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 Tuesday, March 20, 2001
CART gets its first look at Monterrey
By Jack Arute
Special to ABC Sports Online
ABC Sports kicks off its 2001 racing coverage live from Monterrey, Mexico with Sunday's running of the Monterrey Grand Prix at Fundidora Park for CART's FedEx Champ Car Series (4 p.m. ET).
|  | | Roger Penske celebrates one of his victories. He's returning to Mexico this week, where he won two races in the '80s. |
Although it has been almost 20 years since CART visited Mexico, the early favorite to take the "South of the Border" honors would have to be Team Penske. Virtually every element of Penske's Vanderbilt Cup winning effort of 2000 returns this year. The Honda/Reynard package remains the same, the crew is again led by Tom Wurtz, with Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves driving. Plus, Penske has a chassis modification operation in Poole, England.
Off-season testing for Penske has been productive. In addition to their CART effort, both Castroneves and de Ferran have spent considerable time behind the wheel of their IRL cars preparing for Phoenix and eventually "The Captain's" return to the Brickyard for the Indy 500.
A sidebar to their IRL preparations has been the decision that the Indianapolis 500 will be considered part of CART's 2001 schedule of events -- at least as far as the federal tobacco settlement is concerned.
By leaving the Indy 500 date open, CART has told lawmakers that they consider it part (although no points are awarded) of their yearlong efforts. That means that Penske's cars will most likely carry the Marlboro livery Memorial Day weekend.
But, back to Mexico. The numbers favor Penske. In 1980 and 1981, CART ventured into Mexico for a pair of road races in Mexico City. They were swept by Roger's Reading, Pa.-based outfit. Bobby Unser swept both pole positions and Rick Mears took both victories.
Penske's return will not go uncontested. Native son Adrian Fernandez debuts his own team and will attempt to keep his winning string alive. Fernandez is the only active CART driver to have scored a victory in every country that CART has raced in.
Mexico will also be our first look at some new driver/owner combinations. Christian Fittipaldi takes over the lead spot at Newman-Haas, Michael Andretti joins Team Green, Jimmy Vasser starts his tenure at Patrick Racing, Alex Zanardi comes home to wheel a car for old friend Mo Nunn and Team Target shows the world Chip Ganassi's picks to continue his championship form.
Maybe the most important part of the week will be the practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday. Friday will mark CART's first "race condition" look at the 2.1-mile layout. Teams have poured over computer simulations, and on Friday, they will see if their video work was correct. By Saturday, sufficient driver input (along with a number of spring and bar changes) will give a good idea of who will have the edge when the green flag falls on Sunday.
If you are looking for a couple of additional favorites, check out the Miller/Sheel operation of Team Rahal. Bobby Rahal may be in Europe trying to make Team Jaguar a force in Formula One, but his Ford connection there will mean that he will certainly have the best that Ford has to offer in CART. Max Papis has shown that he is a force on the ovals. His background, however, is road racing so with a level playing field created by the "first-ever" status of the Monterrey GP, Papis might be a factor.
Kenny Brack should also benefit from the road race configuration. Early indications are that the Fundidora circuit includes some challenging corners and a couple of excellent passing zones. After a year of seasoning, Brack is ready to win.
There are a large number of contenders for the first CART race, but that simply illustrates the level of competition in CART this year. That means Paul Page, Parker Johnstone, Jon Beekhius and Gary Gerould will be busy bringing you the action.
Jack Arute mans the pits for ABC Sports' auto racing coverage. He writes a column every Monday for ABC Sports Online.
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 Christian Fittipaldi won the Marlboro 500, but Gil de Ferran is the 2000 CART/FedEx champion.
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Jimmy Vasser takes the checkered flag in the Houston Grand Prix.
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Helio Castroneves takes the checkered flag in Monterey.
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Paul Tracy takes the checkered flag in the Vancouver Molson Indy.
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