1999 CART season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1999 CART season
FedEx Championship Series
Season
Races20
Start dateMarch 21
End dateOctober 31
Awards
Drivers' championColombia Juan Pablo Montoya
Constructors' CupUnited Kingdom Reynard
Manufacturers' CupJapan Honda
Nations' CupBrazil Brazil
Rookie of the YearColombia Juan Pablo Montoya
← 1998
2000 →

The 1999 FedEx Championship Series season, the twenty-first in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 20 races, beginning in Homestead, Florida on March 21 and concluding in Fontana, California on October 31. The season was marred by the fatal accidents of Gonzalo Rodríguez during practice for the Laguna Seca round and Greg Moore at the final round, in addition to various injuries that took several drivers out of championship contention.

Juan Pablo Montoya, in his first CART season after two successful seasons in International Formula 3000, won the championship and the Rookie of the Year honors, the second and final driver to win both awards in the same season, after Nigel Mansell in 1993. The season ended in a tie, with Montoya and Dario Franchitti both having 212 championship points, though Montoya broke the tie-breaker due to having seven wins, over Franchitti's three.

With Al Unser Jr. running his final season in the series, 1999 was the last year in which the Al Unser name was on the CART grid. Also, this was the first season without Bobby Rahal on the grid. Mercedes-Benz scored their final pole and victory with Greg Moore at the season opener before they ended their participation in American open-wheel racing at the end of 2000.

Constructors[edit]

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1999 CART Championship Series season.[1][2][3]

Team Chassis Engine Tyre No Drivers Races Primary Sponsors
United States Marlboro Team Penske Penske PC-27B Mercedes IC 108E3 G 2 United States Al Unser Jr. 1, 4–5, 12, 18–20 Marlboro
Lola B99/00 6–11, 13–17
Penske PC-27B Brazil Tarso Marques 2–3
3 5–6, 8
Lola B99/00 9
Uruguay Gonzalo Rodríguez 13, 17
Penske PC-27B United States Alex Barron 12, 20
United States Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard 99i Honda HRS F 4 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya All Target
12 United States Jimmy Vasser All
United States Walker Racing Reynard 99i Honda HRS G 5 Brazil Gil de Ferran All Valvoline
15 Japan Naoki Hattori 1, 13–14, 16–20 Alpine
United States Memo Gidley 8–11
United States Newman/Haas Racing Swift 010.c Ford-Cosworth XD F 6 United States Michael Andretti All Texaco-Havoline
11 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 1–12, 18–20 Big Kmart
Brazil Roberto Moreno 13–17
United States Team Rahal Reynard 99i Ford-Cosworth XD F 7 Italy Max Papis All Miller Lite
8 United States Bryan Herta All Shell
United States Hogan Racing Lola B99/00 Mercedes IC 108E3 F 9 Brazil Hélio Castroneves All Hogan Motor Leasing
21 Brazil Luiz Garcia Jr. 14, 16–17 Tang
United States Della Penna Motorsports Swift 010.c Toyota RV8D F 10 United States Richie Hearn 1–5 Budweiser
Reynard 99i 6–20
United States Bettenhausen Racing Reynard 99i Mercedes IC 108E3 F 16 Japan Shigeaki Hattori 2–3, 6–8, 11, 15, 17 Epson
Brazil Gualter Salles 5, 19
United States PacWest Racing Reynard 99i Mercedes IC 108E3 F 17 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin All Hollywood Cigarettes
18 United Kingdom Mark Blundell 1–4, 13–20 Motorola
Brazil Roberto Moreno 5–12
United States Payton/Coyne Racing Lola B99/00 Ford-Cosworth XD F 19 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. All Herdez
Reynard 99i 34 United States Dennis Vitolo 1, 6–7, 12, 15, 20 NicoDerm
Brazil Gualter Salles 3 Refrigicent
71 Brazil Luiz Garcia Jr. 1–3, 5, 8–10 Tang
United States Dennis Vitolo 11
United States Memo Gidley 13–14, 16–19 Herdez
United States Patrick Racing Reynard 99i Ford-Cosworth XD F 40 Mexico Adrian Fernández 1–12, 17–20 Tecate Beer
United States P. J. Jones 14–16
20 1–2 Visteon
Swift 010.c 3–12, 20
Denmark Jan Magnussen 13
Reynard 99i 14–19
United States Team Gordon Swift 010.c Toyota RV8D F 22 United States Robby Gordon 1–14, 19 Johns Manville
Eagle 997 15–18, 20
United States Arciero-Wells Racing Reynard 99i Toyota RV8D F 24 United States Scott Pruett All Pioneer
25 Brazil Cristiano da Matta All MCI WorldCom
United States Team KOOL Green Reynard 99i Honda HRS F 26 Brazil Raul Boesel 1 KOOL
Canada Paul Tracy 2–20
27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti All
United States Forsythe Racing Reynard 99i Mercedes IC 108E3 F 33 Canada Patrick Carpentier All Player's
99 Canada Greg Moore All
United States Forsythe Championship Racing Honda HRS F 44 Brazil Tony Kanaan All McDonald's
United States All American Racing Eagle 997 Toyota RV8D G 36 United States Alex Barron 1–7 Castrol
Brazil Gualter Salles 8–14
Brazil Raul Boesel 15, 20
Italy Andrea Montermini 16–19

Season summary[edit]

Schedule[edit]

Rnd Date Race Name Circuit Location
1 March 21 United States Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota  O  Homestead Motorsports Complex Homestead, Florida
2 April 10 Japan Firestone Firehawk 500K  O  Twin Ring Motegi Motegi, Japan
3 April 18 United States Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach  R  Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California
4 May 2 United States Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix Presented by Toyota  O  Nazareth Speedway Nazareth, Pennsylvania
5 May 15 Brazil Telemar Rio 200  O  Autódromo de Jacarepaguá Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
6 May 29 United States Motorola 300  O  Gateway International Raceway Madison, Illinois
7 June 6 United States Miller Lite 225 Presented by Kmart  O  Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin
8 June 20 United States Texaco/Havoline Presents the Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200  R  Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon
9 June 27 United States Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by Firstar  R  Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio
10 July 11 United States The Chicago Tribune Presents the Texaco/Havoline 200  R  Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
11 July 18 Canada Molson Indy Toronto  R  Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario
12 July 25 United States U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota  O  Michigan Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan
13 August 8 United States Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit  R  The Raceway on Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan
14 August 15 United States Miller Lite 200  R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio
15 August 22 United States Target Grand Prix of Chicago Presented by Energizer  O  Chicago Motor Speedway Cicero, Illinois
16 September 5 Canada Molson Indy Vancouver  R  Concord Pacific Place Vancouver, British Columbia
17 September 12 United States Honda Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Shell 300  R  Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey, California
18 September 26 United States Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston  R  George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, Texas
19 October 17 Australia Honda Indy 300  R  Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Australia
20 October 31 United States Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota  O  California Speedway Fontana, California

– Cleveland was scheduled for 211 miles, but was shortened due to the 2-hour time limit.
– Detroit was scheduled for 176 miles, but was shortened due to the 2-hour time limit.
– Vancouver was scheduled for 160 miles, but was shortened due to the 2-hour time limit.
 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Road/Street course

Race results[edit]

Round Race Pole position Fastest lap Race Winner Race Time Report
Driver Team Chassis Engine
1 United States Homestead Canada Greg Moore United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Canada Greg Moore Forsythe Racing Reynard Mercedes 1:38:54 Report
2 Japan Motegi Brazil Gil de Ferran Brazil Hélio Castroneves Mexico Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing Reynard Ford 1:46:01 Report
3 United States Long Beach Brazil Tony Kanaan Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 1:45:48 Report
4 United States Nazareth Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Brazil Hélio Castroneves Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 1:46:13 Report
5 Brazil Rio Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 1:36:32 Report
6 United States Gateway Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Brazil Hélio Castroneves United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Swift 010.c Ford 2:25:35 Report
7 United States Milwaukee Brazil Hélio Castroneves Brazil Hélio Castroneves Canada Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda 1:48:49 Report
8 United States Portland Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United States Michael Andretti Brazil Gil de Ferran Walker Racing Reynard Honda 1:47:44 Report
9 United States Cleveland Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Brazil Gil de Ferran Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 2:01:04 Report
10 United States Road America United States Michael Andretti Brazil Hélio Castroneves Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing Swift 010.c Ford 1:37:00 Report
11 Canada Toronto Brazil Gil de Ferran United Kingdom Dario Franchitti United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda 1:56:27 Report
12 United States U.S. 500 United States Jimmy Vasser United States Jimmy Vasser Brazil Tony Kanaan Forsythe Racing Reynard Honda 2:41:42 Report
13 United States Belle Isle Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda 2:02:24 Report
14 United States Mid-Ohio United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 1:42:08 Report
15 United States Chicago Italy Max Papis Brazil Roberto Moreno Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 1:53:38 Report
16 Canada Vancouver Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 2:01:08 Report
17 United States Laguna Seca United States Bryan Herta Brazil Tony Kanaan United States Bryan Herta Team Rahal Reynard Ford 1:49:20 Report
18 United States Houston Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Canada Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda 1:55:31 Report
19 Australia Surfers Paradise United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Italy Max Papis United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda 1:58:40 Report
20 United States Fontana United States Scott Pruett Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Mexico Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing Reynard Ford 2:57:17 Report
NC United States Hawaiian Super Prix Event cancelled
  Non-championship race

Final driver standings[edit]

Pos Driver MIA United States MOT Japan LBH United States NAZ United States RIO Brazil GAT United States MIL United States POR United States CLE United States ROA United States TOR Canada MCH United States DET United States MDO United States CHI United States VAN Canada LAG United States HOU United States SUR Australia FON United States Pts
1 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya  RY  10 13 1 1* 1* 11 10* 2 1* 13* 22 2 17* 1 1* 1* 8 25 16 4 212
2 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti 3 22 2 8 2 3 7 3 25 18 1* 5 1 3* 2 10 25 2 1* 10 212
3 Canada Paul Tracy 11 21 3 15 19 1 5 4 11 2 3 2 2 23 18 4 1* 7 18 161
4 United States Michael Andretti 2 5 7 6 26 1* 15 10 3 2 26 4 4 8 22 14 10 3 5 21 151
5 Italy Max Papis 5 16 9 13 4 5 13 8 16 5 5 7* 26 5 4 23 3 4 2 2* 150
6 Mexico Adrián Fernández 20 1* 4 5 20 21 5 4 19 3 6 6 Wth 5 12 3 1 140
7 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 9 3 5 7 3 9 6 14 12 1 3 8 7 25 3 121
8 Brazil Gil de Ferran 6 2 6 15 10 25 3 1* 2 14 19 24 22 6 13 26 6 17 27 9 108
9 United States Jimmy Vasser 4 12 10 11 27 10 4 12 23 23 8 9 5 4 3 3 18 20 18 5 104
10 Canada Greg Moore 1* 4 8 12 8 6 2 13 18 4 20 23 3 11 26 20 23 16 17 262 97
11 Brazil Tony Kanaan 21 6 22* 23 5 7 18 15 22 6 17 1 6 23 11 9 21 9 6 8 85
12 United States Bryan Herta 12 23 3 22 13 23 25 6 6 15 15 20 9 21 8 24 1* 5 4 14 84
13 Canada Patrick Carpentier 7 26 17 14 6 22 9 9 7 22 11 10 23 6 2 9 19 24 25 61
14 Brazil Roberto Moreno 11 4 12 7 8 19 4 19 14 16 9 15 2 58
15 Brazil Hélio Castroneves 17 9 19 21 25 2 26 26 26 16 27 25 7 7 5 8 26 26 21 20 48
16 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin 11 7 14 18 22 18 8 25 21 12 14 22 24 20 19 4 11 6 26 6 44
17 United States P. J. Jones 13 15 12 2 7 8 20 21 15 17 10 16 15 7 21 12 38
18 Brazil Cristiano da Matta  R  14 25 20 4 21 17 11 11 20 21 24 17 19 9 14 5 22 11 13 23 32
19 United States Scott Pruett 22 21 15 10 24 14 17 24 17 25 7 14 8 17 20 13 7 10 9 22 28
20 United States Robby Gordon 19 8 16 19 14 27 24 17 9 8 13 26 25 10 10 22 19 21 8 11 27
21 United States Al Unser Jr. 26 24 12 12 19 16 5 9 9 13 15 25 25 25 DNS 15 22 7 26
22 United States Richie Hearn 23 10 11 20 19 13 21 22 10 10 16 12 13 12 16 6 16 8 23 27 26
23 United Kingdom Mark Blundell 8 24 13 17 10 13 21 19 12 24 19 16 9
24 Denmark Jan Magnussen 18 14 24 7 17 13 11 8
25 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. 18 18 18 16 16 20 16 20 27 7 21 21 21 26 18 17 20 18 12 13 7
26 Brazil Gualter Salles 27 17 27 13 20 25 15 11 18 10 5
27 United States Alex Barron 15 17 23 9 23 16 14 18 24 4
28 Brazil Tarso Marques  R  14 25 9 26 18 24 4
29 United States Memo Gidley  R  19 11 26 12 20 22 12 13 14 14 4
30 United States Dennis Vitolo 16 DNS 24 22 18 11 15 15 2
31 Italy Andrea Montermini 11 24 23 15 2
32 Brazil Raul Boesel 27 12 17 1
33 Uruguay Gonzalo Rodríguez R  12 DNS1 1
34 Brazil Luiz Garcia Jr.  R  24 19 24 18 23 14 24 24 DNS 16 15 0
35 Japan Naoki Hattori  R  25 16 19 27 14 22 20 19 0
36 Japan Shigeaki Hattori  R  Wth 20 26 Wth 15 23 28 23 17 DNS 0
Pos Driver MIA United States MOT Japan LBH United States NAZ United States RIO Brazil GAT United States MIL United States POR United States CLE United States ROA United States TOR Canada MIC United States DET United States MDO United States CHI United States VAN Canada LAG United States HOU United States SUR Australia FON United States Pts
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th–6th place
Light Blue 7th–12th place
Dark Blue Finished
(Outside Top 12)
Purple Did not finish
Red Did not qualify
(DNQ)
Brown Withdrawn
(Wth)
Black Disqualified
(DSQ)
White Did not start
(DNS)
Blank Did not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
 RY  Rookie of the Year
 R  Rookie

Note:

  • 1 Gonzalo Rodríguez died in qualifying at Laguna Seca Raceway after his car crashed into a barrier and flipped while trying to navigate the track's corkscrew turn, suffering a fatal basilar skull fracture. He was 28 years old.
  • 2 Greg Moore died in the season finale at California Speedway after a crash in the early laps. His car lost control coming off Turn 2, flipped over, impacted the inside wall, and flipped several more times. Greg suffered fatal head and internal injuries from the violent accident. He was 24 years old.

Nations' Cup[edit]

  • Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.
Pos Country MIA United States MOT Japan LBH United States NAZ United States RIO Brazil GAT United States MIL United States POR United States CLE United States ROA United States TOR Canada MIC United States DET United States MDO United States CHI United States VAN Canada LAG United States HOU United States SUR Australia FON United States Pts
1 Brazil Brazil 6 2 5 4 3 2 3 1 2 1 3 1 6 6 5 4 2 6 6 3 264
2 United States United States 2 5 3 2 7 1 4 6 3 2 7 4 4 4 3 3 1 3 4 5 258
3 Canada Canada 1 4 8 3 6 6 1 5 4 4 2 3 2 2 6 2 4 1 7 18 245
4 Scotland Scotland 3 22 2 8 2 3 7 3 25 18 1 5 1 3 2 10 25 2 1 10 207
5 Colombia Colombia 10 13 1 1 1 11 10 2 1 13 22 2 17 1 1 1 8 25 16 4 197
6 Italy Italy 5 16 9 13 4 5 13 8 16 5 5 7 26 5 4 11 3 4 2 2 149
7 Mexico Mexico 18 1 4 5 16 20 5 4 19 3 6 6 21 26 18 17 5 12 3 1 139
8 England England 8 24 13 17 10 13 21 19 12 24 19 16 9
9 Denmark Denmark 18 14 24 7 17 13 11 8
10 Uruguay Uruguay 12 Wth 1
11 Japan Japan 25 20 26 Wth 15 23 28 23 16 19 17 27 14 22 20 19 0
Pos Country MIA United States MOT Japan LBH United States NAZ United States RIO Brazil GAT United States MIL United States POR United States CLE United States ROA United States TOR Canada MIC United States DET United States MDO United States CHI United States VAN Canada LAG United States HOU United States SUR Australia FON United States Pts

Chassis Constructors' Cup[edit]

Pos Chassis Pts Wins
1 United Kingdom Reynard 99I/98I 424 18
2 United States Swift 010.c 241 2
3 United Kingdom Lola T9900 69 0
4 United States Eagle 997 13 0
5 United States Penske PC-27B-99 10 0

Engine Manufacturers' Cup[edit]

Pos Engine Pts Wins
1 Japan Honda 383 14
2 United States Ford XB 301 5
3 Germany Mercedes 193 1
4 Japan Toyota 80 0

Driver Breakdown[edit]

Pos Driver Team Entries Wins Podiums Top 5s Top 10s Poles Points
1 Colombia Montoya United States Chip Ganassi Racing 20 7 9 10 13 7 212
2 Scotland Franchitti United States Team KOOL Green 20 3 11 12 16 2 212
3 Canada Tracy United States Team KOOL Green 20 2 7 10 11 0 161
4 United States Andretti United States Newman-Haas Racing 20 1 5 9 14 1 151
5 Italy Papis United States Team Rahal 20 0 3 11 14 1 150
6 Mexico Fernandez United States Patrick Racing 16 2 4 9 11 0 140
7 Brazil Fittipaldi United States Newman-Haas Racing 15 1 5 6 12 0 121
8 Brazil de Ferran United States Walker Racing 20 1 4 4 10 2 108
9 United States Vasser United States Chip Ganassi Racing 20 0 2 7 11 1 104
10 Canada Moore United States Forsythe Racing 20 1 3 5 8 1 97
11 Brazil Kanaan United States Forsythe Racing
United States Team Rahal
20 1 1 2 10 1 85
12 United States Herta United States Team Rahal 20 1 2 4 8 1 84
13 Canada Carpentier United States Forsythe Racing 19 0 1 1 9 0 61
14 Brazil Moreno United States Newman-Haas Racing
United States Patrick Racing
United States PacWest Racing
13 0 1 3 6 0 58
15 Brazil Castroneves United States Bettenhausen Racing 20 0 1 2 6 1 48
16 Brazil Gugelmin United States PacWest Racing 20 0 0 1 5 0 44
17 United States Jones United States All American Racing
United States Patrick Racing
16 0 1 4 5 0 38
18 Brazil da Matta United States Newman-Haas Racing
United States Arciero-Wells Racing
United States PPI Motorsports
20 0 0 2 3 0 32
19 United States Pruett United States Arciero-Wells Racing
United States PPI Motorsports
20 0 0 0 6 1 28
20 United States Gordon United States Team Gordon 20 0 0 0 6 0 27
21 United States Hearn United States Della Penna Motorsports 20 0 0 0 5 0 26
21 United States Unser Jr. United States Marlboro Team Penske 17 0 0 1 4 0 26
23 United Kingdom Blundell United States PacWest Racing 12 0 0 0 2 0 9
24 Denmark Magnussen United States Patrick Racing 7 0 0 0 1 0 8
25 Mexico Jourdain Jr. United States Dale Coyne Racing 20 0 0 0 1 0 7
26 Brazil Salles United States All American Racing
United States Bettenhausen Racing
10 0 0 0 1 0 5
27 United States Barron United States All American Racing
United States Marlboro Team Penske
9 0 0 0 1 0 4
27 Brazil Marques United States Marlboro Team Penske 6 0 0 0 1 0 4
27 United States Gidley United States Dale Coyne Racing
United States Bettenhausen Racing
United States Walker Racing
10 0 0 0 0 0 4
30 United States Vitolo United States Dale Coyne Racing 7 0 0 0 0 0 2
30 Italy Montermini United States All American Racing 4 0 0 0 0 0 2
32 Brazil Boesel United States All American Racing 3 0 0 0 0 0 1
32 Uruguay Rodríguez United States Marlboro Team Penske 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
34 Brazil Garcia Jr. United States Dale Coyne Racing
United States Hogan Racing
9 0 0 0 0 0 0
34 Japan N. Hattori United States Walker Racing 8 0 0 0 0 0 0
34 Japan S. Hattori United States Bettenhausen Racing 7 0 0 0 0 0 0

Media[edit]

In the United States, CART continued its coverage on ESPN, but the broadcast booth changed voices. Paul Page handled lap-by-lap commentary, taking over for Bob Varsha, who had departed for Speed Channel. Newly-retired racer Parker Johnstone joined him with color commentary. During his suspension from the first race of the season, Paul Tracy joined Page and Johnstone in the booth. Jon Beekhuis and Gary Gerould were pit reporters.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Honda Championship Auto Racing Highlights". April 2002.
  2. ^ "CHAMPCAR/CART: Mercedes-Benz to Run IC108E 'Phase III' Engine".
  3. ^ "CHAMPCAR/CART: Mercedes-Benz Engines Submerged for Success".