2002 Toronto Thoughts
TRACK: Some say this is the best street circuit. In the CART series this may be true, but not this year.
RACE: You know it is not a great race when da Matta pulls a Schumacher, and a Formula One race -- the
British Grand Prix, which was a great race -- is more exciting than a CART event.
DA MATTA: When you are in the groove, you are in the groove. What else is there to say that
hasn't already been said.
BRACK: It's either him or his teammate that has a fighting chance to catch da Matta.
JUNQUEIRA: Speaking of his teammate, you know Bruno was hopping mad. Normally, he is such a cool,
calm character. Townsend Bell will definitely not be on his Christmas card list.
NAKANO: Another excellent run by Shinji. Just as he is ready to emerge as a bona fide Japanese
driver in CART, he'll be whisked away to the IRL because of Honda.
TRACY: Paul may have been able to stand the pace set by da Matta, but his car wasn't.
VASSER: A finish!
TAGLIANI: It it wasn't for Bell, Alex would be the goat of the race.
FRANCHITTI: Wonder if Dario is going to invite the CART officials to Ashley's next movie opener...
GREEN: First it is the IRL officials, now it is the CART officials. What's a Barry to do?
ANDRETTI: What's the use of having a technical partnership arrangement when it seems that the
Motorola team never talks to the rest of Team Green? How else can you explain why Michael has recently
lost his grip on the car setup while Tracy and Franchitti are contending for wins?
KANAAN: Snatched that hard luck award right back from Vasser.
BELL: Sometimes you have to wonder what goes through certain driver's heads.
PATRICK: Seemed pretty obvious during the interview after the incident that Pat made his decision to
fire Townsend Bell.
DOMINGUEZ: All these developments means that Mario could win the Jim Trueman award by default. That
is if he can manage to score some points.
CBS: Getting away from ABC keeps looking better and better. The coverage of a somewhat boring race was
much better on TV than it was in person, a rare feat. The fantastic camera angles, better in-car footage, and
focusing on the right areas in the field, has truly made this visceral sport begin to translate well to the
boob tube.
GOAT: With all these goats in the race, did you hear about the real goat that was born with a white
number "3" naturally appearing on its side? Honest. It was in the Daytona paper. You can't make these things
up. So, all these Dale Earnhardt get-a-life fans are flocking to this farm to see this goat as if it is a sign
from the Virgin Mother herself. Just think, this could be a new business ready to explode. Forget genetic
engineering to cure diseases. We can breed animals with famous racing numbers like 99 for Greg Moore, 27
for Gilles Villeneuve, 14 for Bill Vukovich, 66 for Mark Donohue, etc. This is a business just ready to explode...
STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Four in a row. Five out of eight this year. Seven out of the last ten.
HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Despite this race being held 17 times, only two drivers have
won it more than once. Al Unser, Jr. with two wins, and Michael Andretti with seven.
QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: "I don't see missing my legs being an obstacle I couldn't overcome," said
Alex Zanardi on his first trip back to a CART race.
QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Paul Tracy on all his attempts to stop Cristiano da Matta, "I tried
to pay his crew. I have 20 bucks to keep the wheel loose, but they said it's not enough. I'd offer a million,
but I got it stolen from me by Tony..."
SCHEDULE: From a street circuit to the wide expanses of an airport course. Let her rip!
Copyright © 2002 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.
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