Toronto recap

Andretti takes Toronto...Again

Despite Michael Andretti’s lackluster 2001 season, his track record in Toronto made it hard to discount him in Sunday’s Molson Indy Toronto. And for those who had faith, Andretti didn’t disappoint as he captured the checkered flag in Toronto for an improbable seventh time.

The victory was the first of 2001 for the 17-year veteran, and quite possibly awe-inspiring. Andretti came from last place to defeat second-place finisher Alex Tagliani by 2.7 seconds.

“This was a big one because, naturally, after that first lap you're thinking this race is over. We never gave up and it was a hard-fought race, but this place has been great for me. I can't wait for next year,” Andretti said.

For Andretti, who led the final 25 laps, it was his CART-record 41^st career win. It was a victory that almost never came, as a first lap incident with Scott Dixon caused him to come to a complete stop to avoid hitting the wall.

“I want to give big credit to the CART crew because they rushed out and pushed me off and got me going again. I was able to beat the pace car and not lose a lap. That helped me win this race,” Andretti said.

While it turned out to be Andretti’s day to shine, the Molson Indy very easily could have been a dual atop the Vanderbilt Cup standings.

Kenny Brack, of The Timken Company sponsored Team Rahal, came into Sunday’s race leading the CART championship series. A third-place finish in Saturday’s qualifying ensured that Brack would have a strong opportunity to hold, if not increase, his lead in the point standings.

And he appeared to be doing just that, as he was running third until a mechanical failure in his Shell Ford-Cosworth/Lola forced him out on lap 61. To Brack’s good fortune, however, his four nearest competitors in the Vanderbilt Cup standings also failed to score a point.

That didn’t appear to be the case all afternoon, however. Dario Franchitti, who won two weeks prior in Cleveland and held third place in the series standings, was running a comfortable second until his vehicle failed on lap 31.

Helio Castroneves, who entered the race second in the points race, held the led on laps 50-64 before he lost power in his vehicle and dropped out.

The poor performance by the front-runners enabled Andretti to vault into second place in the standings with his victory.

Brack’s hold on the lead wasn’t the only thing to keep Team Rahal smiling on Sunday. Despite his teammate’s missed opportunity to extend his series lead, Max Papis continued his recent trend of solid races with an eighth place finish. After a slow start, Papis is quietly putting together a nice season, which includes a victory in Portland last month.

Papis came from 21^st on the grid to claim his eighth-place finish.

Brack and the members of the Team Rahal crew will only have a few short days to correct the problem in his vehicle as CART rolls into Michigan this week. The Michigan 500 Presented by Toyota runs at the Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, July 22. The 1:30 p.m. EST start will by carried live on ABC-TV.

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