed doors.

SCHEDULE: Again, another five week break, and then a flurry of action all through the summer. Meanwhile, Indy is up. Eight CART drivers will be there. Will the top ten be those eight and the Penske drivers?

Copyright © 2002 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.


Agree with Deep Throttle? Disagree? Let others know what your Japan thoughts are by visiting the Forums.




RACE RESULTS
  Driver Laps
1. Junqueira 201
2. Tagliani 201
3. Franchitti 200
4. Carpentier 199
5. Jourdain 199
6. Servia 199
7. Fernandez 199
8. Takagi 199
9. Dixon 198
10. Nakano 198
11. Dominguez(R) 197
12. Fittipaldi 193
13. da Matta 186
14. Bell(R) 136
15. Kanaan 121
16. Andretti 115
17. Brack 101
18. Papis 94
19. Tracy 84
20. Vasser 38

Time of Race
2:00:05.882

Winner's Speed
155.447 mph

Margin of Victory
12.282 sec.

Caution Flags
4 for 36 laps

Lead Changes
12 among 7 drivers

Most Laps Led
Tony Kanaan

Pole Position
Bruno Junqueira

CURRENT STANDINGS
  Driver Pts.
1. Franchitti 34
2. Jourdain 32
3. da Matta 27
4. Tagliani 26
5. Junqueira 23
6. Andretti 22
7. Papis 18
  Carpentier 18
9. Vasser 17
10. Fittipaldi 15
11. Takagi 13
  Servia 13
13. Brack 12
  Dixon 12
15. Tracy 11
  Fernandez 11
17. Nakano 4
18. Dominguez(R) 2
19. Kanaan 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.