2000 Michigan 500
Encyclopedia
The 2000 Michigan 500 was the eleventh round of the 2000 CART season. It happened at the Michigan International Speedway
.
, from Team Green, set the pole. The American
driver Michael Andretti
, from Newman/Haas Racing, started alongside him at row 1
driver Juan Pablo Montoya
, from Chip Ganassi Racing
. He was battling for the lead against Andretti from lap 2. The top 10 at lap 18 was: Montoya, Andretti, Kenny Bräck
, Christian Fittipaldi
, Helio Castroneves
, Cristiano da Matta
, Adrian Fernández
, Gil de Ferran
, Patrick Carpentier
and Max Papis
.
At lap 25, Paul Tracy was struggling in the race, as he was in 14th. The 1st caution came out as Fernández spun in the pit exit. He damaged the front side of his car, but he remained in the race, despite of the damage. The top 6 was: Brack, Montoya, Fittipaldi, Castroneves, Papis and da Matta. The restart came out at lap 47. At lap 51, Fittipaldi overtook Bräck and took the lead. But Bräck retook the lead. After 70 laps, Andretti was leading. The Brazilian
driver Tony Kanaan
, from Mo Nunn
was the first driver to retire in this race. Then, from lap 76 until lap 81, all the drivers did their 2nd pitstops. At lap 83, the 2nd caution came out due to debris on backstretch. The restart came out at lap 89. At lap 98, the 3rd caution happened, as Kenny Bräck was hit by Christian Fittipaldi. Bräck retired. After 99 laps this was the top 6: Castroneves, Montoya, Papis, Carpentier, da Matta and Tracy.
Jimmy Vasser
suffered mechanical problems. The American driver retired at lap 100. Before Vasser, the Brazilian driver Roberto Moreno
, from Patrick Racing
, also retired, due to gearbox problems. The restart came out at lap 107. At lap 109, this was the top 6: Tracy, Castroneves, Papis, Montoya, da Matta and Dario Franchitti
. At lap 135, the British
driver Mark Blundell
, from PacWest
, retired. Brazilian driver Gil de Ferran
, from Penske Racing
retired due a suspension failure. He suffered a minor fracture on his finger. Then, everyone did their pit stops until lap 144. At that lap, Cristiano da Matta, had a fuel problem in the pits. He retired. At lap 162, the Forsythe Racing Canadian driver Alex Tagliani
suffered a bad crash at turn 4. He retired, but walked away. 4th caution. The restart came out at lap 171. After 178 laps, the top 5 was: Tracy, Montoya, Castroneves, Andretti and Carpentier. From lap 206 until 212, the drivers did their pitstops. Spaniard Oriol Servià
had a drive through penalty at lap 212. At lap 222, the 5th caution came out, as Christian Fittipaldi had an wild spin on the backstretch. He retired, but complained about ankle pains. The restart came out at lap 230. Montoya and Andretti were battling for the win in an amazing side by side finish. Montoya won, Andretti 2nd, Franchitti 3rd, Carpentier 4th, Castroneves 5th, Fernández 6th, Tracy 7th, Servià 8th, Papis 9th, Memo Gidley
finished 10th.
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile moderate-banked D-shaped superspeedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than in Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a "sister track" to Texas...
.
Qualifying
The Canadian driver Paul TracyPaul Tracy
Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series...
, from Team Green, set the pole. The American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
driver Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
, from Newman/Haas Racing, started alongside him at row 1
Race
At the end of lap 1, the leader was the ColombianColombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
driver Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán is a Colombian race car driver known internationally for participating and winning in Formula One and CART race competitions. He has enjoyed great success. Currently, he competes in NASCAR, driving the #42 Target Chevrolet Impala for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the Sprint...
, from Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. They have won 4 Champ Car, 3 Indy Racing League and 1 Grand-Am championships...
. He was battling for the lead against Andretti from lap 2. The top 10 at lap 18 was: Montoya, Andretti, Kenny Bräck
Kenny Bräck
Kenny Bräck is a race car driver from Sweden. Until his retirement from racing, he competed in the CART, Indy Racing League and the IROC series. He is the winner of the 1999 Indianapolis 500 and the 1998 driving champion of the Indy Racing League. He survived one of the racing sport's biggest...
, Christian Fittipaldi
Christian Fittipaldi
Christian Fittipaldi is a Brazilian racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car and NASCAR...
, Helio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves
Hélio Castroneves is a Brazilian auto racing driver currently competing in the North American IndyCar Series. In IndyCar competition, Castroneves has 14 wins and 28 poles, and has never placed lower than sixth in the standings in a complete season of racing...
, Cristiano da Matta
Cristiano da Matta
Cristiano Monteiro da Matta is an auto racing driver, winner of the American CART Championship in 2002, and former Formula One driver with the Toyota team.-Origins and early career:...
, Adrian Fernández
Adrian Fernández
José Adrián Fernández Mier is a Mexican racing driver and co-owner of the Fernandez Racing team.-Early career:...
, Gil de Ferran
Gil de Ferran
Gil de Ferran , is a professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for the Penske Honda Team and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 500.Inspired by the success of fellow Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi, de Ferran began his career in kart racing...
, Patrick Carpentier
Patrick Carpentier
Patrick Carpentier is a retired Canadian race car driver. He is best known for his career in the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. In 2009, Patrick shared the #36 of Tommy Baldwin Racing with Mike Skinner and ran Michael Waltrip's #55 Toyota Camry in the road course races in the...
and Max Papis
Max Papis
Massimiliano "Max" Papis is a racing driver who has competed in several top-level motorsports events such as Le Mans 24 Hours, Formula One and Champ Car. He has three Champ Car victories. He is the son-in-law of Emerson Fittipaldi. His son's godfather is fellow Italian Alex Zanardi...
.
At lap 25, Paul Tracy was struggling in the race, as he was in 14th. The 1st caution came out as Fernández spun in the pit exit. He damaged the front side of his car, but he remained in the race, despite of the damage. The top 6 was: Brack, Montoya, Fittipaldi, Castroneves, Papis and da Matta. The restart came out at lap 47. At lap 51, Fittipaldi overtook Bräck and took the lead. But Bräck retook the lead. After 70 laps, Andretti was leading. The Brazilian
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
driver Tony Kanaan
Tony Kanaan
Antoine Rizkallah Kanaan Filho, commonly known as Tony Kanaan is a Brazilian race car driver of Lebanese heritage. Kanaan won the 2004 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series championship driving Andretti Green Racing's 7-Eleven sponsored car, winning three times in his Honda-powered Dallara...
, from Mo Nunn
Mo Nunn
Morris 'Mo' Nunn is a motor racing team owner and engineer from England. He ran the Ensign Formula One team in the late 1970s and early 80s, and later worked for Chip Ganassi's highly successful Champ Car team, before founding Mo Nunn Racing for the 2000 season....
was the first driver to retire in this race. Then, from lap 76 until lap 81, all the drivers did their 2nd pitstops. At lap 83, the 2nd caution came out due to debris on backstretch. The restart came out at lap 89. At lap 98, the 3rd caution happened, as Kenny Bräck was hit by Christian Fittipaldi. Bräck retired. After 99 laps this was the top 6: Castroneves, Montoya, Papis, Carpentier, da Matta and Tracy.
Jimmy Vasser
Jimmy Vasser
Jimmy Vasser is a retired American racing driver and current co-owner of KV Racing Technology. Vasser won the 1996 IndyCar season championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series...
suffered mechanical problems. The American driver retired at lap 100. Before Vasser, the Brazilian driver Roberto Moreno
Roberto Moreno
Roberto Pupo Moreno , usually known as Roberto Moreno and also as Pupo Moreno, is a racing driver from Brazil. He participated in 75 Formula One Grands Prix, achieved 1 podium, and scored a total of 15 championship points. He raced in CART in 1986, and was Formula 3000 champion before joining...
, from Patrick Racing
Patrick Racing
Patrick Racing was an auto racing team in both Champ Car and the Indy Racing League.Patrick Racing was started by Pat Patrick with the formation of CART in 1978. Patrick Racing would win three Indianapolis 500s and two CART championships, making it one of the most successful CART teams ever.In...
, also retired, due to gearbox problems. The restart came out at lap 107. At lap 109, this was the top 6: Tracy, Castroneves, Papis, Montoya, da Matta and Dario Franchitti
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti is a Scottish racing driver. He formerly competed in the CART series before switching to the IndyCar Series where he was 2007 champion, and won the rain-shortened 2007 Indianapolis 500. Franchitti is also a former NASCAR driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, competing...
. At lap 135, the British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
driver Mark Blundell
Mark Blundell
Mark Blundell is a Formula One, sports car, and CART racing driver. He was a Formula One presenter for the British broadcaster ITV until the end of the 2008 season when the TV broadcasting rights switched to the BBC....
, from PacWest
PacWest
PacWest can refer to:*Pacific West Conference, an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division II*PacWest Center, a 29-story office building in Portland, Oregon...
, retired. Brazilian driver Gil de Ferran
Gil de Ferran
Gil de Ferran , is a professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for the Penske Honda Team and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 500.Inspired by the success of fellow Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi, de Ferran began his career in kart racing...
, from Penske Racing
Penske Racing
Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...
retired due a suspension failure. He suffered a minor fracture on his finger. Then, everyone did their pit stops until lap 144. At that lap, Cristiano da Matta, had a fuel problem in the pits. He retired. At lap 162, the Forsythe Racing Canadian driver Alex Tagliani
Alex Tagliani
Alexandre Tagliani is a Canadian auto racing driver from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He currently competes in the IZOD IndyCar Series, driving the #77 entry for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.-Champ Car career:...
suffered a bad crash at turn 4. He retired, but walked away. 4th caution. The restart came out at lap 171. After 178 laps, the top 5 was: Tracy, Montoya, Castroneves, Andretti and Carpentier. From lap 206 until 212, the drivers did their pitstops. Spaniard Oriol Servià
Oriol Servia
Oriol Servià i Imbers is a race car driver in the IndyCar Series, originally from Catalonia, Spain. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.-Early career:...
had a drive through penalty at lap 212. At lap 222, the 5th caution came out, as Christian Fittipaldi had an wild spin on the backstretch. He retired, but complained about ankle pains. The restart came out at lap 230. Montoya and Andretti were battling for the win in an amazing side by side finish. Montoya won, Andretti 2nd, Franchitti 3rd, Carpentier 4th, Castroneves 5th, Fernández 6th, Tracy 7th, Servià 8th, Papis 9th, Memo Gidley
Memo Gidley
José Guillermo "Memo" Gidley is a Mexican-American racing driver, of German and Canadian ancestry, born in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico in 1973. He holds dual citizenship - American and Mexican....
finished 10th.