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1999 Michigan 500

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United States 1999 Michigan 500
Race details
Race 12 of 20 in the 1999 CART season
Michigan International Speedway
DateJuly 25, 1999
Official name1999 U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota
LocationMichigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan, United States
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.000 mi / 3.219 km
Distance250 laps
500.000 mi / 804.672 km
WeatherDry
Pole position
DriverJimmy Vasser (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Time31.358 (229.6 mph)
Fastest lap
DriverJimmy Vasser (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Time31.778 (on lap 236 of 250)
Podium
FirstTony Kanaan (Forsythe Racing)
SecondJuan Pablo Montoya (Chip Ganassi Racing)
ThirdPaul Tracy (Team KOOL Green)

The 1999 Michigan 500 was the twelfth round of the 1999 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on July 25, 1999 at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. For sponsorship reasons, and in light of the continuing split in Championship Car racing, the race was branded as the 1999 U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota.

Report

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Race

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The qualifying saw Jimmy Vasser take the pole with Adrián Fernández alongside, but at the second attempt to start (the first was called off due to field alignment issues), it was the second-row starters Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Andretti who raced away into the first two spots. In the early stages, the duo exchanged the lead many times (most unofficial, though) before Andretti was able to build a lead. He led until the second round of pit stops when a caution due to Gil de Ferran's crash bunched the field up, allowing second-placed Montoya to close and pass him on the restart. The duo again battled for the lead, but then Max Papis surged bast both of them and began to pull away. Papis led comfortably until a crash for P. J. Jones erased a nine-second lead and allowed Andretti to jump him in the pit stops. The restart saw Papis battle with Andretti and Dario Franchitti for a few laps before breaking away again, only for another caution caused by Scott Pruett's crash to again bring the field closer to him. Once again Papis was able to pull away from his pursuers when the race went green, as an epic battle for second commenced between the Team Green duo of Franchitti and Paul Tracy, and the Newman-Haas duo of Andretti and Christian Fittipaldi, which was later joined by Montoya and Tony Kanaan as well. After the final round of pit stops, Papis continued to lead, though Kanaan, on an alternate strategy was able to run 5-7 laps longer than other frontrunners and thus had a shorter stop and was up to second, only three seconds behind Papis, and well ahead of a battle between Andretti, Franchitti, and Tracy for third. Kanaan initially closed up on Papis, but Papis was able to pull away again, and, behind them, the Ganassi drivers, Montoya and Jimmy Vasser started to set a searing pace. Both passed Andretti, Franchitti, and Tracy and set off after Kanaan, lapping much quicker than anyone else. However, Vasser had to pit for more fuel after a problem with the fuel rig, and this also made Montoya's task harder as he now had to chase Kanaan on his own without his teammate's help. Papis continued to lead and was well set to take his first career win only for his car to run out of fuel midway through the last lap. Kanaan went by but Montoya was right with him and attempted to pass him at the line. Kanaan however, held on to beat Montoya by 0.032 seconds, with Tracy taking the final step of the podium after passing Andretti at the line.

Classification

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Race

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Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 44 Brazil Tony Kanaan Forsythe Racing 250 2:41:12.632 11 20
2 4 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing 250 +0.032 3 16
3 26 Canada Paul Tracy Team Green 250 +8.453 8 14
4 6 United States Michael Andretti Newman-Haas Racing 250 +8.506 4 12
5 27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Team Green 250 +9.137 9 10
6 40 Mexico Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing 250 +9.521 2 8
7 7 Italy Max Papis Team Rahal 250 +10.343 6 6+1
8 11 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Newman-Haas Racing 250 +15.410 16 5
9 12 United States Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing 249 +1 Lap 1 4+1
10 33 Canada Patrick Carpentier Forsythe Racing 248 +2 Laps 12 3
11 34 United States Dennis Vitolo Payton/Coyne Racing 232 +18 Laps 23 2
12 10 United States Richie Hearn Della Penna Motorsports 207 Electrical 20 1
13 2 United States Al Unser Jr. Team Penske 206 Engine 13
14 24 United States Scott Pruett Arciero-Wells Racing 183 Contact 5
15 36 Brazil Gualter Salles All American Racing 146 Engine 24
16 20 United States P. J. Jones Patrick Racing 132 Contact 22
17 25 Brazil Cristiano da Matta Arciero-Wells Racing 126 Electrical 10
18 3 United States Alex Barron Team Penske 120 Engine 18
19 18 Brazil Roberto Moreno PacWest Racing 113 Handling 13
20 8 United States Bryan Herta Team Rahal 92 Suspension 7
21 19 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. Payton/Coyne Racing 80 Driveshaft 26
22 17 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin PacWest Racing 64 Radiator 14
23 99 Canada Greg Moore Forsythe Racing 63 Transmission 21
24 5 Brazil Gil de Ferran Walker Racing 59 Contact 15
25 9 Brazil Hélio Castro-Neves Hogan Racing 47 Electrical 19
26 22 United States Robby Gordon Team Gordon 33 Handling 25

Caution flags

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Laps Cause
1 Field not aligned
61-71 de Ferran (5) contact
137-144 Jones (20) contact
185-193 Pruett (24) contact

Lap Leaders

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Laps Leader
1 Jimmy Vasser
2-7 Juan Pablo Montoya
8 Michael Andretti
9-18 Juan Pablo Montoya
19-36 Michael Andretti
37-38 Paul Tracy
39-70 Michael Andretti
71-72 Juan Pablo Montoya
73 Michael Andretti
74 Juan Pablo Montoya
75 Michael Andretti
76-83 Juan Pablo Montoya
84-105 Max Papis
106-107 Michael Andretti
108-139 Max Papis
140-144 Michael Andretti
145-147 Max Papis
148 Dario Franchitti
149-151 Max Papis
152 Dario Franchitti
153 Michael Andretti
154-177 Max Papis
178 Dario Franchitti
179-182 Michael Andretti
183-220 Max Papis
221 Juan Pablo Montoya
222 Dario Franchitti
223-228 Tony Kanaan
229-249 Max Papis
250 Tony Kanaan
 
Driver Laps led
Max Papis 143
Michael Andretti 65
Juan Pablo Montoya 28
Tony Kanaan 7
Dario Franchitti 4
Paul Tracy 2
Jimmy Vasser 1

Point standings after race

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Pos Driver Points
1 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya 129
2 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti 116
3 United States Michael Andretti 107
4 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 101
5 Mexico Adrián Fernández 95

References

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