TRACK: The way some of the driver's helmets looked, you would have thought these guys were at Winchester.

RACE: Well, this one won't go on the "most memorable" list.

MONTOYA: Golly gee, Juan won. Again. And he's already calling Gateway his favorite oval after testing there.

FITTIPALDI: Another huge step in ridding himself of the "most overrated driver in CART" label.

FRANCHITTI: How many times does Dario need to learn how to respond to Montoya's restarts? Okay, so maybe it was the fact that his speed shifter broke. But still...

START: This time they were perfectly aligned. And the first lap was thrilling. After that, you could have gone to bed.

ANDRETTI: Why is he suddenly running slower than his teammate on a consistent basis?

VASSER: First mechanical DNF since Michigan of 1997. That says everything about Team Ganassi.

UNSER: A bit better in the race than qualifying. But you still have to wonder what is going on with Little Al.

FERNANDEZ: He didn't want to switch to the Swift because he was an early contender. But Adrian, you are rapidly dropping in the standings. These are the types of decisions that sometimes determines whether a driver has it to be a champion.

LOLA: Brought back down to Earth after their tremendous showings in the first four races. But don't worry, Gateway is just the type of oval this chassis seems to excel on.

FIRESTONE: The fastest lap of the race was turned in by Montoya on the penultimate lap. Long after he changed tires on the last pit stop. The Firestones still have the decided advantage.

ENGINES: No discrimination here. Every engine manufacturer suffered problems in a lack of reliability reminiscent of the older Michigan 500's.

TV: And you thought Japan was bad. The camera work and shot selection was nothing short of brutal!

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Actually, more like the understatement of the weekend. Helio Castro-Neves to himself after he noticed his car was on fire, "Well, I better get out of here."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Juan Montoya, "Chip said to take it easy at the start." I hate to see what happens when he doesn't take it easy.

SCHEDULE: The 1999 season is already at a crossroads for CART. With Gateway coming up meaning another short oval with superspeedway wings, plenty of parade-like races already in the books, and Montoya threatening to make a mockery of the competition, this season could be shaping up to being a complete dud.

Deep Throttle

Copyright © 1999 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.