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00:00:00Consider two years ago, Unser and Andretti, a classic confrontation on a rain slick surface.
00:00:07Little Al grabbing the lead from Michael, sensing somehow this day and year might be
00:00:11different.
00:00:12For many, like Bobby Rahal, the rain was not lucky.
00:00:15As visibility dropped, junior raced on without challenge.
00:00:21Then finally, the conditions were too bad for everyone, and the race officials stopped
00:00:25the run with little Al the victor.
00:00:28That win forecast Al's championship in the same year.
00:00:36Last year, the same combatants at the front, but luck was Michael's passenger.
00:00:41In a desperate drive, Al Unser Jr. drove too fast, too far, too hard.
00:00:46The car broke, sending the defending champion glancing off the walls.
00:00:51His day was now done.
00:00:56That luck then hit the Penske team hard.
00:00:59As Emerson Fittipaldi ended his race with mechanical failure in the pits, his teammate
00:01:04Rick Mears pulled off the course with some very expensive internal damage.
00:01:08Luck again rode with Michael the remainder of the year and all the way to the championship.
00:01:14This track has been unlucky for many.
00:01:16For Mario Andretti in 89, a frightening moment, luckily ending without injury for the great
00:01:21champion.
00:01:26What will this track predict today?
00:01:28Bobby Rahal won the first race here and went on to a championship.
00:01:31He leads the points.
00:01:32Two-time winner Al Unser Jr. wins here in even-numbered years.
00:01:35His last victory took him to a championship.
00:01:38Emerson Fittipaldi is the 87 winner, currently third in the points and needs a little luck
00:01:42today.
00:01:43Defending champion Michael Andretti is fourth in the points.
00:01:46This is a must win for Michael.
00:01:48And Danny Sullivan has finished second here three times and never won.
00:01:51Will his luck change?
00:01:53A racer's definition of luck is preparation added to opportunity.
00:01:56They are all well-prepared.
00:01:58The Molson Indy Toronto is about to begin.
00:02:23The engines have fired and the IndyCars are ready to go racing in Toronto.
00:02:27Hello and welcome to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
00:02:30I'm Paul Page.
00:02:31This is a magnificent international city.
00:02:34Great theater, good restaurants, and of course, IndyCar racing.
00:02:37This is the seventh year of the IndyCars here at Toronto's Exhibition Place, and it's a
00:02:42very pivotal part of the series for the IndyCars, and so it's appropriate that ABC Sports visits
00:02:47here for the very first time.
00:02:49Now, because of the championship battle, this is always an important race, but the
00:02:53name Toronto will go down in the IndyCar history books for a far more prominent reason.
00:02:58Yesterday, there was a four and a half hour meeting of the 24-member IndyCar owner board.
00:03:04They've decided to streamline the sport, to get in step with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
00:03:09They've added Tony George to their board as a non-voting member, and they've now pared
00:03:13it down to just five members, a good, swift, efficient organization that will look to the
00:03:19future of IndyCar racing, and already they're working on rules that will slow the cars down
00:03:23at Indianapolis in the future and make things just a little bit safer for the IndyCar drivers.
00:03:28Now, as to this race here, well, it's a significant event, but most important perhaps is the fact
00:03:34that one of the great IndyCar drivers, Rick Mears, is not driving here.
00:03:38He's still trying to rest that right wrist and looking forward to the Michigan 500, and
00:03:43so driving in his place is Paul Tracy, a Canadian.
00:03:47But Sam Posey, there are other Canadians here of consequence as well.
00:03:51Well, certainly, it is Scott Goodyear, who by virtue of his electrifying second place
00:03:56at Indianapolis, who is currently thought of as Canada's best and best known driver.
00:04:02Plus, once he was thrust into the spotlight, Goodyear proved to be both likable and extremely level-headed.
00:04:08Plus, he is sponsored by a Toronto-based company, but Paul Tracy, by contrast, drives for Roger
00:04:15Penske, an American.
00:04:16And Tracy, only 23 years old, is not yet as well known.
00:04:20However, for those of us who've seen his sheer brilliance at the wheel, for example, the
00:04:25way he shouldered his way past Michael Andretti to take the lead at Detroit, many of us think
00:04:30that it's not long before Canadians start comparing Paul Tracy with the late, great
00:04:36Gilles Villeneuve.
00:04:37Now, the track here is a temporary street circuit, but it runs through Toronto's exhibition
00:04:42place right on the edge of the lakeshore, and Bobby Unser, it's a track very much like
00:04:47Long Beach.
00:04:48Well, Paul, the layout of this track is very similar to Long Beach, which gave us such
00:04:52a good race earlier this year.
00:04:53It's got a mixture of tight and fast turns, long straightaways, and plenty of opportunity
00:04:59for passing.
00:05:00I think we're in for a close race, and especially because the cars that haven't handled well
00:05:04on other tracks may be competitive here.
00:05:07For the driver, the track is rough.
00:05:09It's demanding in places.
00:05:11It's rough.
00:05:12The cement walls are high and very close to the edge of the track.
00:05:15You really feel hemmed in, and it looks like it's going to be hot.
00:05:18A final thought.
00:05:19It's a long race, and towards the end, fuel becomes the factor.
00:05:24Well, on the edge of Lake Ontario, the field has begun the pace lap already.
00:05:29Let's look at the starting grid.
00:05:30On the pole, it's Bobby Rahal, the current point leader and winner of the 86 Toronto
00:05:35event, alongside Emerson Fittipaldi, who won the Molson Indy Toronto in 1987.
00:05:40In the second row to the inside, Michael Andretti, a two-time winner of this midsummer
00:05:44racing classic.
00:05:46Alongside is Paul Tracy, who is substituting for four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears.
00:05:51In the third row to the inside, it's Mario Andretti, a runner-up in last year's race.
00:05:55And Danny Sullivan, three times a runner-up here, but never a winner at Toronto.
00:05:59The fourth row to the inside is Raul Boisel, who finished second in last month's race at
00:06:03Detroit.
00:06:04And Scott Pruitt.
00:06:05He has fourth and sixth place finishes in two starts on this course.
00:06:09Inside the fifth row is John Andretti.
00:06:11He ran fifth in last year's Molson Indy Toronto.
00:06:14Alongside is Al Unser Jr., the winner here in 1988, again in 1990.
00:06:19Inside the sixth row is Scott Goodyear, the Indy 500 runner-up, performing now before
00:06:23a hometown crowd.
00:06:26Outside is Hedy Cheever, who finished third here two years ago in his Toronto debut.
00:06:31Inside row seven, it's Stefan Johansson, who leads the Rookie of the Year points fight
00:06:35after just two races.
00:06:38Inside is Scott Brayton, on the threshold of his first IndyCar victory.
00:06:42Inside the eighth row, it's Robbie Gordon, making his fourth IndyCar start.
00:06:46And Brian Till, an impressive freshman driver.
00:06:49Inside row nine is Ted Prapice, making his second start through the streets of Toronto.
00:06:54Alongside is Christian Danner, making his second career start in the IndyCars.
00:06:58In the tenth row, it's Jimmy Vassar, a rookie who finished seventh on the streets of Long
00:07:02Beach in April.
00:07:03And Buddy Lazear, driving one of two Buick-powered cars in the field.
00:07:08Inside row 11 is Jan Vickas, making his first start since 1990, driving for AJ Voigt.
00:07:14And Ross Bentley, the third Canadian in today's field.
00:07:17Inside row 12 is Jeff Wood, a veteran driver out of Wichita, Kansas.
00:07:22Alongside is Vinicio Salmi, Italian driver, making his second career start.
00:07:27And alone in the final row is Eric Batchelor, a rookie with a pair of top-ten efforts on
00:07:31street courses.
00:07:32And the rest of the field now screams toward Nick Panaro's green flag.
00:07:39Nick was worried about this start, but he's got it off nice and clean, and the battle
00:07:43begins right at the front of the field, with Rahal moving to the outside.
00:07:46The rest of the field comes through nice and smooth, through the first turn now.
00:07:49It is still Rahal trying to challenge Emerson Fittipaldi in the five-car, but look at Michael
00:07:55Andretti in car number one, as he comes up, and they're three wide on Lakeshore.
00:07:59Well, you can see Rahal go right back.
00:08:00Look at that, going into the first turn.
00:08:01Michael locked up in Frank.
00:08:02The tie, two abreast in that first turn.
00:08:03Paul, that's really something.
00:08:04Fittipaldi drops back, and Paul Tracy comes up to get around Fittipaldi in the number
00:08:05four car.
00:08:06Now, he is around Bobby Rahal.
00:08:07This is the most exciting first lap I've ever seen.
00:08:08What this shows you is how important it is to get the lead or be ahead of the time.
00:08:09Already a car in trouble.
00:08:10That's Jimmy Vassar's car.
00:08:11You can start to see him, because it's so hard to pass on a course like this.
00:08:12And he's got it.
00:08:13He's got it.
00:08:14He's got it.
00:08:15He's got it.
00:08:16He's got it.
00:08:17He's got it.
00:08:18I don't think we've seen a going into the second turn deal like that in years.
00:08:43Eddie Cheever battles with John Andretti.
00:08:44Now, back at the front, Michael Andretti has now picked off the lead and holds it solidly
00:08:49as they come through the first turn for the very first time.
00:08:52Then Paul Tracy, Bobby Rahal, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, and Danny Sullivan.
00:08:56Remember, this is a must-win situation for Michael Andretti.
00:08:59He has to try to beat Bobby Rahal in this race if he's going to have any chance to overhaul
00:09:04him in the championship.
00:09:05And he's also been having the best year of his career.
00:09:09Mario Andretti works at the back of Emerson Fittipaldi as they battle for position.
00:09:13Michael Andretti has now led the first lap seven straight races in a row.
00:09:18He is on a charge.
00:09:19He came into this event last year trailing Bobby Rahal by 31 points.
00:09:24Today, he trails by 39.
00:09:26But that gives you an idea that Michael can still move up and score a championship win.
00:09:31Yeah, and I started to mention earlier about right there is Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:09:34That's the new Chevrolet small engine, the B engine, versus Rahal, who has the A engine.
00:09:39The A engine, Paul, actually outran the B engine at the start.
00:09:42Battle for fourth place, Emerson Fittipaldi and the Ford-powered machine of Mario Andretti.
00:09:47Again, you can tell the difference between Mario and Michael's car.
00:09:51Mario has a red number on the front and a red rollover bar, while Michael carries that
00:09:56solid black number one on the front of his car.
00:09:58Mario had a bad weekend at Loudon, New Hampshire, two weeks ago.
00:10:02He was involved in a couple of incidents.
00:10:04But he came back here, and he's gotten his morale back.
00:10:08Possibly, this Toronto is the city of 400,000 Italians live here,
00:10:13the biggest population of Italians anywhere outside of Italian cities themselves.
00:10:17Maybe that's given him a first contact.
00:10:20On board now with Scott Goodyear, the young Canadian with that tremendous second-place finish
00:10:25at the Indianapolis 500, though he's been struggling here a little bit.
00:10:29And he, of course, is in front of a hometown crowd, so it's very important for him.
00:10:34Now, Scott Pruitt has a problem, as he appears to be dragging something off the left side of the car.
00:10:39And yet another car in trouble.
00:10:41That's the 42 car, Benicio Salmi.
00:10:44So, several cars with trouble.
00:10:46It looked like Jimmy Bassor was able to get underway.
00:10:48The course marshals go to the help.
00:10:50Look at the front of Scott Pruitt's car.
00:10:52He's been in serious involvement with something.
00:10:54Well, they obviously had a confrontation there.
00:10:57This may give us a clue to at least part of it.
00:11:00I don't think this involves Pruitt here.
00:11:02There's Salmi's spin.
00:11:03Jeff Wood getting around him neatly.
00:11:05Very confined there.
00:11:06You see how narrow the track is at places.
00:11:09Look at the left front of Salmi's car.
00:11:11It was bent.
00:11:12And I don't know.
00:11:13He hit something, and that caused him to spin right there.
00:11:16Into that real sharp turn at the end of the straightaway.
00:11:18That's a long way around the right.
00:11:19Not a high-speed street.
00:11:21Very precarious position there.
00:11:22And this echoes what you said at the start of the run, Bobby.
00:11:25It's that it's so narrow here, like most temporary circuits,
00:11:28that you can't afford a mistake of a fraction of an inch.
00:11:31No, they really can't.
00:11:32And if you get the block in the track,
00:11:34you've just got to block everybody,
00:11:36and that makes it hard.
00:11:37Yeah, and if you think about the driver's point of view,
00:11:40remember his eyes.
00:11:41You can see they're below the level of those concrete walls.
00:11:43So you really are driving through a canyon.
00:11:46All right.
00:11:47Let's go to the pits.
00:11:48Gary Gerald.
00:11:49We're going to talk about the concerns of the racecourse
00:11:51at Toronto.
00:11:52Here's visual evidence.
00:11:53The front end damaged heavily on Scott Pruitt's
00:11:56TruSport Sledwiser car.
00:11:58The concerns are fuel in the concrete.
00:12:00As Bobby indicated at the top of the show,
00:12:02surrounded by concrete.
00:12:04There's just not room for forgiveness
00:12:06if you make a mistake.
00:12:07Concentration has to be complete.
00:12:09If you make a bit of a mistake,
00:12:11you can pay a heavy price.
00:12:12Scott Pruitt has just found that out.
00:12:14Let's go to Jack.
00:12:15Gary, that fuel concern is a complex issue
00:12:18here at a track like Toronto.
00:12:20Now, you can, and if you want to win,
00:12:22you want to try and make this race in two stops.
00:12:25But because of the nature of the race
00:12:28being about 100 plus laps,
00:12:30you've got a very narrow fuel window.
00:12:32You've got to come in between lap 32 and lap 35
00:12:34to be able to do it in two stops.
00:12:36This all changes if you have
00:12:38about three laps of full course yellow.
00:12:40That's happened in the past.
00:12:42But the difference between winning and losing
00:12:44can still be what's left in the tank
00:12:46near the end of the race.
00:12:48And that's only about four gallons.
00:12:50Most drivers want to take it all on
00:12:52and they want to do it in two stops.
00:12:54Only time will tell.
00:12:56And of course, Jack, the distance of the track
00:12:58at 1.78 miles around
00:13:00means that you can't miss that stop at all.
00:13:03Michael Andretti is leading here in Toronto.
00:13:08Up at the Molson Indy Toronto,
00:13:10Michael Andretti leads.
00:13:11Paul Tracy, as you see there,
00:13:13is an even second behind Michael.
00:13:16And then Bobby Rahal is 2.3 seconds behind Michael.
00:13:20Emerson Fittipaldi, 4.7.
00:13:22And Mario Andretti, 6.7 seconds back.
00:13:25Those intervals on a road course
00:13:27are almost meaningless
00:13:29in terms of being able to make up the distance.
00:13:31All this man, Michael Andretti,
00:13:33would have to do is falter for a second.
00:13:35And you can see Paul Tracy in the number four car,
00:13:37the car normally driven by Rick Mears,
00:13:39would be all over, around, and ahead of him.
00:13:41And remember, it was exactly this scenario
00:13:43we saw at Detroit a few weeks ago
00:13:45where Michael Andretti was leading
00:13:47and Paul Tracy suddenly muscled his way by.
00:13:49Michael is obviously thinking of that now
00:13:51and here he comes.
00:13:52Here comes Paul Tracy making a move on Michael.
00:13:54Bobby Rahal watching from third place.
00:13:56Michael Andretti has the best line in this corner.
00:13:58They should stay static for a turn or two
00:14:00but Paul Tracy is anxious to get the lead.
00:14:02Look at him trying to move inside.
00:14:04Boy, he's pressuring Michael hard.
00:14:06When he went into that number two turn down there,
00:14:08number three turn, there just isn't any way
00:14:10to really pass the guy on the outside.
00:14:12So Michael probably didn't even believe
00:14:14that Paul Tracy would be trying that
00:14:16except Paul is new
00:14:18and he's the most aggressive driver
00:14:20on the track right now.
00:14:22You see him with the great Canadian driver
00:14:24Gilles Villeneuve as he's very physical.
00:14:26He gets his car right inside another car
00:14:28and forces you out of the way.
00:14:30So Michael Andretti still is the leader
00:14:32but we've been watching this marvelous attempt
00:14:34by Paul Tracy to catch up and get alongside
00:14:36and get around.
00:14:38You see Bobby Rahal from time to time
00:14:40closing in from third place.
00:14:42I think for the moment, Bobby, I'm sure
00:14:44that Rahal is just content to watch this battle.
00:14:46I don't think he wants part of it.
00:14:48No, absolutely not.
00:14:51Rahal, out of that group right there
00:14:53is without doubt the smartest one
00:14:55as far as winning and finishing races
00:14:57in the long run.
00:14:59Michael has been the hard charge
00:15:01and the fast guy all year.
00:15:03Paul Tracy at Detroit was without doubt
00:15:05the fastest driver
00:15:07in this same car for Roger Pinsky there.
00:15:09Well, Bobby, you mentioned Detroit.
00:15:11We're looking at exactly the same situation
00:15:13we saw there except it's sunny here
00:15:15and not overcast.
00:15:17And remember, it was Bobby Rahal
00:15:19who caught up with Andretti there
00:15:21and wound up winning that race.
00:15:23You know, there is in fact a wonderful comparison
00:15:25here when you think about it.
00:15:27Here is Bobby Rahal running in third place
00:15:29here way up in the points.
00:15:31In fact, there's no way that he can lose the lead here.
00:15:33Oh, and we've got a car.
00:15:35There's the number 19 machine.
00:15:37That's Eric Batchelor, the great ARS champion
00:15:39into the tire barrier and head down.
00:15:41The medical crew is right there.
00:15:43They want to make sure he's all right.
00:15:45This is uncharacteristic.
00:15:47When you go into the tire barriers,
00:15:49you come out smiling.
00:15:51In spite of how bad that wreck looks,
00:15:53it would have been 20 times that bad
00:15:55at least if it hadn't been for those tires.
00:15:57That's probably the nicest invention.
00:15:59Look at the webbing
00:16:01that they hold the tires together with.
00:16:03It's almost like running into a balloon.
00:16:05Twin yellow flags at the start finish line
00:16:07tell the drivers that there is a yellow
00:16:09all the way around.
00:16:11They'll send Johnny Rutherford in the pace car out.
00:16:13There he is.
00:16:15We've got Michael Andretti in front.
00:16:17We've had another driver in problems early.
00:16:19That's Scott Pruitt.
00:16:21He's with Gary Gerald.
00:16:23A moment ago, we saw the nose of the car
00:16:25and the damage it was made to the Budweiser team.
00:16:27Scott Pruitt talking with the crew.
00:16:29Scott, what was the problem and what happened?
00:16:31Little Al and I were racing pretty hard.
00:16:33Danny was in front of us.
00:16:35We went off the end of the straight
00:16:37and came up to the next turn.
00:16:39He just got in real deep
00:16:41and drove in the side of me.
00:16:43Unfortunately, he put us out of the race.
00:16:45Coming off your best finish of the season
00:16:47two weeks ago up in New Hampshire,
00:16:49it's a doubly bitter disappointment.
00:16:51It certainly is.
00:16:53Everybody on the Budweiser team has been working so hard.
00:16:55We've had a lot of ground to make up
00:16:57in front of us.
00:16:59We're making ground.
00:17:01A lot of things have changed here with the team.
00:17:03We're trying to get through all that
00:17:05and have something like this.
00:17:07It's uncalled for.
00:17:09We're glad to see that you're OK.
00:17:12Scott Pruitt, some strong words
00:17:14aimed at Al Unser Jr.
00:17:16Perhaps we can get an indication
00:17:18of what happened.
00:17:20That's an entirely different situation.
00:17:22That's the accident with Bachelar
00:17:24as he got into the barrier.
00:17:26Eric Bachelar obviously slid
00:17:28into the barrier because you can see
00:17:30his left rear was completely loose
00:17:32from the car. He had no control over the car.
00:17:34The fact is he hit something
00:17:36back away, either a car
00:17:38or the wall, slid down a long way
00:17:40and the tires, in spite of everything,
00:17:42really saved a lot of damage.
00:17:44I think if he's hurt at all,
00:17:46it's because he went in sideways
00:17:48at a bad angle.
00:17:50Everybody lined up behind the PPG Pace car.
00:17:52Johnny Rutherford at the wheel.
00:17:54He's still talking about a possibility
00:17:56of a ride next year.
00:17:58We're taking you back now to the first lap
00:18:00of the race.
00:18:02It was a marvelous run.
00:18:04Here's where Rahal was leading
00:18:06with Michael trying to outbrake him.
00:18:08You see both Paul Tracy
00:18:10and Emerson Fittipaldi
00:18:12very much in contention for the lead.
00:18:14This is incredible stuff.
00:18:16The road is not wide enough for this.
00:18:18You can just see how those two drivers,
00:18:20Michael and Rahal,
00:18:22really gave each other some racing room.
00:18:24They blocked the track.
00:18:26Nobody else could pass them.
00:18:28They were gentlemen to each other
00:18:30because both of them realized
00:18:32if you crash the first lap,
00:18:34you're finished.
00:18:36Michael Andretti at the front of the field
00:18:38and 10 laps of the 103 laps
00:18:40already completed.
00:18:42We are under yellow.
00:18:44While we are still under a full course caution
00:18:46due to Eric Bachelar's accident,
00:18:48he's climbed out of the car and is doing fine.
00:18:50We mentioned at the start of the show
00:18:52the situation where everybody
00:18:54seems to be getting together
00:18:56in the IndyCars now.
00:18:58The Indianapolis Motor Speedway combined up
00:19:00with the board of the IndyCar group
00:19:02in general.
00:19:04Jack Herroot was able to talk
00:19:06with Bill Stokan and Tony George
00:19:08about this very situation.
00:19:12It has the potential of allowing
00:19:14the growth of this sport
00:19:16to increase tremendously.
00:19:18I think that
00:19:20it's a first step
00:19:22in finding
00:19:24the continuity between
00:19:26the series and the Indianapolis 500
00:19:28that's maybe been lacking.
00:19:30It's nice to see the whole thing
00:19:33come back together and now maybe they'll look
00:19:35further down the road than immediate results
00:19:37and especially be looking
00:19:39even further and further to the safety
00:19:41of these IndyCar drivers.
00:19:43Good to see those two guys just sitting together
00:19:45frankly. They've been separated by
00:19:47thought and physical distance
00:19:49over the last few months.
00:19:51There was going to be a war. That was obvious.
00:19:53Now it's peace instead of a war.
00:19:55IndyCar racing needs that.
00:19:57Michael Andretti
00:19:59anticipating a green flag
00:20:01perhaps at the conclusion of this lap
00:20:03though the yellow flashing light
00:20:05is still on on the pace car.
00:20:07Let's go back and take a look at the start of this race
00:20:09which was spectacular from Michael Andretti's
00:20:11point of view.
00:20:13There's Vitapaldi off to the right.
00:20:15Rahal in front and Michael looking for room.
00:20:17Now they're on Lakeshore Boulevard.
00:20:19Long run and then suddenly
00:20:21they have to break down for a right-hand turn.
00:20:23Watch the placement of Rahal's car.
00:20:25Watch Michael Andretti.
00:20:27Here's Rahal's wing. Look how close
00:20:29he keeps it under the back of Michael's
00:20:31tire. And look at Michael's right front
00:20:33tire locking up going into there.
00:20:35Got a little bit too much
00:20:37front brake balance. Boy what a
00:20:39close deal that was. You think that isn't a display
00:20:41of great driving on both men's
00:20:43parts. I mean those cars are traveling
00:20:45at incredible velocities and yet
00:20:47they're able to maneuver just inches away.
00:20:49Now Nick Panoro tells
00:20:51the entire field as they come around
00:20:53that there is one lap to go
00:20:55back to the green. Now
00:20:57there apparently might be some concern about that
00:20:59start. Jack Arood has an update.
00:21:01Well Paul you're right on the money. Carl Hogan
00:21:03here and the rest of the crew for Bobby Rahal's
00:21:05team are none too happy about
00:21:07the start of this race. No I thought
00:21:09the pole setter got to set the pace and
00:21:11Bobby was getting ready and Emerson
00:21:13jumped in which I don't blame. I blame Emerson
00:21:15but I blame the starter for dropping the green flag
00:21:17on the first lap. Michael hit this
00:21:19in the back of the gearbox so
00:21:21it wasn't what we'd call a real great start Jack.
00:21:23Any problems though from that altercation
00:21:25when he slams you in the gearbox like that as Bobby said
00:21:27anything? No the car's handling well
00:21:29it's fine it's just that we want to
00:21:31talk to the IndyCar officials after the race.
00:21:33We see more and more of that type
00:21:35of a problem though especially in the last couple
00:21:37of races everybody's getting a little over
00:21:39anxious at the drop. Well you know
00:21:41I think that's true but I think you know
00:21:43you can't blame them for trying. We'd do the same thing
00:21:45but it's up to the starter
00:21:47to drop the green flag at the proper time
00:21:49and I just don't think it was done right.
00:21:51Now one thing to consider
00:21:53every year I've been here the starter
00:21:55Nick Monaro is concerned about
00:21:57the start because he doesn't have
00:21:59a good view of the field coming toward
00:22:01him and every year he says boy
00:22:03I just hope I do this right because I don't get
00:22:05to see them very much before I actually
00:22:07have to give them a green flag. On board
00:22:09with Danny Sullivan great view
00:22:11of his car there's over
00:22:13Scott Goodyear's right shoulder
00:22:15one of our on board cameras.
00:22:17Sullivan had moved up to 6th
00:22:19place he's moved up more than
00:22:21any other car in the race to this
00:22:23point. And Michael
00:22:25Andretti of course at the front of the order
00:22:27as they're coming back to green
00:22:29the pace car comes into the pits. Michael Andretti
00:22:31leads them down. Paul Tracy in 2nd
00:22:33Bobby Rahal sits in 3rd place
00:22:35and there comes the green flag
00:22:37that's the very quick view that Nick gets
00:22:39of the start as well so he doesn't have
00:22:41a lot of time to anticipate coming
00:22:43fairly single file back to the green flag.
00:22:45Let me just make a
00:22:47little point there. Michael leading the race
00:22:49Paul Tracy in 2nd Rahal 3rd
00:22:51If Rahal was behind Michael
00:22:53Michael would kind of have an idea of what he's going to do
00:22:55but Tracy he knows that
00:22:57kid is going to push hard
00:22:59Tracy won't let up and if he can pass
00:23:01he'll go for it in spite of how the finish
00:23:03might come out. Some compression there
00:23:05under braking into the first corner
00:23:07second corner actually off of Lakeshore
00:23:09as the rest of the field comes through
00:23:11again staying single file nobody looking
00:23:13for maneuvering room at the moment. Look at how
00:23:15aggressive Rahal is. At this point in the
00:23:17championship last year he also had a commanding
00:23:19lead not quite as big a lead as he has
00:23:21right now and he decided to play it cautious
00:23:23meantime Michael Andretti caught him
00:23:25race by race by race and Rahal wound up
00:23:27not winning the championship. This year
00:23:29a completely different guy anxious
00:23:31to learn from the mistake of last year
00:23:33and be aggressive all through this
00:23:35year. He certainly saw it on that first lap
00:23:37Michael Andretti Ford Cosworth
00:23:39power now begins to inch away
00:23:41from Paul Tracy and Bobby Rahal
00:23:43continues to try to work the front
00:23:45two while Mario Andretti
00:23:47is trying to battle with Emerson
00:23:49Fittipaldi as well. Let's give you the order
00:23:51the top ten Michael Andretti, Paul Tracy
00:23:53Bobby Rahal then Fittipaldi
00:23:55then Mario Andretti then Danny Sullivan with a
00:23:57spectacular run. His teammate
00:23:59Al Unser Jr. is just behind
00:24:01then Rahul Boisel, Eddie Cheever
00:24:03John Andretti, Stephan Johansson, Scott Goodyear
00:24:05and Scott Brayton. And look
00:24:07at Mario as he's feeling very racy
00:24:09with Fittipaldi today. Oh yes he's
00:24:11all over Fittipaldi. In fact they've
00:24:13said to start like this. Do the toe
00:24:15nail all the way. You know I saw
00:24:17Mario as he was standing waiting
00:24:19for the start of this race. Went up to see how he
00:24:21was feeling. Remember he has those injuries
00:24:23to his feet suffered in the Indianapolis
00:24:25500. And I looked down at his
00:24:27driving shoes and he has
00:24:29little openings cut out
00:24:31to let his toes kind of poke through
00:24:33still has his fireproof Nomex
00:24:35sock on under that so he's safe.
00:24:37But he's got the whole front end of the shoe cut off to
00:24:39try and relieve some of the pressure on those
00:24:41still swollen toes. Mario
00:24:43he's been driving for so long
00:24:45and he's the tough one. He'll just work around
00:24:47those problems. If he's got sore feet
00:24:49he'll make them feel good. It will
00:24:51not affect his racing
00:24:53and he looks like he's racy today.
00:24:55This is one of the few courses on which Mario
00:24:57has never scored a victory. He was second
00:24:59here behind his son last year but he has not
00:25:01managed to win one of these. There gives
00:25:03you an idea of that long straightaway run
00:25:05as Michael Andretti takes the turn in
00:25:07and then suddenly it's very short
00:25:09very tight and the
00:25:11concrete walls on both sides
00:25:13you can take no chances here and yet
00:25:15Michael seems to be able to gauge them perfectly.
00:25:17Yeah, that's about a 120 degree
00:25:19corner. You know, if you get in and tilt off
00:25:21170 miles an hour straight
00:25:23away, 175, then you
00:25:25just keep going around. But
00:25:27it's a nice turn, Paul.
00:25:29Well, Bobby, you compared it earlier with the track at
00:25:31Long Beach and it's certainly giving us that same
00:25:33kind of really close racing
00:25:35where there's a chance to pass but there is
00:25:37a long straightaway and you can outbrake somebody
00:25:39at the end of it. It's a neat course.
00:25:41Got a quick view of Danny Sullivan
00:25:43in the Molson car there. Remember, that's
00:25:45the Galmor. The Galmor, the car
00:25:47that he performed so well with
00:25:49at Long Beach and it's working pretty
00:25:51well. We're on board with Danny right now.
00:25:53You can see that battle just ahead and
00:25:55here this car is working fairly well. And you
00:25:57know his sponsor of this car is the sponsor
00:25:59of the race. So, in other words, there's
00:26:01a particular urgency for him to
00:26:03succeed here. Posters with this car on it
00:26:05are all over town. Well, I think it's
00:26:07obvious that this circuit, as we
00:26:09said earlier, is very similar to Long Beach
00:26:11because you see Danny running better
00:26:13in this race than where he is right now.
00:26:15In other words, early in the race. Then he hasn't
00:26:17in any other race so far this season with the exception
00:26:19of Long Beach and he won that one.
00:26:21And little Al is lined up right
00:26:23behind him. Danny Sullivan right
00:26:25now running in sixth place and trying to catch
00:26:27up to Mario Andretti while just
00:26:29ahead Andretti is trying to catch up to
00:26:31Emerson Fittipaldi while Mario's son
00:26:33Michael showing the dominance that he's
00:26:35shown so often this season
00:26:37continues to run in the front
00:26:39of the field. I was talking to Danny
00:26:41Sullivan's crew this morning saying, hey
00:26:43what did you guys do to make that thing
00:26:45like a second quicker just all of a
00:26:47sudden? They told me. All they
00:26:49did to show you how competitive close these cars
00:26:51are, they made a little change to the
00:26:53ramp on the limit of slip of the rear
00:26:55end, made one full second difference.
00:26:57And they did that to little Al's car so
00:26:59you can see little Al is right behind Danny
00:27:01trying to pass him. The question
00:27:03Bobby Unser, you brought it up at the start of the
00:27:05show, we've discussed it some, is fuel.
00:27:07I wonder what that long yellow will do.
00:27:09Gary Gerald, do you have any idea?
00:27:11Paul, indeed we do. We know that in the Penske
00:27:13camp, both Fittipaldi and Tracy were running
00:27:15at what they call the 7 o'clock position
00:27:17regarding fuel relationship or fuel
00:27:19adjustment which is on the conservative
00:27:21side. They figured if they got five
00:27:23laps of yellow, that might take away
00:27:25any concerns about fuel in this race.
00:27:27Well, they're very close to that after those
00:27:29earlier incidents. So now we know that
00:27:31the fuel window has been pushed forward.
00:27:33We think they'll stop on lap 40 now
00:27:35as opposed to lap 35 earlier.
00:27:37It may do away with any of the fuel concerns
00:27:39that Jack was talking about early in the show.
00:27:41Love it when it does that. Leads it
00:27:43to racing on the racetrack.
00:27:45So it's still Michael Andretti out in front
00:27:47with Paul Tracy trying to catch up
00:27:49on a beautiful day.
00:27:51We'll be back after this message and a word
00:27:53from our ABC station.
00:27:56...is still out in front. Paul Tracy's
00:27:58right behind him putting the pressure on now.
00:28:00Bobby Rahal is lined up there as well
00:28:02followed by Emerson Fittipaldi
00:28:04and Mario Andretti. The top five for the most
00:28:06part closely grouped on this circuit
00:28:08as they wind their way through the
00:28:10side of the Canadian National Exhibition
00:28:12Exhibition Place in Toronto.
00:28:14Moving on to the
00:28:16front part of the course along the
00:28:18pit straight. After back-to-back
00:28:20wins at Portland and Milwaukee,
00:28:22then to finish second to points
00:28:24and rival Bobby Rahal at New Hampshire,
00:28:26we asked Michael Andretti
00:28:28about his team's momentum.
00:28:34I think we're still there.
00:28:36I think the biggest thing now is
00:28:38finishing and, you know, if you can finish
00:28:40in the top two of the rest of the races
00:28:42you can still win this championship.
00:28:44So I think it was still
00:28:46a positive thing. You know, Bobby didn't win
00:28:48and, you know,
00:28:50we'll just, you know, try to
00:28:52win some more.
00:28:54You know, we
00:28:56gave a lot out at the beginning
00:28:58of the year and we have to
00:29:00try to make it up like we did
00:29:02last year.
00:29:04As we've watched Michael there,
00:29:06just notice how physical this is.
00:29:08These men really work for their living.
00:29:10Remember, the heart rate is about triple what it would be
00:29:12resting. He just knows he's coming through
00:29:14a particularly rough part of the track right here.
00:29:16He has to really fight the car over
00:29:18the bumps at very high speeds. A lot of work.
00:29:20Of course, remember, as we mentioned earlier,
00:29:22Michael Andretti at this point in the season
00:29:24was about the same number of points behind
00:29:26Bobby Rahal. And, of course, as the number
00:29:28one on his car indicates, he came out of
00:29:30last season with the national championship.
00:29:32Look at Paul Tracy. Paul Tracy
00:29:34looking for racing room to the left of Michael
00:29:36Andretti. He searches to the outside.
00:29:38Now this is a braking maneuver down to a right-hand
00:29:40corner. Rahal's right there watching
00:29:42as well. Tracy tries to stay on the
00:29:44outside. His force back and, boy, that
00:29:46wall to the left comes up very quickly.
00:29:48That's the only way to make it on the outside.
00:29:50If you don't have a really big edge, you can't do it.
00:29:52Michael knew that, but I'm proud of Michael.
00:29:54He really knows the racing group.
00:29:56Look at Danny there. Danny lost the back end
00:29:58and his teammate, little Al, who's been
00:30:00on his rear end for the past
00:30:02couple laps is right there as well.
00:30:04Danny just slapped the door shut on him.
00:30:06Yes, he did. Well, there's nothing he can do.
00:30:08It's all his turn, just back and forth.
00:30:10Little Al's favorite place to pass is going into that
00:30:12number three turn at the end of the straightaway.
00:30:14He almost got Danny, but he sucked it up
00:30:16before they collided. Danny tried to get him
00:30:18back, but Danny had nothing to do,
00:30:20no place to go except head for the wall.
00:30:22And, you see, right ahead of Danny on the track
00:30:24is Mario. You may just have seen him in that
00:30:26white car up there, so Danny
00:30:28thinks he can catch Mario. He has been
00:30:30catching him, and he doesn't want to cede the place
00:30:32to little Al first.
00:30:34There you see the computer-generated
00:30:36stats on Danny Sullivan.
00:30:38Marvelous electronic system
00:30:40that they have now in the IndyCars,
00:30:42where transponders on the cars
00:30:44talk to antennas in the pavement,
00:30:46and computers sort all that out through
00:30:48the EDS computer system, and now
00:30:50we can have wonderful information like that.
00:30:52A lot of speculation, but little Al, you see now,
00:30:54again, pulling out outside. There's a good maneuver.
00:30:56Little Al locks him. Little Al
00:30:58locks the brakes, gets past Danny Sullivan.
00:31:00Boy, that's a real bonsai maneuver there.
00:31:02I'm surprised he tried it with a teammate.
00:31:04All right, now there's talk that he may go,
00:31:06little Al may go to Formula One next year.
00:31:08Remember, Danny has put in a year in Formula One
00:31:10years ago for Terrell. It's that kind
00:31:12of maneuver and pulling it off that is
00:31:14commonplace in Formula One, and boy, can he do it.
00:31:16Here's Voisel posting to a stop.
00:31:18Well, Voisel apparently got involved
00:31:20with Brian Till, is what the
00:31:22situation was. Till back
00:31:24under power. Now will Raul get going?
00:31:26That car, of course, is a new
00:31:28number from what you've seen in the past.
00:31:30He's been driving the 11 car, which is
00:31:32the number normally carried by Hiro Machusta,
00:31:34who's intended to drive at
00:31:36this race, but he got out in practice,
00:31:38and his leg from his accident
00:31:40in Indianapolis still hurts him
00:31:42terribly, especially, he said, he told me,
00:31:44when he tries to heel and toe,
00:31:46and so he said, I'm going to wait just a little bit longer.
00:31:48Well, I think it's a function of this track
00:31:50in particular that it's so rough here for him.
00:31:52This is a point in the race
00:31:54where the track is slippery. As you watch
00:31:56a lot of the cars, watch the rear end. You watch
00:31:58little Al trying to outbrake. Here's little
00:32:00Al coming in there trying to pass Danny.
00:32:02Now watch his tires. He's braking as hard as
00:32:04he can, but right about
00:32:06here, see the rear tires just lock up
00:32:08a little bit. The car, the track is
00:32:10slippery, so the car loses a little bit of adhesion.
00:32:12Now, most of the cars in the race
00:32:14right now are having that. The track
00:32:16will get better a little bit later as the oil
00:32:18gets a chance to soak in. Boy, what
00:32:20a delicate piece of balancing there.
00:32:22You just get a glimpse of the 14 car.
00:32:24A.J. Boyd's car, Jan Bikas,
00:32:26is the driver at the current time
00:32:28in that machine. Now, you saw
00:32:30Raul Boisel running off the course.
00:32:32Gary Gerald, can you update that for us?
00:32:34Indeed we can, Paul.
00:32:36Boy, somebody on the rev limiter as they just go
00:32:38flying by us on the pit straight here.
00:32:40Sorry to be distracted momentarily.
00:32:42Thought it was an engine going away. Boisel,
00:32:44gearbox problems. That's why he came
00:32:46to a stop. He reported a vibration,
00:32:48turned out to be gearbox.
00:32:50Gearboxes suffer from a course that's rough
00:32:52at all, and this one, you can
00:32:54see all the different changes in elevation,
00:32:56changes in pavement surface as well
00:32:58from asphalt to concrete and back as we
00:33:00watch Roger Penske, who is on
00:33:02the two-way radio, to his
00:33:04driver for this race, Paul Tracy.
00:33:06I think all of us are very concerned.
00:33:08We miss Rick Mears here and hope he is back
00:33:10soon. Well, I think
00:33:12you're going to find that Paul Tracy was a
00:33:14super pick for Roger Penske. That boy
00:33:16has been right there in the red and white
00:33:18Marlboro number 4. He's been
00:33:20extremely fast at Roger Penske's
00:33:22cars on the road circuit. Roger,
00:33:24I had a talk with him the other day. He said, hey,
00:33:26I'm going to stick with this kid. We're going to
00:33:28make a good race driver out of him because he
00:33:30is quick. Interesting, though, that
00:33:32after that bid to take the lead
00:33:34off Michael Andretti has now dropped
00:33:36back a little and is having to regroup.
00:33:38He's got Rahal right on his tail.
00:33:40Sam, that comes about because Penske is
00:33:42talking to him. You can see Roger talking to him.
00:33:44Roger's saying, hey, don't try to win
00:33:46the race right now. Be smart like Rahal.
00:33:48Lay back when it's important to do so.
00:33:50Go for it when you have a chance. Yeah, Paul told
00:33:52me the other day that he was trying to give some
00:33:54input as to the handling of the car via
00:33:56the radio, and Roger said, don't
00:33:58talk. Just say, yes, I've heard
00:34:00your message, or no, I have not heard your
00:34:02message. Yes, no, or no.
00:34:04Then Stefania Hanson into the
00:34:06pits. This is the 32nd
00:34:08lap, so that would have been the original
00:34:10plan time, but consider the yellow
00:34:12flag. They all say they'll go
00:34:14a little bit later, but Hanson is in
00:34:16now early. We'll be back with more from
00:34:18Toronto. So
00:34:20in the pits, Gary Gerald's right there.
00:34:22Paul, he came in earlier than expected. We had
00:34:24just gotten a three-lap indication. He came
00:34:26in. The engine is quiet. They're
00:34:28peeling off the bodywork, and the young
00:34:30Canadian driver sits helplessly in the
00:34:32cockpit, and the crowd, you can audibly
00:34:34hear them groaning and moaning in their concern
00:34:36after the terrific race that he was running.
00:34:38We don't know what the problem is.
00:34:40It may be gearbox-related. They're trying
00:34:42to move him up now. They're trying to
00:34:44get him into position. The bodywork is off. Now
00:34:46they go to work back around the gearbox.
00:34:48We can only assume that maybe something jammed
00:34:50back there. We'll try to find out more,
00:34:52obviously. Roger Penske oversees
00:34:54the operation. That's Richard Buck, the
00:34:56chief mechanic on the car, over the cockpit
00:34:58there. They're all on the same
00:35:00two-way communications. In fact, they have a
00:35:02very sophisticated communications
00:35:04network within the Penske team, so
00:35:06while they are doing this kind of work, they
00:35:08can all communicate with one another. And
00:35:10Bobby, they're at the back of the engine.
00:35:12Yeah, well, that's where the gearbox is.
00:35:14The gearbox is right in the back, and that's what
00:35:16he's got problems with. That's what they're looking at
00:35:18working around. You know, the thing about it is
00:35:20this team, this has been their chance
00:35:22to be competitive on road circuits again.
00:35:24It's been a long time before they've really
00:35:26been competitive on real good road
00:35:28circuits or street circuits.
00:35:30Long beach, they always have problems.
00:35:32Well, this is really going to hurt Roger Penske a lot.
00:35:34There's something to consider about
00:35:36Paul Tracy. Penske cars have
00:35:38led 35 laps this year.
00:35:40Paul Tracy,
00:35:42essentially their test driver, has
00:35:44led 19 of those.
00:35:46You just got a glimpse of Michael. Now you watch
00:35:48Bobby Rahal, who assumed second place
00:35:50when Paul Tracy went into the pits
00:35:52and has some distance to make up
00:35:54on Michael. So now we have the
00:35:56same situation that we've been watching
00:35:58in the IndyCars most of the year.
00:36:00That's confrontation between Michael
00:36:02and Bobby Rahal. Yeah, and it also shows
00:36:04you again how Rahal is so much
00:36:06smarter than some of the drivers. He's
00:36:08really matured. He's aggressive this year,
00:36:10but he's mature. It's like he's really
00:36:12smart. He knows when to ease up, and yet
00:36:14he knows when to go for it. He met his wife
00:36:16Debbie at a track very near this
00:36:18up in Mossport years ago,
00:36:20and it was love at first sight.
00:36:22They decided to get married that
00:36:24November, which is only a few months away after
00:36:26they'd known each other only a couple of days.
00:36:28You know, Sam, that was the first IndyCar
00:36:30race I ever won in my life, was Mossport,
00:36:32Canada. What a nice racetrack
00:36:34that was in those days. And it was the first
00:36:36IndyCar race ever held in Canada.
00:36:38With Michael Andretti at the front of the
00:36:40field, now consider
00:36:42the laps led this season.
00:36:44Look, Michael Andretti,
00:36:46who is not in the points lead, he's
00:36:4839 points back, has led
00:36:50619 coming into this race.
00:36:52Bobby Rahal's second,
00:36:54377, just over
00:36:56half of that, but the difference, of course,
00:36:58is that Bobby Rahal is leading at the finish,
00:37:00and that takes you back to the old Indian Sam
00:37:02of racing. It's got to be
00:37:04running when the checkered flag comes out.
00:37:06And also remember, that includes Indianapolis,
00:37:08of which Michael totally dominates
00:37:10Indianapolis, too.
00:37:12So Michael Andretti
00:37:14out in front, his fastest lap, you see
00:37:16it there, 107 miles an hour.
00:37:18Average speed of the race is down
00:37:20at 88, because of that long
00:37:22yellow. The record speed of the race at
00:37:2499.1. They're
00:37:26inching back up toward it, and once
00:37:28they got moving again, the pace again has
00:37:30been furious. You see the distance from Bobby
00:37:32Rahal in second, back to Emerson
00:37:34Fittipaldi in third. Emerson, of course,
00:37:36being overshadowed by his much younger
00:37:38teammate, Paul Tracy. About
00:37:40half Emerson Fittipaldi's eight,
00:37:42but now, the old canny
00:37:44Emerson, running in third, is
00:37:46picking up a lot of points. Stefania
00:37:48Hansen back into the fight, as
00:37:50Mario Andretti just moved around him. Not a
00:37:52battle for position. Again, at the top
00:37:54of the field, to give you the order, it's Michael Andretti,
00:37:56Bobby Rahal, then third place
00:37:58Emerson Fittipaldi, then that car,
00:38:00Mario Andretti. Car number two,
00:38:02right behind him, Al Unser Jr.,
00:38:04then Danny Sullivan, then Eddie Cheever,
00:38:06John Andretti, Scott Goodyear,
00:38:08Scott Brayton, and Brian Till, with
00:38:10a marvelous race going, despite the fact that
00:38:12he got himself sideways on the course a little
00:38:14bit earlier. You caught just a glimpse of that.
00:38:16Brian Till
00:38:18driving the same true sports car
00:38:20that Scott Pruitt drove to fourth
00:38:22place here last year, until
00:38:24missed qualifying at the same
00:38:26speed that Scott did last year by
00:38:28just a tenth of a second, so I think Brian Till
00:38:30is a guy we're going to see a lot from.
00:38:32But Ford Cosworth
00:38:34power in this car, as well as in Michael's
00:38:36car, an engine
00:38:38that once it won its first race,
00:38:40which it did in the run at Portland,
00:38:42has proven to be
00:38:44definitely a factor to contend with.
00:38:46Remember the dominance, too, at the
00:38:48Indianapolis 500 for that Ford Cosworth.
00:38:50You can see, there's Michael, or excuse me,
00:38:52Mario right there, and right behind
00:38:54is little Al creeping up.
00:38:56We're going to see a race developing right here,
00:38:58a real hard passing attempt
00:39:00before too long. Yet, you know, you mentioned
00:39:02the excellence of the Ford Cosworth
00:39:04engine as we look at Mario Andretti.
00:39:06The next highest placed Ford
00:39:08Cosworth is Eddie Cheever back in
00:39:10seventh, so it's not just the engine,
00:39:12it's the team.
00:39:14Well, you can sure see that sometimes, because
00:39:16you see Michael and Mario Andretti both have
00:39:18identical cars, identical engines,
00:39:20but young Michael is obviously
00:39:22the fastest. Ford has announced
00:39:24that they will have more cars
00:39:26carrying their engine next year,
00:39:28but they have not yet announced who those cars
00:39:30might be, and Chevrolet is
00:39:32saying very much the same as we watched Scott
00:39:34Goodyear. Bobby, they're
00:39:36telling people that you can
00:39:38get that basic Ford A
00:39:40engine that everybody wanted so badly last year
00:39:42with no problem at all now.
00:39:44Well, here's Scott Goodyear right here
00:39:46driving for the McKinsey people
00:39:48right here, and that's an all
00:39:50Canadian team. McKinsey Financial
00:39:52here in Toronto, they
00:39:54are one of the teams that's really talking
00:39:56to Ford right now. Well, and of
00:39:58course, they are now the focus of the Canadian
00:40:00fans now that Paul Tracy is out.
00:40:02McKinsey, of course, a mutual
00:40:04fund organization, and
00:40:06their man, Scott Goodyear, he
00:40:08has really blossomed
00:40:10in the public eye since his success
00:40:12at Indianapolis. He is fun to
00:40:14talk to, he's got a very good head on his
00:40:16shoulders, very practical approach to the
00:40:18future of IndyCar racing. I imagine he,
00:40:20along with many of the other drivers, very
00:40:22happy with the new accord between
00:40:24car and Indy. Emerson Fittipaldi
00:40:26in the pits. This should be a routine stop.
00:40:28These stops coming on lap 39,
00:40:30and you saw that they were laid out and waiting
00:40:32for Bobby Rahal as well. You also
00:40:34can see that they are continuing their
00:40:36work on Paul Tracy's car.
00:40:38So here goes Emerson Fittipaldi
00:40:40back into the fight. Michael Andretti continues
00:40:42as the leader. Danny Sullivan
00:40:44in the pits. He came in the pits
00:40:46in sixth position, and the
00:40:48Gallus-Fraco crew going to work on that
00:40:50car. They're having a close call.
00:40:52I'll tell you what, that team
00:40:54though, they practice stops, they are so
00:40:56good at it when it comes
00:40:58slowly. It's something
00:41:00to kind of worry about. You wonder why
00:41:02they might have kept the car in just a little bit
00:41:04longer. Still, without doubt, the Gallus
00:41:06crew has been one of the fastest
00:41:08and best crew. There's Michael Andretti. Michael Andretti
00:41:10is in Jack of Roots right there. Paul,
00:41:12interestingly enough, but not surprisingly,
00:41:14Ed Nathman reports they are going to make
00:41:16no changes to the handling capacities
00:41:18of this car. Michael has talked
00:41:20very little on the radio, and he
00:41:22feels that the car is running the way he'd
00:41:24like it. Conversely, his teenager
00:41:26and his father is going
00:41:28to take on one turn-up on
00:41:30the wing. Whoa!
00:41:32Michael Andretti almost
00:41:34got the side-in of Bobby Rahal
00:41:36as they came out of the pits.
00:41:38Now, let's think back a few years
00:41:40at this very event,
00:41:42how they look at Carl Hogan.
00:41:44He's not happy with that at all.
00:41:46Several years ago,
00:41:48they absolutely mandated
00:41:50that if you got two wheels over that yellow line,
00:41:52you were coming in for a stop-and-go penalty.
00:41:54In fact, that made the difference in one of the races
00:41:56here. Let's take a look at this.
00:41:58Here comes Michael on the
00:42:00right of the screen as Bobby Rahal pulls out.
00:42:02Well, Michael
00:42:04didn't have a whole lot of choice for where he was
00:42:06going to go. He was forced over
00:42:08that line unless he wanted to just
00:42:10lock the brakes up, and that might have been
00:42:12a more unsafe maneuver. In my
00:42:14opinion, that was an unpreventable thing.
00:42:16Definitely not Michael's fault.
00:42:18Rahal couldn't see it because it's a blind
00:42:20spot on his car. It narrows
00:42:22down the gate. It's too narrow to see anything
00:42:24else right there, so there can't be
00:42:26a problem. Boy, this was almost
00:42:28unfortunate. Yeah, you can see that Rahal's
00:42:30team, though, did not share our views
00:42:32here. They were down right next to it and had a different
00:42:34perspective. But, Sam, they don't see
00:42:36it as well as we do on TV.
00:42:38I guarantee it.
00:42:40Well, it had to look very scary from their
00:42:42ground-level point of view. Now, this is Michael
00:42:44as he came out. Here comes Rahal.
00:42:46Michael goes down,
00:42:48grabs a gear. I don't think
00:42:50he really expected Rahal to come out there.
00:42:52I think he thought Rahal would see him because that was
00:42:54an evasive maneuver. No, there's nothing
00:42:56Michael could do about that. He was the
00:42:58victim. But you notice, though, Michael never
00:43:00hesitated. I mean, that's the instinct
00:43:02of a champion. He just kept going
00:43:04and went right through that hole. Nice and
00:43:06calm for Michael Andretti. Not so calm
00:43:08in Bobby Rahal's pits. Let's go there with Gary
00:43:10Gerald. All right, Paul. Here's
00:43:12Carl Hogan, who's gesturing across to a
00:43:14current official again, Billy Camphausen.
00:43:16What's your contention here, Carl?
00:43:18We had the line going out, and Michael went out. He went
00:43:20off the yellow line on the track. He didn't follow the line
00:43:22out that you're supposed to out of the pit lane.
00:43:24I'm tired of him.
00:43:26Now, that's two times today. You were unhappy
00:43:28when it started? Yeah, I am unhappy.
00:43:30All right. Is there any recourse,
00:43:32Carl, for a protest at this point, or is that something
00:43:34you think about? Well, we're going to talk afterwards to
00:43:36Wally about the start, and now
00:43:38we're talking over there to see what they come up with
00:43:40because they saw it happen. All right. Thank you.
00:43:42Carl Hogan, obviously very angry.
00:43:4414.16 seconds
00:43:46on the stop. The only change they made
00:43:48was tire pressure, Paul.
00:43:50Well, you get a look at the replay again.
00:43:52Evasive action only by Michael.
00:43:54Race control, for the time being at least,
00:43:56has said that it was a valid maneuver
00:43:58across the way, and there would be no penalty.
00:44:00But that's not going to satisfy
00:44:02Carl Hogan. He is very unhappy
00:44:04with that situation. Michael Andretti
00:44:06is the result of this stop, and that maneuver
00:44:08maintains the lead over
00:44:10second place Bobby Rahal.
00:44:1242 laps are now complete of the
00:44:14103 laps scheduled distance.
00:44:18Danny Sullivan, who currently
00:44:20rides in sixth place, the leader
00:44:22of the race is still Michael Andretti, still
00:44:24being pursued by Bobby Rahal.
00:44:26You got a good idea at that bump
00:44:28how rough this track can be on
00:44:30the drivers and the cars. You know, those
00:44:32turns that we just went by with Danny
00:44:34Sullivan right there, the fastest turns on the
00:44:36track, it's kind of like speeds in the
00:44:38turns of equal to Milwaukee, Paul.
00:44:40So the cars really show a lot of steering wheel
00:44:42feedback there. Danny Sullivan
00:44:44chases Mario Andretti ahead.
00:44:46Eddie Cheever closing from behind.
00:44:48Emerson Fittipaldi is third.
00:44:50Alister Jr. rides in fourth.
00:44:52We watch
00:44:54them circle this track. Danny reaches down,
00:44:56grabs another gear. You might think
00:44:58that all the drivers on this track
00:45:00shift alike, but Gary Gerald
00:45:02took a look a little bit closer
00:45:04at some of the fancy footwork that
00:45:06goes on in the cockpit of an IndyCar.
00:45:08Approximately
00:45:1520 times a lap here at Toronto, a driver
00:45:17engages the gearbox to shift the engine
00:45:19on his IndyCar. Raoul Boissel
00:45:21is graciously in the cockpit of his car
00:45:23here to show us the footwork because two
00:45:25distinctively different techniques are
00:45:27utilized in road racing. Now,
00:45:29keep in mind that the position of the pedals is
00:45:31just like in your passenger car with a manual
00:45:33transmission. Throttle or accelerator on
00:45:35the right, brake in the middle, the
00:45:37clutch is on the left. Raoul
00:45:39is a classic road racer.
00:45:41He utilizes the clutch every time
00:45:43he engages the gearbox. Keep
00:45:45an eye now as he goes up through the gears. Left foot
00:45:47hits the clutch, right foot on the throttle.
00:45:49Second, third, fourth, fifth gear.
00:45:51Now as he comes down through the gears,
00:45:53he still uses the clutch,
00:45:55foot on the brake, and he hits
00:45:57the throttle with the side of his foot.
00:45:59Contrary to popular belief,
00:46:01you can also shift these cars without
00:46:03utilizing the clutch, and there are
00:46:05drivers who utilize that technique.
00:46:07As they go up through the gearbox,
00:46:09they lift the throttle, they come off of it,
00:46:11that's when they engage the gear. As he
00:46:13comes down through the gearbox, the left
00:46:15foot does the braking.
00:46:17The right foot runs the revs up
00:46:19because you must match the engine
00:46:21revolution with the speed of
00:46:23the gearbox.
00:46:25Now, Raoul is giving us a good demonstration
00:46:27of just how that's done, but if you miss
00:46:29one of those gears, you pay a heavy price.
00:46:31Over rev, you damage the engine.
00:46:33You can also damage the gearbox if you miss
00:46:35the shift, and if you don't get the revs up
00:46:37when you're downshifting and you grab a gear,
00:46:39you can lock up the rear end, spin out,
00:46:41take yourself out of the race.
00:46:43Keep in mind, Raoul is going to do this
00:46:45more than 2,000 times
00:46:47during the course of this race.
00:46:49And of course, despite all of that care
00:46:51that Raoul took with the gearbox,
00:46:53that's what failed him and put him out early
00:46:55on in this run. And ironically,
00:46:57that wouldn't have anything to do with it normally.
00:46:59And when you shift without using the
00:47:01gearbox, that's more the modern way,
00:47:03and the guys that were brought up in
00:47:05oval track racing do that an awful lot
00:47:07because they're used to braking where
00:47:09they're left foot. In fact, for many years,
00:47:11it was one of the biggest secrets the drivers
00:47:13had to road race with.
00:47:15Scott Braden continues to work, or Scott
00:47:17Goodyear continues to work through traffic.
00:47:19He currently runs in ninth place.
00:47:21The leader of the race, Michael Andretti,
00:47:23is closing up behind him because
00:47:25there are only nine cars running
00:47:27on the leader lap now as we approach
00:47:29the halfway point. So, Jack Arute,
00:47:31what about fuel? Will there be enough
00:47:33with that long yellow? Well, Paul, you see
00:47:35the telemetry behind me for Michael Andretti.
00:47:37Well, they've been working at overtime,
00:47:39and what they've determined is those caution
00:47:41laps that were run under full-course caution
00:47:43have given them enough fuel conservation
00:47:45to go the distance
00:47:47in only two stops.
00:47:49So that's the plan here for Ed Nassman and his crew
00:47:51for Michael Andretti.
00:47:53Remember, you know, sometimes the Ford
00:47:55and the Chevrolets get different mileage.
00:47:57The Ford, which is Michael Andretti's engine,
00:47:59gets better mileage than what
00:48:01we've been hearing from the Chevrolets.
00:48:03For example, there's Bobby Rahal right there
00:48:05in second place. His mileage shouldn't
00:48:07be quite as good as Michael's. He's got the
00:48:09Chevrolet 8 engine.
00:48:11Bobby Rahal still in hot pursuit
00:48:13of Michael Andretti, who is two seconds
00:48:15ahead. Robbie Gordon, you got a view
00:48:17of him there as he moved over and let
00:48:19Bobby Rahal come through, and there you
00:48:21get a good idea of the interval.
00:48:23Number one car, Michael Andretti. That's 47
00:48:25cars. Jimmy Vassar not in the front-end
00:48:27contest, and then Bobby Rahal
00:48:29in his beautiful black and gold
00:48:31machine. Now, what about Paul Tracy?
00:48:33He was in the pits. They sent him back out again.
00:48:35And Gary Gerald, now they've made a
00:48:37decision on him? Indeed, Paul. He was
00:48:39in the pits for a long time. The car was jammed
00:48:41in second gear, a linkage problem,
00:48:43apparently. They got it, they thought,
00:48:45fixed for a moment, got him on course, then
00:48:47brought him back in. They took the car deep
00:48:49into the garage area. At the moment, he's
00:48:51unavailable for any interviews.
00:48:53He's letting everybody, I think, deal with this
00:48:55acute disappointment, but Tracy has showed again
00:48:57that he can run with the big boys
00:48:59in the IndyCar ranks.
00:49:01And Michael Andretti
00:49:03continues his lead here.
00:49:05Nine cars, as we suggested, on the
00:49:07lead lap. Bobby Rahal chasing
00:49:09him, Emerson to Napoleon third,
00:49:11then Allentor Jr., Mario Andretti,
00:49:13Danny Sullivan, Eddie Trever,
00:49:15and Scott Goodyear, all running on the lead lap
00:49:17together. Michael is just loving
00:49:19just being out in front, because he's able
00:49:21to use all the track, pass at will,
00:49:23have Rahal back just far enough
00:49:25where he can't be taking a swing at trying
00:49:27to pass him. Michael's race
00:49:29right now. After 50
00:49:31laps here at the Molson Indy, Michael
00:49:33Andretti led all the way.
00:49:35Can he go all the way to the finish out in front?
00:49:37Three times in his
00:49:39racing career, he has led
00:49:41wire to wire. 1991,
00:49:43Laguna Seca, Toronto
00:49:45in 91, and Detroit
00:49:47in 90. These are the cars out of the race.
00:49:49Just got through it. You'll remember that contact
00:49:51with Allentor Jr., Ted Rampus, had an
00:49:53engine go. Bravo-Boycelle with a
00:49:55gearbox. It was a crash for Eric Bachelar,
00:49:57and a gearbox problem for
00:49:59Paul Tracy. You know, Paul,
00:50:01this is one of Carl Haas' cars. What we
00:50:03call the big buck team. The guy with
00:50:05a lot of money. Just so you wonder, why
00:50:07doesn't Michael break transmissions as often
00:50:09like a guy like Boycelle would?
00:50:11Every race, they have new stuff.
00:50:13They start with new engines, new
00:50:15transmission parts. Haas
00:50:17is not the object with a team like this.
00:50:19Emerson Fittipaldi in.
00:50:21This is not scheduled, Jack Arute.
00:50:23No, it is not, Paul, and it's a very
00:50:25disappointed crew here, because what
00:50:27they've determined is they have exactly
00:50:29the same problem that befell them during
00:50:31qualifying yesterday. Remember, he had
00:50:33to come in and they had to change all of the
00:50:35electrics on the car. And that is what
00:50:37Rick Reinemann and the rest of the crew is going to
00:50:39do right now for Emerson Fittipaldi. He is
00:50:41literally out of the chase for the checkered flag,
00:50:43but points so critical for this team,
00:50:45they're going to make an exchange of all the
00:50:47electrics, the batteries included,
00:50:49and try and get him back, even if it's several laps down.
00:50:51You know what's really sad about that,
00:50:53Paul, is that often
00:50:55it's not the electrics. They have no choice
00:50:57but to change all of it. Often it's the wiring
00:50:59looms. The wiring looms in these cars
00:51:01today, because of all the electronics
00:51:03available, are very complicated.
00:51:05Emerson, of course, has been running
00:51:07in third place, which would have consolidated
00:51:09his position in the championship,
00:51:11so this is a major blow for the team and for
00:51:13him personally, the former winner here
00:51:15in Toronto. Yeah,
00:51:17if they can't get that car back in
00:51:19and run him in the top positions at the start
00:51:21of the show, we showed you the point distribution,
00:51:23he's going to be out of the points, and that'll be a
00:51:25serious blow to Emerson Fittipaldi's
00:51:27bid for any championship
00:51:29in this season. Michael Andretti
00:51:31still just disappearing
00:51:33from the rest of the field. Only
00:51:35Rahal is able to chase. This is
00:51:37the look in from Lake Ontario
00:51:39at the beautiful downtown of
00:51:41Toronto. We'll be back after
00:51:43this message and a word from our ABC stations.
00:51:47Bobby Rahal
00:51:49closing up on the back end of Michael Andretti.
00:51:51Michael just picked up that extra point
00:51:53for leading the most laps as we
00:51:55crossed over the halfway point at this race,
00:51:57and all of a sudden, in the last
00:51:59half lap or so, Bobby Rahal
00:52:01has surged forward and is now
00:52:03in a desperate effort to catch Michael.
00:52:05Well, you know, it shows us, Paul, that Rahal
00:52:07did have a reserve, and he has been
00:52:09laying back. Now, not loafing,
00:52:11I don't mean that at all, but laying
00:52:13back. He's a smart driver. Now
00:52:15he's taking a run at Michael. He's looking
00:52:17back from Scott Goodyear's car,
00:52:19looking right through the suspension. There's
00:52:21Michael, as he veers around Scott
00:52:23Goodyear. Rahal will have to handle
00:52:25up the same obstacle if they're going to stay in
00:52:27contact with one another. Michael alone
00:52:29for the moment, now Rahal around Goodyear.
00:52:31Yes, and Goodyear moves over and ladies and gents,
00:52:33Goodyear knew that he was being lapped.
00:52:35Scott moved up a long way. He was in 8th place the last
00:52:37time I looked, but he realized these guys
00:52:39are fighting for the lead. As we see
00:52:41Bobby Rahal here, I talked with Carl
00:52:43Hogan, who we've seen a couple of times, of course,
00:52:45so far during this race this morning,
00:52:47and Carl said, I asked him, why is Bobby
00:52:49Rahal so good? And he said, for one thing,
00:52:51he is a great test driver, the best
00:52:53I've ever seen, and Carl Hogan has worked
00:52:5520 years with some really fine drivers.
00:52:57Apparently, he said, Rahal never
00:52:59goes down a blind alley in the
00:53:01development of a car. He senses
00:53:03when something's going to be fruitful and
00:53:05pursues that. I think that's one of the
00:53:07best advantages, Sam, that any race
00:53:09driver can have, especially in the Indy cars,
00:53:11but it also even works in the stock cars.
00:53:13And, of course, this team has the
00:53:15budget to do the testing, which is important.
00:53:17Some of the other teams don't.
00:53:19And it's good to have a partner like Carl Hogan
00:53:21in the operation. He's a
00:53:23longtime racer, really enjoys his
00:53:25racing. Jan Vickes looks like he's struggling
00:53:27there in the 14 car, finally gets it
00:53:29back going. And here comes
00:53:31Stephan Johansson as he locks the brakes
00:53:33and gets together with Scott
00:53:35Brayton. Lost a wing.
00:53:37You saw he, wing got knocked to the ground
00:53:39and he ran over his wing. Lucky if he doesn't
00:53:41have a flat tire from running over it.
00:53:43But watch him lock his front brakes up
00:53:45there. The wing even hurts him a little bit more.
00:53:47And that is Jimmy Vassar
00:53:49that was moving up alongside
00:53:51trying to battle
00:53:53with Stephan Johansson.
00:53:55Johansson's biggest problem
00:53:57was that he didn't have the brake balance set
00:53:59properly. Whenever you have too much on
00:54:01the front, the front's locked up and then
00:54:03you don't get any braking hard.
00:54:05This is a battle for 9th, 10th and 11th
00:54:07so these are front running cars.
00:54:09Now here's that maneuver again.
00:54:11And you watch him, he locks up,
00:54:13Johansson locks up his front brake. He can't
00:54:15stop. Scott Goodyear has to hit for
00:54:17the corner. Johansson can't stop. Knocks his
00:54:19wing off. Now he's really got a problem
00:54:21running over his own wing.
00:54:23Jackaroo's right there.
00:54:25And Paul, you can see, they are
00:54:27taking a complete wing section.
00:54:29And they are going to make the exchange
00:54:31on Stephan Johansson's
00:54:33wing area. It's a very simple process.
00:54:35There are two fasteners
00:54:37to the nose part of the car
00:54:39and those fasteners go on, they lift the wing
00:54:41up and here is what remains
00:54:43of the
00:54:45former wing. Now you can see it's all
00:54:47carbon fiber. It breaks away
00:54:49quite easily. But you lose this
00:54:51on a track with long straightaways
00:54:53and you lose valuable handling capabilities
00:54:55on the car.
00:54:57It's incredible, isn't it? Here's Paul Tracy.
00:54:59Paul Tracy with Gary Gerald.
00:55:01Indeed. Paul, I know it's a great disappointment
00:55:03to be here in front of the hometown fans
00:55:05and the great support. How are you dealing
00:55:07with it and the frustration of a jammed gearbox
00:55:09that just didn't want to free up?
00:55:11Well, it's disappointing. You know, the Marlboro
00:55:13Racing Team Penske car was handling great.
00:55:15I think we really had a shot at winning
00:55:17this and I want to thank Rick for letting me drive
00:55:19the car, you know, without him
00:55:21allowing me to have these opportunities,
00:55:23I wouldn't be able to show what I'm able
00:55:25of doing and
00:55:27I think it was a disappointing day. I'm
00:55:29disappointed inside and the crew is disappointed
00:55:31but, you know, we'll bounce back and we always
00:55:33do and we'll be back in Michigan. We'll see you in
00:55:35a couple of weeks in Michigan. Thanks. Thanks.
00:55:37Paul. Now, interesting record for Paul
00:55:39Tracy, especially when you consider that more
00:55:41often than not, as we're looking at Emerson
00:55:43going back in once again.
00:55:45Paul Tracy
00:55:47DNF'd here.
00:55:49He DNF'd at Indy, Detroit, Toronto.
00:55:51He's only finished this year.
00:55:53He's only finished fourth place at Phoenix.
00:55:55But, you know, you have to really call him right now
00:55:57the boy wonder for road racing.
00:55:59These deals on the road circuits have not
00:56:01been his fault.
00:56:03Now, he has a record for his car, maybe they were his fault.
00:56:05But that's part of the rule now.
00:56:07One of the things he told me yesterday was he said,
00:56:09you know, I think I finally earned the respect
00:56:11of the crew and the confidence of the crew.
00:56:13He knew he didn't have that at first. He was just
00:56:15the new kid on the block testing their car.
00:56:17He hasn't yet. You know, Sam, one of the biggest
00:56:19problems he's going to have in his career
00:56:21right now in the early part, it's going to be the fact
00:56:23that he's not developed a lot of cars.
00:56:25With Penske, you have to be a development driver
00:56:27otherwise you just don't do good because
00:56:29Penske makes his own cars.
00:56:31Let's go back to the pits
00:56:33in Jackaroo.
00:56:35Well, Paul, Bobby Unser was absolutely correct as to
00:56:37what the ongoing problem is with Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:56:39They have tried changing
00:56:41all of this material. That didn't work.
00:56:43Now, that's the singular indication
00:56:45that it's in the wiring harness. So what they've done is
00:56:47they've said, Emo, go out, stroke your way around
00:56:49the best you can because this won't solve
00:56:51the problem and we need to finish for points.
00:56:53Well, the entire
00:56:55Penske operation really in a development
00:56:57program this year, new engines,
00:56:59newer cars. Eight
00:57:01of their 20 races
00:57:03when you consider the entire team's
00:57:05numbers have resulted in not
00:57:07finishing the race. But I'll tell you something
00:57:09else, that's all research
00:57:11as far as Roger Penske is concerned.
00:57:13With every one of those non-finishes, they
00:57:15learn something and they come back
00:57:17stronger next time. On board
00:57:19with Michael Andretti, Bobby Rahal is second.
00:57:21Al Unser Jr. has now
00:57:23moved up into third place.
00:57:25In fourth, Mario
00:57:27Andretti and Danny Sullivan will be back.
00:57:37And two cars coming together, Mario
00:57:39Andretti and Al Unser Jr.
00:57:41Coming into the corner under heavy
00:57:43braking, they just touch one another,
00:57:45sending both off and sliding. Mario
00:57:47under power got away, but it doesn't
00:57:49look like little Al has any power at all.
00:57:51No, I think he's killed his engine. It was a quick
00:57:53spin. He probably, he was leading
00:57:55Mario. Here it is right here, the playback.
00:57:57The two cars, Mario
00:57:59closing. This was a nice battle
00:58:01developing for third place.
00:58:03And Mario just ran
00:58:05right into the back of little Al. Didn't
00:58:07do it intentionally, but he couldn't stop.
00:58:09Spun little Al around. It was unexpected
00:58:11little Al, as far as I started to say.
00:58:13He lost his engine.
00:58:15Little Al couldn't catch the clutch
00:58:17quick enough because he's
00:58:19one of these drivers that brakes with
00:58:21his left foot and shifts with his right hand only.
00:58:23And Mario Andretti heads
00:58:25for pit road. Jackaroo's right there.
00:58:27Well, Paul, the crew gets their first
00:58:29look at the problems on Mario Andretti's
00:58:31car. The cursory look
00:58:33shows that there doesn't seem to be any
00:58:35damage that could dramatically affect
00:58:37the car. They are going to
00:58:39adjust the wing. The front nose
00:58:41piece is slashed away with
00:58:43giant gashes in it, but he is off
00:58:45and away after changing just four tires.
00:58:47As Paul Newman, one of the car owners,
00:58:49watched, and you can see he was concerned, as
00:58:51was the crew, with the front
00:58:53suspension on that car to make sure that was
00:58:55in good shape. You can see the tire marks
00:58:57on the nose of Mario's car.
00:58:59And they brought out the yellow only
00:59:01in that section of the race course, but that's
00:59:03also one of Bobby Rahal's
00:59:05potential passing sections. So they want
00:59:07to get that turn cleared as fast as they
00:59:09can. That's just a situation, Bobby
00:59:11Unser, is it not, where
00:59:13brake fade changes lap to lap.
00:59:15Not a driver error as much
00:59:17as you just really don't know if you can run that close
00:59:19at this point in the race. Absolutely.
00:59:21Mario was going to try to attempt
00:59:23to pass on Little Al. He was going to try to pass him,
00:59:25and he found out he couldn't make it. He can't stop
00:59:27anymore because he had a run at him.
00:59:29Little Al had more braking right then,
00:59:31so he tapped him, and Little Al obviously
00:59:33didn't expect it, so he got spun
00:59:35out without being able to get his clutch in.
00:59:37Still, it was at Loudon
00:59:39two weeks ago that Mario had a run in
00:59:41with Rick Mears, went down, apologized
00:59:43to Rick. I feel bad that Mario now
00:59:45has had contact with Little Al. That's two
00:59:47races in a row he has had contact
00:59:49with somebody. That isn't going to help his confidence.
00:59:51So Mario Andretti
00:59:53back in the fight, but
00:59:55losing some positions, dropping down to
00:59:57fifth place and coming off of
00:59:59the leader lap, actually dropping to fourth.
01:00:01Coming off of the leader lap
01:00:03in that contact with Al Unser Jr.
01:00:05and Little Al, not yet restarted
01:00:07and not back to the fight.
01:00:09Michael Andretti continues to hold
01:00:11about a 2.3 second lead
01:00:13over Bobby Rahom. See, these cars
01:00:15don't have starters on them, so
01:00:17they have to get a pull, and they can't get a
01:00:19truck out there to give them a pull. They'll only get them off the track.
01:00:21Next Saturday on ABC Sports,
01:00:23a full day of great championship golf
01:00:25at 2 o'clock. Eastern top seniors
01:00:27from around the world will converge
01:00:29on the famed Royal Lithuanian St. Ann's
01:00:31Golf Club for the British Senior Open.
01:00:33And then, at 3.30 Eastern,
01:00:35we begin coverage of the Lady
01:00:37Pros in the U.S. Women's
01:00:39Open Golf Championship. That's all next
01:00:41Saturday, right here on ABC Sports.
01:00:43Michael
01:00:45Andretti, still holding off
01:00:47and charging Bobby Rahom.
01:00:49From time to time, Rahom's car has been
01:00:51right up on the back end of Michael,
01:00:53and it seems that Bobby Rahom is handling
01:00:55a little bit better. Bobby Unser,
01:00:57is that a product of the fuel load
01:00:59going down in Rahom's car? Well, it obviously
01:01:01is. Bobby likes a light fuel,
01:01:03whereas his car likes a light fuel load.
01:01:05But he takes a run up on Michael,
01:01:07who's right there, and you can see
01:01:09Bobby Rahom's back a little bit now.
01:01:11And he'll ease it off and come back now.
01:01:13He could be doing two things, cooling his radiators down
01:01:15and cooling the brakes.
01:01:17He runs up, he tests Michael,
01:01:19and then he backs off a little bit. And, of course,
01:01:21he's keeping the pressure on Michael throughout.
01:01:23Michael running first, of course.
01:01:25Mario's still running fourth. Last year,
01:01:27the Andrettis finished first and second.
01:01:30You know, often, a race driver like Michael
01:01:32will be out in front as long as he is.
01:01:34He's led almost all this entire race,
01:01:36and what he'll do is get a little bit
01:01:38lackadaisical. The guy, he slows down,
01:01:40the guy behind him slows down,
01:01:42so they go to it, and all of a sudden,
01:01:44the guy behind him, Rahom, now, runs up on him,
01:01:46and Michael's got to get her up again.
01:01:48And that's what Rahom wants to keep doing.
01:01:50Again, just off to Michael's left,
01:01:52on the other side of the wall,
01:01:54another half of the roadway, and then
01:01:56a beautiful lakefront here. Look at this.
01:01:58Here's a graph of Michael Andretti's
01:02:00performance this year.
01:02:02Up and down and up and down.
01:02:04And then Bobby Rahom.
01:02:06He doesn't necessarily like the title
01:02:08of Mr. Consistency, but it is
01:02:10a little bit more even. And those
01:02:12first-place finishes, followed up
01:02:14with the second places, those have
01:02:16really helped him stay at the top of the points.
01:02:18He's not only finished good, but he's
01:02:20really been aggressive this year.
01:02:22Michael, of course, it must be remembered,
01:02:24started the year with an unproven engine,
01:02:26and took a few races before that
01:02:28was really functioning for him,
01:02:30and had he not lost those points,
01:02:32doubtless this championship would be
01:02:34head-to-head right now, instead of having
01:02:36Gray Hall with the big lead.
01:02:38You saw Emerson Fittipaldi struggling earlier.
01:02:40Finally, they brought the car in,
01:02:42trying to fix it. Apparently, it doesn't work.
01:02:44Right now, he's with Jack.
01:02:46Well, Paul, despite all of this, he did have
01:02:48the second-fastest lap of the race so far,
01:02:50but that's nothing to take home
01:02:52and be excited about, is it, Emma?
01:02:54The car was really running strong,
01:02:56and after the first pit stop,
01:02:58I was like 10 seconds
01:03:00behind Michael and started catching up
01:03:02to 6, 7 seconds,
01:03:04and very disappointed. We had an electrical problem,
01:03:06I don't know, somewhere on the chassis.
01:03:08With this type of season
01:03:10that Team Penske is having,
01:03:12how tough is it on the drivers?
01:03:14It's got to be big disappointments week after week.
01:03:16Well, you know, today
01:03:18we'll be very competitive, and we have
01:03:20a good chance of winning.
01:03:22The car is running very strong.
01:03:24I'm looking for the next race
01:03:26in the Michigan 500,
01:03:28should be a good race
01:03:30for us and the rest of the season.
01:03:32I mean, just have to go for the next race
01:03:34and go for it. Paul,
01:03:36we're looking forward to that one, too.
01:03:38You'll see it here on ABC Sports.
01:03:40Roger Penske, both cars out.
01:03:42Roger does enjoy watching the racing
01:03:44and stays in the pits,
01:03:46keeping track of everybody else.
01:03:48No doubt keeping track of where he is
01:03:50in the championship standing.
01:03:52You know, look at that Roger Penske.
01:03:54Both cars are out of the race,
01:03:56but he's still there living it in his head.
01:03:58That's a real racer.
01:04:00Michael Andretti in front.
01:04:02Bobby Rahal continues in second
01:04:04as we ride with young Canadian Scott Goodyear,
01:04:06who in Derek Walker's car has had
01:04:08a brilliant season thus far.
01:04:10This is one of the great champions
01:04:12of the future in IndyCar racing.
01:04:14And Bobby Rahal's team a moment ago
01:04:16signaled that they were prepared
01:04:19Michael continues out,
01:04:21coming up behind Stephan Johansson.
01:04:23There is the crew waiting for
01:04:25Bobby Rahal's appearance on pit road.
01:04:27They'll have to watch when he comes in.
01:04:29Bobby's falling back a little further
01:04:31than he likes to fall back right now.
01:04:33And it could be that they have a problem.
01:04:35Here he comes in. Now we'll watch and see.
01:04:37So Bobby Rahal now on pit road.
01:04:39Gary Gerald waits for him.
01:04:41We watch, and here he comes, Paul.
01:04:43He slides right in beautifully like a veteran driver.
01:04:45Doesn't have to lock anything up.
01:04:47It's been 12.3 seconds.
01:04:49Then there was controversy on the exit
01:04:51as he pitted at the same time as Michael Andretti.
01:04:53This time, Michael's still on course.
01:04:55Rahal has got his load of fuel.
01:04:57They disengage the hose.
01:04:59It's 12.3 seconds on our clock
01:05:01and a great clean stop for this team.
01:05:03Oh, what a nice pit stop.
01:05:05Danny Sullivan makes a stop at the same time.
01:05:07Boy, you can tell there was nothing wrong
01:05:09with Rahal's car because he did literally no adjustment.
01:05:11He didn't want any.
01:05:13A very fast pit stop.
01:05:15Now right up behind Rahal.
01:05:17This will come out as a battle for position
01:05:19with Mario right up behind there.
01:05:21But, of course, only momentarily for position
01:05:23because Mario has a stop coming up.
01:05:25Exactly.
01:05:27As we cycle through what should be
01:05:29the final stop of this race.
01:05:31Originally a question mark, two- or three-stop race,
01:05:33but with the long yellow, it looks like a two.
01:05:35Here is Michael Andretti in Jackeroot.
01:05:37And, Paul, they are calling once again
01:05:39for no changes on the car.
01:05:41They're going to exchange all four tires.
01:05:43The most critical point right now,
01:05:45they're concerned taking on all the fuel
01:05:47they possibly can get
01:05:49because they intend not to come back.
01:05:51In fact, there are no more
01:05:53than approximately three gallons of fuel
01:05:55left in the tank as he goes out.
01:05:57Well, the main thing is
01:05:59they both have full loads,
01:06:01so we're working ourselves in
01:06:03for a real good finish right now.
01:06:05And I'll tell you what.
01:06:07The Newman Haas crew has nothing to be ashamed of
01:06:09in that stop either.
01:06:11Jackeroot practices a ballet,
01:06:13total coordination,
01:06:15as both Rahal and Michael Andretti
01:06:17make their stops.
01:06:19But will it be quick enough for Bobby Rahal,
01:06:21and will he be able to find his way back in contact?
01:06:23You saw, just got a glimpse of it behind Michael there,
01:06:25about a straightaway back.
01:06:27So now we're set for a spectacular finish
01:06:29with the pit stops complete
01:06:31in the Molson Indy at Toronto.
01:06:37On Toronto, the CN Tower there over to your right,
01:06:39and here's the way they line up.
01:06:41Not much change at the front of the order.
01:06:43Michael Andretti followed by Bobby Rahal.
01:06:45Danny Sullivan
01:06:47is just a few feet off of
01:06:49being on the leader lap.
01:06:51Then Mario Andretti is behind him,
01:06:53and Eddie Cheever runs down in fifth place.
01:06:57Now Scott Goodyear is circling this track,
01:06:59currently running in seventh.
01:07:01Remember his great run in the Indy 500.
01:07:03Now, after that incredibly close finish
01:07:05behind Al Unser Jr., we asked the Canadian
01:07:07Scott Goodyear about his team's
01:07:09mental toughness.
01:07:11I think we have some mental toughness,
01:07:13there's no doubt in this business.
01:07:15And you know, when you get to taste it a little bit,
01:07:17boy, you want it even worse.
01:07:19I've been chomping at it, you know,
01:07:21especially this year, as I can feel
01:07:23the momentum building in the team,
01:07:25and it's all coming along, and we're going in a good direction.
01:07:27And I guess I underline
01:07:29the word momentum, because you have to
01:07:31be able to continue off. If you've had one good success,
01:07:33you have to make sure you can continue on that,
01:07:35no matter what obstacle you face,
01:07:37and I think our team has been able to carry on that.
01:07:39So Scott Goodyear,
01:07:41though he's very disappointed personally
01:07:43with the way he's performed here,
01:07:45he's been struggling with this car
01:07:47throughout the weekend.
01:07:49I saw him coming out of the garage area,
01:07:51they have an indoor garage area here
01:07:53where all the transporters, the big semis, pull in.
01:07:55And it's really a wonderful, wonderful area
01:07:57for them to work on the cars.
01:07:59And he just really was concerned,
01:08:01he wasn't doing as good as he wanted to
01:08:03Well, you know, that's true, Paul,
01:08:05but ever since Jim O'Donnell and McKenzie
01:08:07and Derek Walker teamed up,
01:08:09this team has really been looking good.
01:08:11Right there's Scott Goodyear,
01:08:13so that really makes a giant difference
01:08:15in how you put good people together.
01:08:17One of my new favorite shots,
01:08:19the out through the rear suspension of Scott Goodyear's car.
01:08:21Yeah, you mentioned Derek Walker,
01:08:23of course, being the crew chief
01:08:25now for Scott Goodyear, who you see here.
01:08:27Derek Walker,
01:08:29multi-time Indy winner when he was
01:08:31Roger Penske's crew chief.
01:08:33When you have that kind of talent,
01:08:35that kind of history in your team,
01:08:37it's easy to have the kind of confidence
01:08:39that Scott Goodyear was talking about
01:08:41the way they build on it.
01:08:43And his chief mechanic, Laurie Garish,
01:08:45another guy, he was my chief mechanic in 1981.
01:08:47He was with Derek Walker for a long time,
01:08:49he was with Penske for a long time.
01:08:51As long as we're watching Scott
01:08:53and talking about Derek Walker,
01:08:55Derek Walker is one of the new
01:08:57smaller board members in this
01:08:59plan they put together for a year trial
01:09:01to try to bring all of IndyCar racing
01:09:03back in focus and back together.
01:09:05Derek Walker is one of them,
01:09:07Carl Haas, Roger Penske,
01:09:09Jim Hall, and Dale Coyne.
01:09:11So, that's a nice
01:09:13cross-representation of IndyCars.
01:09:15And then, of course, non-voting members,
01:09:17the chairman of TART, Bill Stokan,
01:09:19and the president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
01:09:21Tony George. Let's go pit side with
01:09:23Jack Arouf. Well, Paul, if all things
01:09:25go according to plan, we won't see
01:09:27Michael Andretti again because when you bang
01:09:29his fuel tank,
01:09:31it's bone dry. Now, here is
01:09:33the hose that runs out of the tank
01:09:35down to the filler nozzle. This is
01:09:37one gallon. This would be two gallons
01:09:39up here. He has exactly a
01:09:41gallon and a half left. The telemetry
01:09:43tells them that they can now
01:09:45run consuming
01:09:47fuel at 1.4
01:09:49miles to the gallon, so they feel
01:09:51they can go flat out the rest
01:09:53of the way. They've turned the boost up,
01:09:55and they hope that Bobby Rahal
01:09:57cannot catch them. For more on that,
01:09:59let's check in with Gary Gerald. Jack, it's
01:10:01almost an identical story here.
01:10:03Watches with foot on the pit wall along
01:10:05with the crew. They have a little more fuel left
01:10:07than Michael. Four gallons left in the hose
01:10:09here, but they can turn the wick up.
01:10:11This is a showdown to the finish. They don't expect
01:10:13to see Rahal in the pits again until
01:10:15the checkered flag.
01:10:17And what impact thus far has this race
01:10:19had on the entire points fight
01:10:21that goes on season long
01:10:23and ends up with the awarding of the PPG Cup
01:10:25at the end of the season? Well, of course,
01:10:27Bobby Rahal came into this race the
01:10:29points leader, and if they stay the way
01:10:31they are, he'll leave the points leader.
01:10:33That can't be taken away from him,
01:10:35but Michael Andretti will close to
01:10:37within 34 points, so
01:10:39he's gained five points overall. That is
01:10:41if they finish in this current
01:10:43fashion. Now, Al Ensor, Jr., after
01:10:45his spinoff, is back in the running,
01:10:47but currently out of the
01:10:49points, so some of the other contenders,
01:10:51Little Al, Emerson Fittipaldi,
01:10:53Al Ensor, Jr.,
01:10:55they have all had their problems here
01:10:57today, and they all have
01:10:59the potential of finishing out of the points,
01:11:01and that's going to open up that battle.
01:11:03Of course, what Michael
01:11:05Andretti really needs is to have
01:11:07Bobby Rahal fall out of one of these races.
01:11:09There are seven races left in the
01:11:11championship. We look at the race summary
01:11:13after 81 laps, Michael Andretti
01:11:15leading all the way. Will he go all the way
01:11:17to the checkered flag? One caution,
01:11:19that when Eric Bachelar
01:11:21got into the wall, these are the cars
01:11:23out of the race. Fortunately, Eric
01:11:25walked away from his machine. Scott
01:11:27Pruitt had damage to the front of his car.
01:11:29Ted Trappist with an inch of letting go,
01:11:31and Rahal Boycelle, Paul Tracy
01:11:33with gearbox problems.
01:11:35Salmin Fittipaldi,
01:11:37you've seen his problem. Jan Beekus
01:11:39finally retires A.J. Boyce's car,
01:11:41and Scott Brayton with damage
01:11:43comes out of this race.
01:11:45So on board now with Danny Sullivan.
01:11:47Sullivan runs in third place,
01:11:49but he is not running on the leader lap.
01:11:51Once again, as we have seen
01:11:53before this year, the only
01:11:55two cars on the leader lap
01:11:57are Michael Andretti and Bobby Rahal
01:11:59as they continue to drive
01:12:01away from the rest of the field.
01:12:03So the fight continues in Toronto.
01:12:05We'll be back after this message
01:12:07and a word from your ABC station.
01:12:11Miles from here at Exhibition Place,
01:12:13Queens Park and the Parliament
01:12:15Building. Some magnificent
01:12:17architecture here in Toronto.
01:12:19It is a most beautiful city.
01:12:21And the action continues
01:12:23over at Exhibition Place.
01:12:25On Lakeshore, Michael Andretti
01:12:27continues the lead, closing up behind
01:12:29Stephan Johansson, trying to put these
01:12:31cars yet another lap down.
01:12:33And Bobby Rahal has fallen back a bit.
01:12:35He's now four and a half seconds behind
01:12:37Michael, but having to handle up some
01:12:39traffic. Michael, well, he gets through it
01:12:41pretty quickly, so it will not be a factor
01:12:43to Michael in terms of slowing him down
01:12:45and allowing Bobby Rahal to catch up.
01:12:47Traffic's really important right now. Michael's
01:12:49led all of this race, but take us proud
01:12:51that he has his traffic. Any one
01:12:53of these guys with his teammates so close
01:12:55on each side can cause Michael to
01:12:57hit the wall. So he has to be careful and
01:12:59watch for Bobby Rahal taking a run at him
01:13:01at the same time. 88 laps are now
01:13:03complete. 103 laps the
01:13:05scheduled distance. And this is the
01:13:07seventh annual Molson Indy Toronto.
01:13:09Gigantic crowd here. Beautiful day.
01:13:11Nice sky overhead, and I'll tell you
01:13:13something, Bobby Hunter and Sam, these
01:13:15Canadian race fans
01:13:17love their racing. They come
01:13:19out, they love to watch anything, and this is a
01:13:21race-filled weekend. You don't
01:13:23see any of them leaving before the race
01:13:25is over. These people,
01:13:27the Canadians up here, just
01:13:29plain love racing, like you said.
01:13:31And you know, there are two young drivers that they
01:13:33justifiably are so proud of, have
01:13:35performed today exactly as one might
01:13:37have expected. Paul Tracy
01:13:39going off like a rocket almost, showing
01:13:41incredible skill and speed.
01:13:43And Scott Goodyear showing the
01:13:45kind of consistency that has earmarked
01:13:47his season so far this year.
01:13:49As we keep an eye on Bobby Rahal in second
01:13:51place, he and the Rahal-Hogan team
01:13:53continue to lead both in points
01:13:55and in prize money earned
01:13:57in this year's Texaco-Haviland
01:13:59Pit Stop competition. However,
01:14:01Scott Goodyear and his Walker Motorsports team
01:14:03have now moved into second place in that
01:14:05competition after proving that
01:14:07a great pit stop strategy is an
01:14:09important part of every IndyCar event.
01:14:11While his competitors
01:14:13visited Pit Lane at least three times
01:14:15at the Milwaukee 200,
01:14:17Goodyear needed only two pit stops
01:14:19on his way to spending the least amount
01:14:21of time in the pits during the race, and that
01:14:23moved him up in the points. So, that
01:14:25competition continues as well.
01:14:27Michael Andretti, the Kmart car
01:14:29number one, looking solid.
01:14:31Pulling out from Bobby Rahal, who is
01:14:33still a good four seconds back.
01:14:35Remember, so many times this year,
01:14:37Michael Andretti
01:14:39has been leading
01:14:41toward the closing laps,
01:14:43but doesn't finish the race. Michael Andretti
01:14:45starting third, now first. But, you know,
01:14:47he's a driver somewhere. But, you know, Paul, he is
01:14:49really being careful today. Now, he's had
01:14:51problems, even like in Indianapolis, when he's
01:14:53been careful, but he's really been careful
01:14:55today. He's taken a lot of time to
01:14:57pass the cars, and Buddy Lazear, right in front
01:14:59of him, is really, really
01:15:01doing everything he can not to have a
01:15:03situation with another car.
01:15:05Well, he's running about a mile
01:15:07an hour only, per lap,
01:15:09off of his fastest lap, though.
01:15:11So, the smoothness that we're noticing
01:15:13from him here is not really
01:15:15slowing him down a great deal.
01:15:17It's interesting.
01:15:19Average speed of the race coming up a bit.
01:15:21Don't forget, in two weeks, all these cars
01:15:23move from a temporary road circuit here
01:15:25to the super speedway
01:15:27at Michigan, for the Michigan 500.
01:15:29500 hard-fought
01:15:31miles. That is always a spectacular
01:15:33race. Don't miss that one.
01:15:35Average speed right now, 96.9
01:15:37miles an hour, so
01:15:39Michael Andretti is closing
01:15:41on his old record set last
01:15:43year at 99.1.
01:15:45Will Michael be able to get past
01:15:47that? He's on his way
01:15:49right now. Bobby Rahal still
01:15:51trying to catch up and close the gap
01:15:53by about half a second, but
01:15:55Michael Andretti is looking solid.
01:15:57And the harbor front
01:15:59here at Toronto, Canada.
01:16:01On a beautiful day,
01:16:03and over at Exhibition Place,
01:16:05the race cars continue
01:16:07to battle with one another, as
01:16:09Michael Andretti pulls a little
01:16:11bit ahead, and then, unfortunately,
01:16:13falls back closer to the
01:16:15clutches of Bobby Rahal.
01:16:17You see Bobby Rahal as he comes
01:16:19off that corner. Now watch.
01:16:21Get a glimpse of him. There is Bobby Rahal
01:16:23as he is once again closing in
01:16:25and is now only two and a half seconds back.
01:16:27Now, Rahal has no choice. It's a points race.
01:16:29It's a championship they're going after,
01:16:31and he's putting everything out he can pull out.
01:16:33He's got to rev the engine as tight as he can go,
01:16:35use all the fuel that is necessary,
01:16:37do all the braking that he can do,
01:16:39because there's only ten laps left.
01:16:41Just ten laps to go, and remember that
01:16:43Bobby Rahal's car tends to
01:16:45handle better when it's lighter.
01:16:47So, the story should tell here
01:16:49shortly, as Rahal, definitely
01:16:51in hot pursuit. Now, what about
01:16:53Michael Andretti? He has an opportunity
01:16:55to maybe lead flag to flag
01:16:57for the second year in a row here.
01:16:59Jack Arood, what do you think?
01:17:01Well, Paul, that seems to be his goal right now.
01:17:03In fact, the crew has radioed to him that
01:17:05they are not at all concerned about fuel.
01:17:07They have radioed for him to go to
01:17:09plus four on the fuel setting.
01:17:11So, even though they only have a gallon and a half,
01:17:13they have no intentions of bringing him back in,
01:17:15nor are they going to play this conservatively.
01:17:17Now, you've got to remember that his
01:17:19chief counterpart in the chase for the championship
01:17:21is directly behind him.
01:17:23So, if you want to use up a competitor's car,
01:17:25try to keep the pace as hot
01:17:27and as fast as you possibly can,
01:17:29run the competition out of fuel,
01:17:31and maybe you can gain some more points.
01:17:33Let's check in with Gary Gerald.
01:17:35Carl Hogan is here watching Bobby Rahal.
01:17:37What are your chances of catching Michael Andretti?
01:17:39Well, under all the circumstances
01:17:41right now, not very well.
01:17:43Any major concerns?
01:17:45Well, we may have one.
01:17:47Any major concerns?
01:17:49We may have one.
01:17:51You've got to tell us about it.
01:17:53Not right now.
01:17:55All right. There's one concern.
01:17:57Now, let me ask about that incident
01:17:59with the officials earlier.
01:18:01Will you file a protest?
01:18:03We're going to talk to them for sure.
01:18:05I don't know if we'll file a protest.
01:18:07We're going to talk to them,
01:18:09see what they have to say.
01:18:11All right. There is a concern.
01:18:13We don't know what it is.
01:18:15Maybe we'll find out.
01:18:17I don't know if this is any harsh judgments on him.
01:18:19Carl Hogan is about the nicest man you could ever meet,
01:18:21but again, like you said, Paul,
01:18:23he can't see everything,
01:18:25and as far as the protest at the start,
01:18:27I've never seen one of those things
01:18:29be valid in my life as motor racing,
01:18:31so it won't happen here with that.
01:18:33But Bobby Rahal has run as hard as he could.
01:18:35Michael is running hard at times.
01:18:37Rahal seems faster than Michael,
01:18:39but he can't get around it.
01:18:41You know what I like about Hogan, though?
01:18:43He doesn't mask at all.
01:18:45He's intensely involved in it.
01:18:47He gets happy. He gets angry.
01:18:49We need a little bit more of that.
01:18:51Can't you imagine him having him
01:18:53for a partner in any business?
01:18:55That's got to be a dream come true.
01:18:57Only when you're winning.
01:18:59I got a feeling if you're not doing well,
01:19:01you can be a bear.
01:19:03Michael out in front now 3.6 seconds,
01:19:05so Rahal has dropped back a bit.
01:19:07We ride with third place Danny Sullivan
01:19:09who is off the lead lap.
01:19:11He is being pursued by Mario Andretti,
01:19:13Junior, Robbie Gordon, and Brian Till.
01:19:15And on Bobby Rahal's situation,
01:19:17Gary, you have more.
01:19:19Well, Carl Hogan was being mysterious with us,
01:19:21but then he said,
01:19:23you might want to stick around,
01:19:25and we see indications that this team
01:19:27may be anticipating a late-race stop by Rahal.
01:19:29If, in fact, that's the case,
01:19:31that would, of course, seemingly destroy
01:19:33any chance to win.
01:19:35He's got to be worried about trying
01:19:37to protect second place in the standings.
01:19:39We wait with them, and we'll see
01:19:41what happens next.
01:19:43We'll see what happens next.
01:19:45We'll see what happens next.
01:19:47We'll see what happens next.
01:19:49We'll see what happens next.
01:19:51We'll see what happens next.
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01:23:21We'll see what happens next.
01:23:23We'll see what happens next.
01:23:25Right.
01:23:27The interesting thing here, of course,
01:23:29is that this is exactly the kind of day,
01:23:31you see Paul there, that Michael Andretti
01:23:33so desperately needs.
01:23:35He has to chip away at Rahal.
01:23:37He has to try to get Rahal on the defensive.
01:23:39Paul knows, as well as anybody else,
01:23:41that a victory here today is a victory
01:23:43in its own right, but the championship
01:23:45is still way out of their grasp.
01:23:47Not out of their grasp, but it's still
01:23:49going to take a lot of work to get
01:23:51where they were last year, which was
01:23:53impressively on Rahal as the season progressed.
01:23:55Michael led every lap here last year.
01:23:57Will he lead every lap here this year?
01:23:59Now 101 laps complete
01:24:01as Eddie Cheever's target car
01:24:03rolls over to the side,
01:24:05obviously power off.
01:24:07I think that's Robby Gordon's car.
01:24:09I think Eddie's still running.
01:24:11And I heard that thing when it came by.
01:24:13Boy, it sounded like it blew an engine
01:24:15because it really made bad sounds.
01:24:17It went right by our booth there.
01:24:19I think Eddie Cheever is still running sixth,
01:24:21but neither of those cars have run
01:24:23really well today.
01:24:25You know, they've got one of the best
01:24:27engineers, Mo Nunn, on that team
01:24:29that does these cars, and usually
01:24:31Mo is really good on these road circuits.
01:24:33Neither one of his cars, like you said,
01:24:35were no very good today.
01:24:37Geez, I was wrong there.
01:24:39It was Eddie Cheever's car
01:24:41that stopped. My mistake.
01:24:43Pulled over by the edge.
01:24:45Now there's Rahal with that stop
01:24:47running a full 19 and a half
01:24:49seconds back
01:24:51of Michael Andretti and
01:24:53Nick Funaro with the white flag.
01:24:55One more lap to go.
01:24:571.78 miles
01:24:59for Michael Andretti.
01:25:01And it's a time that you traditionally
01:25:03refer to the worries of the
01:25:05race driver. Bobby, truly
01:25:07on this lap, is it a difficult run?
01:25:09Oh, it certainly is, and especially
01:25:11with Michael. Think of all the bad luck
01:25:13he's had almost winning some races
01:25:15this year and dropping out.
01:25:17Boy, I'll tell you what. He shifts it easy.
01:25:19He turns it easy. Watch the traffic
01:25:21easy. Definitely doesn't turn much
01:25:23RPM. So Michael Andretti now
01:25:25totally without challenge on the final lap.
01:25:27And, of course, what a relief mentally for him
01:25:29that Rahal had to make that pit stop.
01:25:31That has basically allowed him to
01:25:33enjoy these last couple of laps,
01:25:35which he would not have been able to do with Bobby
01:25:37Rahal and his mirrors. It's rare that
01:25:39a driver gets a chance to savor
01:25:41a win coming up, and I think Michael
01:25:43is able to do that right this minute. And Michael
01:25:45Andretti heads for the checkered flag.
01:25:47No one else in contest on this field.
01:25:49As we come to the closing lap,
01:25:51Michael Andretti makes the final turn onto
01:25:53the pit straight. And the Kmart
01:25:55Lola has taken the win
01:25:57here in Toronto. And another
01:25:59victory for the Ford engine,
01:26:01and 25 victories
01:26:03now go into the record book
01:26:05for Michael Andretti. Newman and
01:26:07Haas are...

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