Post by Topcontender on Aug 14, 2002 23:13:16 GMT -5
ok here is the article
The first half of the Championship Auto Racing Teams season largely was about two men, one trying to inject excitement into the present and build the series' future and the other trying to remove all drama from the present and build his own future.
First-year CART president Chris Pook has been more visible and vocal than his predecessors as he preaches the gospel to any audience willing to listen.
He has shaken up the organization, moved its headquarters from suburban Detroit to Indianapolis and begun to put his stamp on it.
But while Pook was traveling the country espousing the most competitive racing series in the world, Newman/Haas Racing's Cristiano da Matta was doing his best to prove the boss wrong.
The Brazilian driver followed his two victories to end last season by winning the 2002 opener in March in Monterrey, Mexico. Foiled in his bid for four in a row, he began another streak in June that reached a series record-tying four.
But just as he was on the verge of making the championship an afterthought, he encountered enough problems -- including a gravel trap last weekend at Mid-Ohio -- to put a little mystery back in the mix.
Bad for him, good for Pook.
"I'm trying to make it boring, but I couldn't," da Matta said even before his detour through the gravel. "It's not very often you're going to see a guy be able to pull away."
If Pook is relieved that da Matta no longer is pulling away, that doesn't solve the problem of him going away. He is being courted by Toyota to move to its Formula One team, the same career path chosen by former CART champions Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Pook's biggest challenge in holding CART together was on display at Mid-Ohio, where the four drivers sharing the podium through qualifying and the race had one major thing in common: They probably won't be back next year.
Race winner Patrick Carpentier, out of necessity, and Michael Andretti, by sponsor choice, are good bets to be in the Indy Racing League in 2003. Da Matta has his eyes on F-1 and his teammate, Christian Fittipaldi, already has committed to NASCAR.
Undaunted, Pook said Sunday in announcing the 19-race schedule that he expects a minimum of 18 cars -- the current total -- and perhaps as many as 22 for 2003. He also remains optimistic of finding a major manufacturer to badge the turbocharged Cosworth engine that all teams will use next year.
"We continue to be pretty excited about what we've got," he said. "I think you are going to see here very shortly some of the packages we're putting together for the teams and some other sponsorship announcements that will have a huge effect on this whole program."
Pook has an ally in team owner Pat Patrick, who with Roger Penske co-founded CART in 1979. Just as poor leadership created CART's problems, Patrick said, good leadership can solve them.
"We had too much micro-management by the owners brought on by poor management from way back," Patrick said. "I'm not pointing fingers; we were all at fault.
"We should have hired a professional to run it. We have one now."
A team-by-team report card after 11 of the season's 19 races:
The first half of the Championship Auto Racing Teams season largely was about two men, one trying to inject excitement into the present and build the series' future and the other trying to remove all drama from the present and build his own future.
First-year CART president Chris Pook has been more visible and vocal than his predecessors as he preaches the gospel to any audience willing to listen.
He has shaken up the organization, moved its headquarters from suburban Detroit to Indianapolis and begun to put his stamp on it.
But while Pook was traveling the country espousing the most competitive racing series in the world, Newman/Haas Racing's Cristiano da Matta was doing his best to prove the boss wrong.
The Brazilian driver followed his two victories to end last season by winning the 2002 opener in March in Monterrey, Mexico. Foiled in his bid for four in a row, he began another streak in June that reached a series record-tying four.
But just as he was on the verge of making the championship an afterthought, he encountered enough problems -- including a gravel trap last weekend at Mid-Ohio -- to put a little mystery back in the mix.
Bad for him, good for Pook.
"I'm trying to make it boring, but I couldn't," da Matta said even before his detour through the gravel. "It's not very often you're going to see a guy be able to pull away."
If Pook is relieved that da Matta no longer is pulling away, that doesn't solve the problem of him going away. He is being courted by Toyota to move to its Formula One team, the same career path chosen by former CART champions Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Pook's biggest challenge in holding CART together was on display at Mid-Ohio, where the four drivers sharing the podium through qualifying and the race had one major thing in common: They probably won't be back next year.
Race winner Patrick Carpentier, out of necessity, and Michael Andretti, by sponsor choice, are good bets to be in the Indy Racing League in 2003. Da Matta has his eyes on F-1 and his teammate, Christian Fittipaldi, already has committed to NASCAR.
Undaunted, Pook said Sunday in announcing the 19-race schedule that he expects a minimum of 18 cars -- the current total -- and perhaps as many as 22 for 2003. He also remains optimistic of finding a major manufacturer to badge the turbocharged Cosworth engine that all teams will use next year.
"We continue to be pretty excited about what we've got," he said. "I think you are going to see here very shortly some of the packages we're putting together for the teams and some other sponsorship announcements that will have a huge effect on this whole program."
Pook has an ally in team owner Pat Patrick, who with Roger Penske co-founded CART in 1979. Just as poor leadership created CART's problems, Patrick said, good leadership can solve them.
"We had too much micro-management by the owners brought on by poor management from way back," Patrick said. "I'm not pointing fingers; we were all at fault.
"We should have hired a professional to run it. We have one now."
A team-by-team report card after 11 of the season's 19 races: