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00:00:00ESPN, the world's leader in motorsports coverage, presents Speed World.
00:00:12We're at one of the most unusual courses in all of IndyCar racing, the Burke Lakefront
00:00:16Airport on the edge of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio.
00:00:21Hello and welcome.
00:00:22I'm Paul Page and we're not very far from the center of downtown Cleveland, a truly
00:00:26magnificent rejuvenated city.
00:00:28The IndyCars are set to go again and here at ESPN, we are ready to take you right through
00:00:33the end of the IndyCar season and determine the PPG IndyCar world champion.
00:00:38But this is a very special day here in Cleveland because Mario Andretti is about to set a landmark.
00:00:44When he takes the green flag, he will start his 370th IndyCar race, thereby eclipsing
00:00:51A.J.
00:00:53for career starts, and he adds that to his already career record for laps led and for
00:00:58the number of poles, so congratulations to Mario Andretti.
00:01:02Now as we saw last week at the Michigan 500, there are some new names beginning to appear
00:01:07at the top of the order in this sport, led by Scott Goodyear.
00:01:11Certainly Paul Tracy is there and Raul Boisell is on a comeback.
00:01:15Let's look at the points, though.
00:01:16That name is still the same.
00:01:18That is Bobby Rayhaw, but he is having his points lead nibbled away just a bit.
00:01:23At the front of this field, though, well that's a very traditional front row, Emerson Fittipaldi
00:01:29and Michael Andretti, and Gary Gerald is right there.
00:01:31Paul, it's the second time this year that we've had this scenario with these two men
00:01:35side by side.
00:01:36The first time was at Portland, Emerson on the pole, Michael alongside.
00:01:39Michael got the win, Emerson finished second.
00:01:42You may recall that a year ago here at Cleveland, same situation.
00:01:46Emerson pole, Michael alongside, and in that one, Michael, a winner, over Fittipaldi by
00:01:502.2 seconds.
00:01:52So Emerson obviously wants to break the pattern.
00:01:55He wants his third victory here at Cleveland.
00:01:58Michael, the defending Cleveland champion, needs the win because he needs to keep attacking
00:02:02in the points chase as he battles Bobby Rayhaw.
00:02:06So that's the situation in the front row.
00:02:07Let's check contenders in the row right behind as we go to our pet colleague, Jan Beekes.
00:02:11Well, Gary, there certainly could be some action from the second row.
00:02:15You never want to count out Bobby Rayhaw.
00:02:16He was second quickest this morning and, of course, our current point leader.
00:02:20Over on your right, we have Paul Tracy subbing for Rick Mears, who's at home in Florida watching
00:02:25this broadcast.
00:02:26Certainly be rooting for the Marlboro Penske.
00:02:28But back one row could really be a challenge.
00:02:30We have not only Allenser Jr., which you never want to count out when it comes to race day,
00:02:34but also Raul Boisel.
00:02:36He's hoping for a better day than what he had yesterday.
00:02:39Out between turns seven and eight, he went off the track, across the grass, through cameraman's
00:02:43equipment, there was lenses, cameras flying, through a chain link fence, and into the
00:02:47parking lot.
00:02:48He's hoping for better fortunes today in the Dick Simon Lola.
00:02:51Paul?
00:02:52Jan, more and more drivers with a chance of a win in the IndyCar at the PPG IndyCar World
00:02:57Series.
00:02:58Well, the challenge for all these drivers is the same.
00:03:01Derek Daly, it's the Burke Lakefront Airport.
00:03:04That's right.
00:03:05Since 1982, when IndyCar started racing here, the difficulty is the bumping nature of the
00:03:09race track.
00:03:10Here's a graphic description of that from the IndyCar camera on Allenser Jr.'s car.
00:03:14You can see how it beats his body around, and in particular, how his head rolls around.
00:03:19Well, good teams have a habit of coping with difficult situations, whether it's the race
00:03:23car or the race track.
00:03:24I think you have to remember, this is an airport, so on a day-to-day basis, airplanes go across
00:03:29these taxiways at about 15 or 20 miles an hour.
00:03:33No problem.
00:03:34Then you put an IndyCar across the same taxiways at 150 or 170 miles an hour, that is a completely
00:03:40different proposition.
00:03:41But I think you also have to remember, they have given us their airport to create our
00:03:45racetrack, and there's also a lot of valuable championship points and money to be won here.
00:03:49So the best thing to do is just get on with the job at hand.
00:03:54A record crowd here at the Burke Lakefront Airport, and the whole crowd is going to get
00:03:58together to start the engines, led by the mayor of Cleveland, Michael White.
00:04:02Gentlemen, start your engines.
00:04:10Oh!
00:04:29Well, for the moment, they sit on a taxiway.
00:04:33Very shortly, they'll pull out onto one of the two primary runways here at the Burke
00:04:37Lakefront Airport, and they will be up to speed.
00:04:41A terrific afternoon, bright sun overhead, a lot of boats at the edge of Lake Erie, just
00:04:47a few hundred yards off of the edge of this racetrack here.
00:04:51The IndyCars are now ready to go racing on ESPN.
00:05:00A 2-4 right on the parade lap now for the IndyCars, ready to go racing.
00:05:07At the Burke Lakefront Airport.
00:05:09So let's take a look at the starting field.
00:05:11Here's the Sears diehard starting grid with Emerson Fittipaldi, the two-time Cleveland
00:05:17winner on the pole, breaking his own track record, alongside as Michael Andretti, the
00:05:22defending champion of the Cleveland Budweiser Grand Prix.
00:05:25In row two, it's Bobby Rahal, the current TPG point leader and winner of the inaugural
00:05:29event here, alongside as Paul Tracy, the runner-up in last week's Michigan 500.
00:05:35In row number three to the inside, it's Al Unser, Jr., the winner of this event in 1985,
00:05:40alongside Raul Boisel, a third-place finisher last week in the 500 miler in Michigan.
00:05:45In row number four, Scott Pruitt, who scored his first top-five finish of the year last
00:05:49week, and Mario Andretti, the 1988 Cleveland winner, making his 370th career start.
00:05:56In row five, Stephon Johansson, who finished third in his IndyCar debut in Detroit two
00:06:00months ago, alongside as Danny Sullivan, a three-time winner of this event at Cleveland.
00:06:06In row six, it's Robbie Gordon, who finished eighth three weeks ago at Toronto, and Scott
00:06:10Goodyear coming off that spectacular victory in the Michigan 500.
00:06:14In row seven, it's Scott Brayton, who ran seventh here last year, and John Andretti,
00:06:19who has registered five straight top-ten finishes.
00:06:22The eighth row is Ted Krafves, a sophomore driver out of Los Angeles, and Jimmy Vassar,
00:06:27a freshman driver, making his eighth career IndyCar start.
00:06:30In row number nine, it's Eddie Cheever, back in the pack due to a practice crash on Friday,
00:06:35and Christian Danner, a rookie driver from Germany.
00:06:38In the tenth row, it's Brian Till, a graduate of the Indy Lights ranks, and Ross Cheever,
00:06:42making his third career IndyCar start in A.J. Voigt's car.
00:06:46In the eleventh row, it's Hiro Mashusta, the first start he's had since being injured at
00:06:51Indianapolis, and Eric Batchelor, currently second in the race for Rookie of the Year
00:06:55honors.
00:06:56In the twelfth row, it's Buddy Lazier, a strong run netted him seventh place last week in
00:07:01Michigan, and Jacques Villeneuve, the popular Canadian driver, making his first IndyCar
00:07:06start since 1986.
00:07:08In the final row, it's Canadian Ross Bentley and Taro Palmroth, an eleventh-hour addition
00:07:13to the field.
00:07:14To the field now, single file, still on parade laps, behind the beautiful PPG Pacecars.
00:07:22A magnificent circuit here, very, very interesting because it is an airport, and just under 2.4
00:07:29miles in length.
00:07:30Very, very fast here, lots of room to pass, particularly down in turn one, and we'll watch
00:07:35this particularly under braking.
00:07:37You can run on the ragged edge here, because as you can see from inside Michael's car,
00:07:42just look at the room you have.
00:07:44This is the back straight, they'll reach speeds here of just about 180 miles an hour, so very
00:07:50fast.
00:07:51It's very slippery under braking, right here, see that black surface?
00:07:54Particularly when it gets wet or soggy, as it did in practice, but this can be very slippery,
00:07:59even on a day like today.
00:08:01Through this chicane here, very, very bumpy.
00:08:04This is where Michael Andretti flew off the road yesterday.
00:08:07So that gives you a good idea, too, of how wide this circuit is, a full airport runway.
00:08:13Take a look at that.
00:08:14Now that is the start-finish straight, and they run down this tremendously wide area,
00:08:20and make that right-hand turn, and in doing so, because of the width, the starts here
00:08:25can be incredibly exciting.
00:08:27Absolutely incredible.
00:08:28That's one thing you want to watch, and not just the first couple of rows, but watch way
00:08:32back in the pack, because you can easily run five or six abreast here, but then you come
00:08:38to the apex of the corner.
00:08:40That's when it funnels down and gets very, very tight and difficult.
00:08:44The field begins to form up now.
00:08:47Quaker State's onboard camera on Scott Goodyear's car, as he forms into the field.
00:08:52We also have cameras today on the car of Al Unser, Jr.
00:08:56A nice head-on look at little Al.
00:08:58And then Michael Andretti, you've already seen that camera, right over his right-hand
00:09:03shoulder.
00:09:04And finally, this great view back through the rear suspension on Scott Brayton's car.
00:09:10So those are the onboard cameras that we'll be using throughout the day.
00:09:13What's on the line here?
00:09:1585 laps, 201.3 miles.
00:09:18Michael Andretti, of course, is the defending champion, and the race record at 117 miles
00:09:23an hour.
00:09:24We expect the first stop, and it should be pretty dead-on.
00:09:27If they don't have a yellow period, then we'll have a first pit stop at lap 28.
00:09:34Past winners of this race, Danny Sullivan, a three-time winner here.
00:09:37Bobby Rayall, of course, won his first race here at the Burke Lakefront Airport.
00:09:42So now we are set and ready, and the complexion of the season now changes a little bit that
00:09:47we are off of the Michigan 500 super speedway.
00:09:51And now we have a series of road courses that take us to the end of the season, and that
00:09:57should have a fascinating impact on the points fight.
00:10:00And the fascinating thing I will watch in particular is Michael Andretti as he comes
00:10:05down to take the corner, the first corner, because wherever he is on the racetrack, he
00:10:10likes to make a pass and try and get to the front.
00:10:13All right, the field now begins to form up.
00:10:15They are on the pit straight.
00:10:17That is the approach to the pits themselves, and then turns 9 and 10.
00:10:21A quick little chicane.
00:10:23Derek already pointed out quite a bump in the middle of that section of the race course.
00:10:27A well-formed field, really looking very pretty as they come down in front of the grandstands,
00:10:32just filled with IndyCar fans here in Cleveland.
00:10:35And the field comes through the 9th corner, the 10th corner.
00:10:38Now the pace begins to quicken as they watch for the green flag.
00:10:41Not out yet.
00:10:42Nope.
00:10:43They waved them off.
00:10:44They waved them off.
00:10:45It's a no start.
00:10:46And one car, it looked to be Paul Tracy, seemed to have a problem during that no start.
00:10:52I think Paul Tracy got hit by somebody from behind.
00:10:57This is one of the problems we have on a yellow flag start,
00:11:00particularly coming through a right-left chicane type corner,
00:11:04because remember, the cars in the back cannot see that yellow flag situation.
00:11:09So I think Paul Tracy may have been clipped by somebody.
00:11:12Well, keep an eye on Paul Tracy.
00:11:14They have a very limited distance to get the field off of that last corner
00:11:19and align before the green flag comes out.
00:11:22They have the starters stand down about as far as they can go.
00:11:25At Toronto, Raho complained that Emerson jumped the start.
00:11:28Well, he definitely jumped the start here.
00:11:30But remember, he's the pole sitter, but Michael Andrade did not go with him.
00:11:34He was too far back, so it was deemed as being unfair, hence the yellow flag.
00:11:39Let's go down pit side, Gary Gerald.
00:11:41Well, the crew for Paul Tracy is getting ready to go over the wall.
00:11:44They believe that the car may be stuck in gear.
00:11:46Getting this combination meshed has been a problem.
00:11:49They're trying to get the team used to the way Tracy uses the gearbox.
00:11:52They think that it may be stuck in gear.
00:11:54They're anticipating, I believe, that he's going to be here on pit road in a few moments, Paul.
00:11:59So they'll take a look at that car as the rest of the field lines up once again
00:12:04to try to get the start done properly.
00:12:07No laps have yet been counted from official scoring.
00:12:10And, of course, a transverse gearbox is what we have in that new Penske.
00:12:14It's a new design and definitely seems to be difficult to get fully sorted out,
00:12:18particularly to Paul Tracy's liking.
00:12:20If there is a vulnerable point on the cars at this track,
00:12:24it is very definitely the gearboxes and the constant velocity joints.
00:12:29As Paul Tracy heads in for the pits.
00:12:32Now they are beginning the scoring.
00:12:35Completion of lap one despite the yellow flag.
00:12:38So this is the completion of lap one.
00:12:41As one car spins middle of the straightaway, even though the green flag comes out.
00:12:46And it was Danny Sullivan who spawned, but look at Michael again,
00:12:49down the inside of Emerson, takes the lead.
00:12:53Battle on to the lakeshore straight here.
00:12:57As Danny Sullivan finally gets it under power and gets going.
00:13:00Michael Andretti battles with Emerson Fittipaldi,
00:13:04taking the lead away from Fittipaldi on the start.
00:13:07Look at Rahal and Allen Jr. behind them, side by side, wheel to wheel.
00:13:11Almost contact there, but Michael just stretching out two car lengths over Emerson.
00:13:16Allen Jr. getting an excellent start, jumping up into third place for the start.
00:13:20Battle for the lead here.
00:13:22Michael Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi chasing.
00:13:25This is the east loop, a broad sweeping turn.
00:13:28This brings them back, facing the west and heading back in front of the grandstands.
00:13:33On to the pit straight now.
00:13:35Remainder of the field lining up.
00:13:37There's a good battle now for third place,
00:13:39developing between Allen Jr. and Bobby Rahal.
00:13:42There goes Mario Andretti, making his 370th start, just behind Rahal.
00:13:47You mentioned it earlier, Allen Jr. started on row three, Rahal on row two,
00:13:52but Jr. got the great start.
00:13:53But look at Rahal, has a little look down the inside.
00:13:55But again, that was turn one.
00:13:57Just look how much room there is to make an attempted pass.
00:14:00But Allen Jr. not that happy with this car as the season has gone on.
00:14:04But enjoying a good run in these very early opening laps.
00:14:08He needed a good start.
00:14:09This is the Gallmer chassis.
00:14:10They have been working with this car constantly throughout the season.
00:14:14And it has been troublesome to them.
00:14:16You say, how can you say that when he wins the Indy 500?
00:14:18Well, the deal there, as here, is we're talking very long straightaways.
00:14:22And they are having problems here with this car,
00:14:25trying to get it over some of the rougher parts of the course.
00:14:27But it's looking very strong.
00:14:29There's your points leader, Bobby Rahal.
00:14:32A nice proven combination in that car.
00:14:34Chevrolet power, 92 Lola machine.
00:14:38Let's take a look at this start once again.
00:14:40Should they have stayed yellow on this, Derrick?
00:14:42Well, of course, the difficulty is the flag man, Nick Fornaro,
00:14:45he sees the start line.
00:14:47That's what he watches.
00:14:48He's watching the front row, remember.
00:14:50But Sullivan, as we see, gets on the power too early.
00:14:53Wheel spins, gets away from him.
00:14:55And now he's got to stay stationary.
00:14:57But Michael Andretti.
00:14:59Michael Andretti, as he works under yellow now.
00:15:03Down inside Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:15:06There's the yellow out.
00:15:07This is the start once again.
00:15:10Now we watch Michael heading down into the first corner.
00:15:15And he moves inside Fittipaldi,
00:15:17occupies the line and takes over the lead.
00:15:20And that's what Michael is so good at,
00:15:22being aggressive right after the green flag.
00:15:25We heard the car rub the ground.
00:15:27That was the rubbing strips under braking.
00:15:29Remember, he's full of fuel.
00:15:31But Michael again being aggressive.
00:15:33And whether he starts in the first, second, or third row,
00:15:35he has to have an ability to claw his way to the front very quickly.
00:15:39But look at Emerson.
00:15:40He is shadowing every move still.
00:15:42Fittipaldi very definitely right there.
00:15:44Of course, that's a position he must occupy
00:15:47because if you give Michael any opportunity at all,
00:15:50then he's going to drive away from you.
00:15:52Bobby Rahal has managed to get around.
00:15:54Al Unger, Jr., pick up third place now.
00:15:56In fourth is Little Al.
00:15:58Mario Andretti runs fifth.
00:15:59Raul Boisel, who was fastest in this morning's warm-up session,
00:16:02is now running in sixth place,
00:16:04followed by Scott Pruitt.
00:16:06And car number 14, Ross Cheever, is off course.
00:16:09And the crews go to the assistance of the car.
00:16:12Apparently, they found some sort of small fire.
00:16:14I suspect it's really only turbo oil at the back of the car.
00:16:17That's what happens.
00:16:18Everything gets so hot in there.
00:16:19Air flow keeps it cool.
00:16:21But Ross Cheever slowly out of the car.
00:16:23Mechanical problem day definitely over.
00:16:26Michael Andretti continues his lead.
00:16:28Let's go to Jan Michals.
00:16:29Paul, when we're talking about Danny Sullivan at that start,
00:16:32originally you mentioned maybe he made contact with Paul Tracy.
00:16:35The crew here at Gallus Crankload does not think that that was the case.
00:16:38They think that, in fact, that second restart, he got pinched.
00:16:41That's why he spun.
00:16:42Now, in regards to the start of the race,
00:16:44Wally Dollenbeck, the chief steward,
00:16:46did say because this track is wide,
00:16:48if they're not lined up, they would not go green.
00:16:50So all the drivers knew there was a chance
00:16:52that because of some untidy starts in the last few races,
00:16:54they wouldn't go green unless it was perfect.
00:16:56Paul?
00:16:57Well, it was, in fact, fairly tidy coming down the pit straight.
00:17:00But then when they went through that last combination,
00:17:02they straggled out a bit.
00:17:04And that's very difficult when you're trying to go side by side
00:17:07and go through a narrow section like that.
00:17:09And that accordion effect takes place.
00:17:11Exactly.
00:17:12Of course, you're on cold tires, remember,
00:17:13because you've done so many pace stops.
00:17:15And those 750 horsepower gets unleashed at the start.
00:17:19He can break the rear tires away so easily.
00:17:22Let's go pit side in the Paul Tracy pits.
00:17:25Here's Gary Gerald.
00:17:26Tracy, unfortunately, can only sit and wait.
00:17:28They've just buttoned the bodywork back up.
00:17:30They've freed up the gearbox.
00:17:31He's now four laps down.
00:17:33It's going to be more like four and a half and close to five
00:17:35as we hear the engine now roar to life.
00:17:38And the Canadian, who showed so well last week on the banks of Michigan
00:17:41after a disastrous start, now back on course.
00:17:44Roger Penske watches, radios Paul Tracy
00:17:47and continues to monitor the young Canadian's career
00:17:50as Michael Andretti is continually chased by Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:17:55But Michael, for the ninth straight race, has led the opening laps.
00:18:01Celebrate with Mario Andretti, his 370th start here today.
00:18:06It was on April 19, 1964, when Mario Andretti first climbed into an Indy car,
00:18:12then called a champ car in Trenton, New Jersey.
00:18:14And he and A.J. Voigt have been warriors ever since.
00:18:18But they've honored him here today for his five decades of participation in the Indy cars.
00:18:24Watching the fourth place, Allenser, Jr., and not far back,
00:18:28we should very shortly see, there he is, Mario Andretti.
00:18:32The red rollover bar tells you that that car is distinctly different from his son.
00:18:37And just behind him, Raul Boisel.
00:18:40They've been locked in a pretty good little battle for fifth place the last several laps.
00:18:44And this really is a great battle, because look who's behind Boisel.
00:18:47It's Scott Pruitt, and right behind him, Robbie Gordon,
00:18:50and Stefan Johansen at the end of this freight train.
00:18:53So this is the best battle on the track.
00:18:54Michael Andretti continues to lead Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:18:57Bobby Rahal runs in third. Little Al is fourth.
00:19:00Scott Pruitt in the 10 car there, the true sports machine,
00:19:03was testing at Mid-Ohio this week and had some problem wrecked the race car there.
00:19:08Seemed kind of worried about it, but he says they learned a great deal about the car,
00:19:13and they expect to be more competitive here.
00:19:15We can see he very definitely is.
00:19:17Probably one of the worst things that could have happened to Scott Pruitt,
00:19:20because if ever a driver is suffering from a lack of confidence,
00:19:23I think it's Scott Pruitt, because he has had so many mechanical failures,
00:19:27one that caused serious injury.
00:19:29I think the worst thing you can have is consistent mechanical failures,
00:19:33because it does sap away at driver's confidence.
00:19:36And when you do speeds like you do in Indy cars,
00:19:38you need everything going your way to get the maximum out of yourself.
00:19:42You can see lined up just behind Scott Pruitt is Robbie Gordon,
00:19:46as we take a look at Mario Andretti continuing to be chased by Raul Boisel.
00:19:52This whole battle revolves around this track and five cars involved in it,
00:19:57starting with fifth place Mario Andretti.
00:19:59An interesting situation here now with Michael.
00:20:02Emerson only seems to be one car length, two car lengths behind all the time.
00:20:07Has not made any attempt to pass Michael.
00:20:10It's almost as if he's quite prepared to sit there and size up the situation
00:20:14and see exactly where Michael's weaknesses are.
00:20:18But he's really, I mean look, particularly under braking.
00:20:21See the way he closes up, right up on this long, long double right hander.
00:20:25Remember this is about 120 miles an hour all the way through these corners.
00:20:29It's very, very bumpy. We saw Michael fly off the road here.
00:20:32But look the way Emerson closes up, right there under braking and around the corner.
00:20:36The Indy car safety truck out on the east loop turns seven and eight,
00:20:41as we can watch first and second place.
00:20:44And in doing so, get a wonderful comparison of both chassis and power plants.
00:20:48Fittipaldi in the Penske chassis in the Chevy B engine.
00:20:53And at the same time we're talking in the lead car there,
00:20:57a Lola chassis in Ford power.
00:21:00Lola chassis, Ford power, Penske chassis, Chevrolet power.
00:21:03Developing Chevrolet power.
00:21:05Lots of people talk about whether this is an A, which it's not.
00:21:08A B, a C, a B with C parts on it for development.
00:21:12But basically Chevrolet said there are no C engines,
00:21:15no official C engines will appear until the dyno runs, maybe in November.
00:21:20But I've got to believe Penske must be developing some of the C engine parts already.
00:21:27I think the key word there is official.
00:21:29Once you finally put all of those C parts together and label them C,
00:21:33and then make your announcement at a press conference,
00:21:36suddenly it's a C engine and then wait for your orders to come in.
00:21:40You can see one car under tow behind the Indy car safety vehicle as the leaders come around.
00:21:46And that's Ross Cheever being brought in off the course.
00:21:50As that begins to tighten up the front of the field just a little bit.
00:21:55In car with Michael, he's now about to put a lap on Hiro Machuster.
00:21:59Machuster still suffering from the...
00:22:01Oh, look at Fittipaldi, has a little lock down the inside, doesn't make it.
00:22:04But just look at the room he had.
00:22:06But Michael chopped across, took the line,
00:22:08and in fact Emerson lost a little bit of ground there.
00:22:11And look at Rahal, we just saw him in the picture beginning to come up.
00:22:17So now, Rahal with a bit of an advantage,
00:22:21as he is able to close up on Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:22:25When Fittipaldi drives that maneuver,
00:22:27and that's always the danger it seems on a big open circuit like this.
00:22:31If you make a try and miss, you can fall back quickly.
00:22:34And now we have a real good shot of Rahal.
00:22:36Now he's closing on Fittipaldi.
00:22:38Oh, particularly under braking that long drifting right-hander.
00:22:42Rahal now beginning to size up the situation with Michael.
00:22:45So now, in about one or two corners time,
00:22:49we have these three very, very close together.
00:22:51Now we have a real battle with Rahal joining the back of the train here.
00:22:55That beautiful car number 12, Bobby Rahal at the wheel,
00:22:58running in third place and closing on Fittipaldi.
00:23:01Again, coming to one of the key passing positions.
00:23:04That's turn one on this course, a nice wide runway.
00:23:07But he elects instead to take the sweeping turn into the corner.
00:23:10But continues his pursuit of second place Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:23:13For the moment, Michael Andretti is unchallenged.
00:23:16You can hear from the Goodyear blimp spirit overhead.
00:23:18It gives you an idea of the interval.
00:23:20Look how under braking the cars will close down.
00:23:23And when they come out on this straightaway,
00:23:25you can see the effects of acceleration as they spread back out,
00:23:28remain in the same relative position.
00:23:30Under braking, this is the area we saw Emerson close up earlier on, on Michael.
00:23:35Again, there's the acceleration. Michael pulls away.
00:23:37But in this long double apex right-hander,
00:23:40Emerson seems to have, and you can see it there.
00:23:42Look at that, closes in about two or three car lengths on Michael.
00:23:45Slower traffic just ahead of Michael.
00:23:47As they come down the pit straight,
00:23:49and Emerson Fittipaldi, using some acceleration here,
00:23:52is able to close in.
00:23:54A quick right, then a left as Michael gets bottled up a little bit.
00:23:58Fittipaldi closes in, moves to the inside.
00:24:00He comes alongside Michael Andretti and gets Michael for the lead.
00:24:04As he is able to get around Michael,
00:24:07Bobby Rahal closes up a little bit as well.
00:24:09So, slower traffic, absolutely involved in this situation here,
00:24:14putting Emerson Fittipaldi out in front.
00:24:16And traffic causes a change so many times.
00:24:19Watch Michael now under braking.
00:24:21Now he has to chase.
00:24:23But we saw there, Michael at the critical time,
00:24:25through the little right-left flick in front of the pits,
00:24:27had to get out of the horsepower.
00:24:29Emerson took advantage immediately.
00:24:31That was Jacques Villeneuve in the Team Losi car,
00:24:34backed by Dennis McCormack, run by Dennis McCormack,
00:24:37that actually caused the problem.
00:24:38But Villeneuve, in fairness to himself,
00:24:40is back for the first time in how many years, Paul?
00:24:42Well, since 84.
00:24:43And he admits that, or 86,
00:24:45he admits that he does not have a feel for the cars yet.
00:24:49He has, after all, been racing in the Skidoo Sports Series,
00:24:52Formula 1 snowmobiles, for the last several years.
00:24:55Doing very well there, but let me tell you,
00:24:57there's about, oh, what, 700, 800 horsepower difference?
00:25:00That's right.
00:25:01Now look at Rahal.
00:25:02Now Rahal is about to give Michael all the trouble he needs.
00:25:05And if Michael gets embroiled in a battle with Rahal,
00:25:08what's it going to do?
00:25:09Well, it's going to allow Emerson
00:25:10to actually creep away just a little bit further.
00:25:13So Fittipaldi, now without challenge
00:25:16at the front of the field,
00:25:17and Michael Andretti suddenly finds himself
00:25:19in the position of having to defend second place
00:25:22from Bobby Rahal.
00:25:23And of course, for Rahal, this is a very important battle
00:25:26because if there is a challenger in the points fight,
00:25:29it is very definitely Michael Andretti.
00:25:31So Rahal will leave this race still with the points lead.
00:25:35Fittipaldi is in front, followed by Michael Rahal,
00:25:37Alonzo Jr., and Mario Andretti.
00:25:44Michael Andretti still holding off Bobby Rahal,
00:25:47though you can see as we look at the leaderboard
00:25:50with the intervals noted back from the leader
00:25:52that the interval between Rahal and Michael Andretti
00:25:55is closing down.
00:25:56That minus 2.11 for Rahal, that is back from the leader.
00:26:00The leader, of course, is Emerson Fittipaldi now.
00:26:03After he took the lead away from Michael Andretti,
00:26:05there he is, number 5, and he is leading, by the way,
00:26:08the first lap that he's led since he won
00:26:10in the first race of the season at Australia.
00:26:12Under braking, 170 miles an hour.
00:26:14There's a critical right there.
00:26:16Michael's off the power.
00:26:17He goes to the right, but Emerson's already got a run.
00:26:20Emerson was in gear, on the power, quicker than Michael,
00:26:23and that's all it takes, half a second.
00:26:25Key word here is momentum.
00:26:27As we take a look at it, another angle now.
00:26:30He got bottled up there.
00:26:31Fittipaldi was able to keep the momentum flowing.
00:26:34Michael got around as fast as he could,
00:26:36but by then, just a few revs difference
00:26:39made all the difference at the end of the straight.
00:26:41All the difference, and in fairness to Jacques Villeneuve,
00:26:43he got caught in a very difficult situation there.
00:26:46There was nowhere for him to go.
00:26:48He did go left when he came out of the corner,
00:26:50but unfortunately, the damage had already been done
00:26:53to Michael's lead.
00:26:54And despite the passing speed that you saw,
00:26:56Villeneuve was still running pretty fast there.
00:26:58He had to come off the corner that way.
00:27:00Now let's go pit side, get a couple of updates,
00:27:02starting with Gary Gerald.
00:27:04Well, Michael Andretti, just prior to losing the lead
00:27:06to Fittipaldi when he got bottled in the traffic,
00:27:08the only thing he'd reported to his crew via the radio,
00:27:11very slippery.
00:27:12We kind of expected that with temperatures
00:27:14going up here this afternoon.
00:27:16That seems to confirm it.
00:27:17Will that slipperiness deny him opportunities
00:27:20to challenge Fittipaldi?
00:27:21That's what this crew is now wondering.
00:27:23Let's go to Jan Vekas.
00:27:25Well, Gary, our fourth-place runner, Al Unser Jr.,
00:27:27has called in on the radio to have a little bit of a push.
00:27:30Nothing they can do until the first pit stop.
00:27:32But you know how you can tell they're going to make
00:27:34an adjustment?
00:27:35Just look here in the Velcro.
00:27:36This is Owen Snyder, the crew chief.
00:27:37They actually put the tools in the Velcro of the knee pad.
00:27:39That's how you know they're going to make that wing adjustment.
00:27:42Paul?
00:27:43Eagle Eye, Jan Vekas, keeping track.
00:27:45Now look, this gives you an idea, Derek,
00:27:47of all these different transitions on this track.
00:27:50Physically very difficult on a driver.
00:27:52Interesting, Al Unser Jr. uses the neck brace here.
00:27:55That gives you, again, an idea just how fast this racetrack
00:27:59is because they use the neck strap to counteract
00:28:01the tremendous g-forces on the driver's head.
00:28:04But look at his arms, bob and weave,
00:28:06as he hangs onto the steering wheel.
00:28:08And his head, all he can do is try and hang on.
00:28:11And believe me, I know after the Michigan 500,
00:28:13several drivers had headaches because of the bunts
00:28:15and g-forces.
00:28:17So Al Unser Jr. now on the pit straight.
00:28:19It's a right-hander, that quick little chicane
00:28:21onto the start-finish straight that is next.
00:28:23Already he is through it and taking a look ahead
00:28:26at turn number one.
00:28:27By the way, this is little Al's 150th consecutive start.
00:28:33And that is a modern-day record.
00:28:35150 races without missing one.
00:28:38Back to Paul Tracey now.
00:28:41That's Buddy Lazier right in front of him.
00:28:44And then, of course, Michael and Rahal.
00:28:46Traffic needs to move over or else Michael could be
00:28:49in trouble again.
00:28:50But remember, Paul, you said it earlier on,
00:28:52Tracey is having his own battles and Buddy Lazier
00:28:56cannot afford to back off too much because, remember,
00:28:59he's out there to impress everybody that he's driving
00:29:02on behalf of also.
00:29:03Well, Tracey runs five laps behind the race.
00:29:06And what he needs to do now is just simply keep the car alive,
00:29:10learn something about the race car,
00:29:12and pull a Rick Mears.
00:29:14That is, save the car until the end of the run.
00:29:16So if there's enough attrition, he can be in the fight.
00:29:19Well, you're absolutely right.
00:29:20And in fact, let's face it, it becomes now more of a test
00:29:23session for Roger Penske and for Paul Tracey.
00:29:26Experience under his belt, test some more things on the car,
00:29:29see will the gearbox, in fact, live.
00:29:31However, today, to gather points and a lot of success
00:29:35will be very difficult.
00:29:37And Rahal Boissel.
00:29:39Now, my Schuster, it's been Boissel's car for so long.
00:29:43In fact, they're still so, so alike in their paint jobs.
00:29:46You have to look very, very closely between these two cars
00:29:49to tell the difference.
00:29:50For the number 11, and then realize Hero is back.
00:29:53Though you can see he's still a little stiff,
00:29:56that broken leg from Indianapolis as he climbs over the wall
00:29:59and away from the race car.
00:30:01So Hero Mach-Schuster out of the run.
00:30:03Al Hunter, Jr., look at him fight that steering wheel
00:30:06as he runs on the runways and taxiways
00:30:09at the Burke Lakefront Airport.
00:30:11Emerson Fittipaldi is still the leader.
00:30:13Michael Andretti still chasing.
00:30:16Inland from Lake Erie, the beautiful skyline.
00:30:19It's changed so much recently of downtown Cleveland.
00:30:22A city that truly believes in saving its beautiful old buildings.
00:30:26And they've done a marvelous job.
00:30:28Great city to visit.
00:30:29Michael Andretti visiting here now,
00:30:32but trying desperately to find a car in front of him
00:30:35belonging to Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:30:37Fittipaldi has the lead of this race with 24 laps complete.
00:30:41As we look through the leaderboard here,
00:30:43Emerson Fittipaldi leads it.
00:30:45Michael is second.
00:30:46In third place, it's Bobby Rahal.
00:30:48Followed by Al Hunter, Jr.
00:30:50Then Mario Andretti.
00:30:51And we should be coming up very close to our pit stops.
00:30:55First set of the pit stops of the day.
00:30:58We estimate lap 28 for the first stop.
00:31:00That's when the hair-them-scare-them time starts again
00:31:03because if you can't get the job done on the racetrack,
00:31:05very often your pit crew can make it.
00:31:07But now we have great in-car camera shots there of Michael,
00:31:10but let's go back to Emerson.
00:31:11Tracy moves over, lets Emerson get on his way.
00:31:14Now Michael is a long way back,
00:31:16but in fairness, over the last couple of laps,
00:31:18Michael did not get a good run through some of the traffic
00:31:22he was attempting to pass.
00:31:23Look at Tracy now.
00:31:24Tracy's trying to hang on to the back of Emerson.
00:31:26Seven seconds back is a battle for second place
00:31:29between Michael Andretti and Bobby Rahal,
00:31:32and Rahal's been inching his way forward.
00:31:35A few moments ago,
00:31:36they were revolving around another battle
00:31:38involving Christian Danner and Buddy Lazier,
00:31:41who were both fighting for position,
00:31:43albeit a lap back.
00:31:45And it made for some interesting racing,
00:31:46but now they've broken clear of that,
00:31:48so they have a clean battle to wage for second place.
00:31:51Great shots there of Michael bouncing over
00:31:54the bumps and undulations here as they cross over the taxiways.
00:31:58But you mentioned earlier, Rahal dropped back in traffic.
00:32:01Now he's clawing his way back up.
00:32:03It looks to me as if Rahal has a better handle
00:32:06on the handling situation in his car now than Michael has.
00:32:09But Michael is very difficult to catch one thing,
00:32:12and he's very, very difficult to pass.
00:32:14And look at Allenser Jr. as he runs in fourth place
00:32:17and bounces over some of the transition points
00:32:20on this race course here.
00:32:21As you said at starting,
00:32:22this is an airport that they have loaned to us.
00:32:25Look, too, down at the lower edge of the picture there
00:32:28as Buddy Lazier finds himself in trouble.
00:32:31Buddy Lazier stopped on the race course,
00:32:34and look at Rahal as he challenges Michael Andretti,
00:32:36going into the first corner under very heavy braking.
00:32:39And look what's going on here now.
00:32:41We just said Michael is very difficult to pass.
00:32:43He saw Rahal going to make an attempt to get on the inside,
00:32:46and he moved to the middle of the road,
00:32:49made it very difficult for Rahal.
00:32:51That's defensive driving.
00:32:52He's allowed to do it as long as he doesn't do it too late.
00:32:56Keep an eye on this battle for second place.
00:32:58They work toward the east loop, make this left,
00:33:01and then three successive right-hand turns.
00:33:03And then as they come back along the pit straight,
00:33:05we can take a look at that turn 9-10 complex
00:33:08as they come through it,
00:33:09because it looked to me like we were beginning
00:33:12to see some pebbles developing on the outside of the track
00:33:15that might indicate some of the asphalt is letting go there.
00:33:18Exactly.
00:33:19That can create another problem,
00:33:21because if you go slightly wide,
00:33:22as they're used to going here at Cleveland
00:33:24because there's so much room,
00:33:25if you go wide on those pebbles and marbles,
00:33:27suddenly you're off the road.
00:33:28But interesting, is that Ross Cheever
00:33:30that they're just about to put a lap on?
00:33:32Yes, it is.
00:33:33So Ross Cheever, in fact, we thought he was out for the day.
00:33:35He was able to get back in.
00:33:37Look at Rahal again down the inside.
00:33:38He's got it. He's got it. He's got it.
00:33:40Tommy Rahal takes second place away from Michael Andretti
00:33:44as they revolve around that other battle
00:33:47that they were working with.
00:33:48And look at Rahal as he comes right back,
00:33:50tacks on the back end of Andretti
00:33:52and looks for room to race and room to get past.
00:33:55That's what happens here.
00:33:56Rahal gets down the inside.
00:33:58Oh, he's almost caught trying to go around the outside of them.
00:34:01That was Ross Benzie.
00:34:02But Rahal made the pass down the inside.
00:34:05Andretti came back under him and actually got acceleration,
00:34:08got accelerating away faster.
00:34:09And actually made the move on the inside again of Rahal.
00:34:13So that's what happens here.
00:34:14It loads a racing room.
00:34:15You get a glimpse from time to time
00:34:17in this battle of the number four car
00:34:19that normally is assigned to Rick Mears,
00:34:21who is at home trying to rest that wrist.
00:34:24And it is being driven by Paul Tracy,
00:34:27but because of his problems on the early laps,
00:34:29we've had a problem with him,
00:34:31and he is five backs behind the lead.
00:34:33Now you see cars peeling off to make their first stops
00:34:36as Allendrick Jr. stops.
00:34:38Let's go to Gary.
00:34:39Leader Emerson Fittipaldi getting his first service of the day.
00:34:42They planned two stops.
00:34:44I think I just saw Rahal fly by.
00:34:46I'm not sure.
00:34:47Here's Emil out of here.
00:34:48He was just over 16 seconds, Paul.
00:34:51Good stop for the leader of the race.
00:34:53Rahal did fly by because he had a problem.
00:34:55He couldn't get into his pit lane,
00:34:57so he ran right through.
00:34:58So Rahal lost valuable time.
00:35:01Well, Bobby Rahal,
00:35:02those are the kind of mistakes that you have suggested
00:35:05can end up costing a man a championship.
00:35:09Let's go down to Jan Beekus.
00:35:11We were standing right here, Paul,
00:35:12when that incident happened with Bobby Rahal.
00:35:14What happened was Allendrick Jr. came in
00:35:16at the very same time as Bobby Rahal.
00:35:18They have a new sealant that they put down in the pit lane
00:35:20that was for an air show two years ago.
00:35:22Makes it very, very slick.
00:35:24Rahal could not make his stop.
00:35:25He'll be here shortly.
00:35:26We'll be ready for him.
00:35:28Bobby Rahal still out of the course.
00:35:30Emerson Fittipaldi, of course, has made his stop.
00:35:33We watch Mario Andretti,
00:35:35as he is due for service as well in the Neumann-Haas pits,
00:35:39and watch especially, though, for Rahal.
00:35:42And again, we saw the traffic jam, but Michael is in.
00:35:44Michael led that lap because of Rahal's troubles
00:35:46on Emerson's pit stop,
00:35:47but Michael now in for his stop.
00:35:50So Michael Andretti in the pits.
00:35:51Gary's there.
00:35:52We watch this Neumann-Haas team, Paul.
00:35:54Everything appears to be routine.
00:35:55A lot of smoke as he blips the throttle from the rear.
00:35:58Now they complete the refueling.
00:36:00They've got him at 15.1 seconds on Michael Andretti's first stop.
00:36:04Smoke scared me.
00:36:05Almost looked as if he may have lost the power in the engine there
00:36:09for a moment.
00:36:10Jan Beekus.
00:36:11Bobby Rahal is just getting ready.
00:36:12He's underway.
00:36:13They have now made their pit stop.
00:36:14Four tires.
00:36:15They did make a front wing change.
00:36:16Obviously lost time, though, with that missed pit.
00:36:19So Rahal is back under power as well.
00:36:22A flurry of stops under the green.
00:36:24We've had no major incidents in this race thus far.
00:36:27Most of the stops being made right on schedule on lap 28.
00:36:31Rahal carrying one lap further, though, to lap 29.
00:36:34So the complexion of the race changes slightly with the pit stops.
00:36:38And Bobby Rahal rolls back into the fight.
00:36:41The action continues here at the Burke Lakefront Airport
00:36:45in the Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix.
00:36:49Cleveland Grand Prix is the Goodyear blimp spirit from Akron, Ohio,
00:36:53just a few miles down the road.
00:36:55The Goodyear blimp is sponsored by all of your local Goodyear retailers,
00:36:58their tires, and their excellent service.
00:37:01And you can look down and see what is the challenge today,
00:37:04the Burke Lakefront Airport.
00:37:06Robbie Gordon, by the way, after the pit stops,
00:37:08led the 30th lap of the race.
00:37:10And after the stops, here is the way they came out,
00:37:13with Fittipaldi with an 8.5-second lead
00:37:16and Allenser Jr. and Michael Andretti locked in a battle for 2nd place.
00:37:20Robbie Gordon sitting back in 5th place now.
00:37:22Bobby Rahal still in that points fight.
00:37:25But missing that pit stop cost him dearly
00:37:28and thrust him back into the 4th position.
00:37:31We're back on board now with Allenser Jr.
00:37:33He is having a tremendous fight with Michael Andretti.
00:37:36Al Jr. seems to be very good under braking.
00:37:40He's not quite able to get close enough to Michael.
00:37:43But watch how he closes up under very heavy braking.
00:37:46There is a car, the Galmar, that is admittedly in development
00:37:49and only its first year from a blank piece of paper.
00:37:53And yet you take a driver like this man, the Indy winner Allenser Jr.
00:37:57who can compensate so well for a car
00:38:00that here he is trying to move inside and challenge Michael Andretti.
00:38:03Now Michael's got a challenge in front of him.
00:38:05He's got to work through traffic.
00:38:07Watch little Al try and work the traffic too.
00:38:09Two separate fights going on here.
00:38:11The back markers we saw, the PIG car, Ted Travers,
00:38:14he has his own fight going on.
00:38:16Little Al Jr. trying to take advantage of traffic
00:38:19to try and make a move on Michael
00:38:21and didn't quite accomplish it there.
00:38:25Ted Travers has been fighting rather constantly
00:38:28the last several laps with Danny Sullivan and Jimmy Vassar.
00:38:31We look back from Scott Brayton's car.
00:38:35You look through the rear suspension there
00:38:37and get a glimpse of Michael as he comes alongside in the first turn.
00:38:41Here, no contest though for little Al.
00:38:44He's trying to break the fight off.
00:38:46Now little Al must handle up the Amway car
00:38:48and then he will resume his battle with Michael Andretti.
00:38:51I think in fairness to Scott Brayton,
00:38:53I think he saw Michael come and gave him lots of room.
00:38:55In fact, you see it here again.
00:38:57A good move there by Scott Brayton.
00:38:59He knows that the leaders have caught him
00:39:01and they're running much, much faster.
00:39:03So you're better off to move away from the lead battle.
00:39:05So a nice move by Scott Brayton
00:39:07because he didn't really lose a lot of time.
00:39:09Now we're back with Goodyear and Scott Pruitt.
00:39:13Two Scots battling on this circuit
00:39:15and they battled for 8th place.
00:39:17Pruitt runs in 8th now
00:39:19as he gets his head just a little bit in front of Scott Goodyear.
00:39:23We look from the Quaker State onboard camera on Scott Goodyear's car
00:39:26and Goodyear is forced to drop back behind Scott Pruitt
00:39:29who's having a nice run.
00:39:31Very nice run. Great wheel-to-wheel stuff.
00:39:33We saw out on the right side corner of that camera
00:39:36that's how close these cars run.
00:39:38But when you get down the inside in a high-speed corner like that,
00:39:41it's very difficult for a man to go around the outside.
00:39:44That's why we saw Goodyear move backwards.
00:39:46Now look how close Goodyear is to Michael.
00:39:49As we said earlier, Michael is very, very difficult to pass.
00:39:52The continuing fight for 2nd place,
00:39:54Emerson Fittipaldi is 8.5 seconds in front of this battle,
00:39:58solidly in the lead of this race
00:40:00after the first round of pit stops.
00:40:02Michael Andretti still trying to hold off Al Unser Jr.
00:40:06Let's go down pit side, get an update on Robbie Gordon from Jan Vigas.
00:40:09That's right, Paul. Robbie Gordon has been running very fast.
00:40:12The Chip Ganassi crew is elated how well he's running.
00:40:14Engineer Tom Anderson.
00:40:16But also up here on the pit stand is Michael Kranifis,
00:40:19the top man at Ford, keeping a very watchful eye on Robbie Gordon.
00:40:22He's the man who put him in the seat.
00:40:24Very happy with his performance so far. Paul?
00:40:26Michael Kranifis on the far side of Ken Anderson there.
00:40:30He, of course, is the driving force
00:40:34behind the Ford Special Vehicle Operations Division
00:40:38and has really been one of those people pushing Robbie Gordon forward.
00:40:42Al Unser Jr. now takes his move on Michael Andretti.
00:40:46This time it looks like it's going to stick.
00:40:48It's under very hard braking.
00:40:50He was braking all the way into the corner,
00:40:51but he used up too much energy
00:40:53and Michael Andretti just turned inside him
00:40:55and moved back into 2nd place.
00:40:57So, so difficult to make it stick.
00:41:00He was clearly down the inside.
00:41:02We saw Al Jr. get a little bit sideways under very heavy braking.
00:41:06Michael moved over, turned his car under Al Jr.
00:41:09and got back on the power quick.
00:41:11Oh, look at this! Jr. goes down the inside again.
00:41:13Jr. cuts to the inside, going into the east loop again.
00:41:16Michael comes back.
00:41:17They run out of road pretty quickly there,
00:41:19so Michael Andretti has to stay there.
00:41:21What a shocker that was that it happened so fast.
00:41:24Shot down the inside. I'm sure that one was scary.
00:41:27I'm surprised even Michael.
00:41:28Michael tried to go wheel-to-wheel around the outside,
00:41:31but Al Jr. has been trying to make that move
00:41:34for the last 6 laps.
00:41:35So Al Jr. now runs in a very strong 2nd place.
00:41:39Now let's see, can he handle Emerson?
00:41:41Can he even hit Lee?
00:41:43I'm sure that surprised Michael
00:41:46at how fast Al Unser Jr. was able to come back
00:41:49after their battle in the 1st turn.
00:41:51Let's go inside again, Jerry Carroll.
00:41:56Rick Al is standing alongside.
00:41:58Rick, what kind of a change did you make
00:42:00that seems to be making Al Unser Jr. that much stronger right now?
00:42:02Well, Al was really the quickest car early in the race
00:42:05before the 1st pit stop, so we didn't change much.
00:42:07And he's working pretty good.
00:42:09Now we need to go after Fittipaldi.
00:42:11We'll continue to watch. It's going to be a terrific battle.
00:42:14Well, the battle has been costly,
00:42:16as you heard Gary Gerald talking with Rick Gallis,
00:42:19one of the co-owners of the Gallis-Praco operation.
00:42:22But they benefit went to Fittipaldi
00:42:25because while they were locked in battle,
00:42:27Fittipaldi was able to pull out 3 more seconds on his lead
00:42:30and now run 11 seconds in front of the now 2nd place Al Unser Jr.
00:42:35Already Michael Andretti is closing back in.
00:42:38This battle should resume shortly.
00:42:42...with Al Unser Jr., who currently runs in 2nd.
00:42:44Emerson Fittipaldi, of course, is our leader.
00:42:47And little Al in 3rd place,
00:42:49just a couple of seconds back from little Al,
00:42:51is Michael Andretti.
00:42:53Then Bobby Rahal, followed by Robby Gordon.
00:42:56Gordon is about 4 seconds behind Rahal,
00:42:59so any time now, Robby Gordon may have the best battle yet
00:43:03of his IndyCar career,
00:43:05if he can run up and catch Bobby Rahal, the PPG points leader.
00:43:08And Robby Gordon is, in fact, I believe, in a 91 Lola,
00:43:12as opposed to a 92,
00:43:14so he thinks that may be a disadvantage.
00:43:16However, there are some people that think
00:43:18maybe the 91 Lola is, in fact,
00:43:20a very, very good package match to this Ford engine.
00:43:23Not a battle for position,
00:43:25but maybe some classic study in technique,
00:43:28as Paul Tracy is lined up behind race leader Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:43:32What a great opportunity for the young Tracy
00:43:35to learn from the master in an identical race car.
00:43:38Emerson is so good here at Cleveland.
00:43:40He has been a winner in the past,
00:43:42and it's exactly the situation Tracy could learn from.
00:43:45A coach and a student, both in Marlboro cars,
00:43:48going through a session right now.
00:43:50You almost wonder sometimes if the teams wouldn't be wise
00:43:53to put common radio frequencies from time to time
00:43:56so Emerson could say,
00:43:58hey, look at what I'm doing here.
00:44:00Now watch this going there.
00:44:02Did you tell him the truth?
00:44:04Absolutely not. Not a chance in the world.
00:44:06Not as good as Paul Tracy's been looking.
00:44:08No, the older boys are threatened by the new young stars,
00:44:11like Paul Tracy.
00:44:12I'll tell you what, the performance like we saw last week
00:44:15from Tracy in the wind by fellow Canadian Scott Goodyear
00:44:18has just electrified Canada.
00:44:20I mean, they're very excited about this.
00:44:22Witness the presence of Chuck Milne,
00:44:24all of a sudden another Canadian has an opportunity
00:44:26to get into the fight.
00:44:28As we look at this fight between John Andretti
00:44:30and Scott Goodyear.
00:44:32It is a fight for 9th place.
00:44:34Scott Goodyear again did not qualify very well.
00:44:37They still struggle to get this car set up
00:44:39the way they like it for these road courses.
00:44:42It has a persistent understeer situation
00:44:45that just washes away coming out of corners
00:44:47and loses valuable time.
00:44:49One thing, and I said this before about Scott Goodyear,
00:44:52he's very, very good in racing conditions
00:44:54and very seldom makes a mistake.
00:44:56Quaker State onboard camera view there from Scott Goodyear
00:44:59as there comes Johansson down the inside.
00:45:02He challenges Scott Goodyear.
00:45:04Good battle into the corner, can't get it done.
00:45:06And a risky move.
00:45:07We saw that earlier on in the attempt
00:45:09and it didn't work, but a risky move.
00:45:11But Johansson, who had a bad pit stop,
00:45:13now look what he's going to do,
00:45:15trying to make that attempt down the inside of Goodyear.
00:45:18He has the apex, but now look, Goodyear has the run.
00:45:21Oh, look at Johansson, tries to block him.
00:45:23Ongoing battle for 10th place.
00:45:25Both of them well off the normal run of the course.
00:45:28And Scott Goodyear is able to get into the throttle
00:45:30harder and faster.
00:45:31Now makes that right-hand turn in in front of Johansson
00:45:34as the battle for 10th continues.
00:45:36And Johansson is continuing to stay right on him.
00:45:38You look back from Scott Goodyear's car.
00:45:40Johansson right there.
00:45:41Now a left-hander coming ahead.
00:45:43Johansson darts to the inside.
00:45:44Nope, this is not the place.
00:45:46Now they could do it during the next couple of corners.
00:45:49Look at how the suspension works
00:45:51as they travel over all the bumps here.
00:45:53Here comes Johansson again.
00:45:55Look at that rear suspension.
00:45:57Just the punishment it takes from these bumps.
00:46:00Up and down, bangs.
00:46:01Remember, these are still very stiffly sprung race cars,
00:46:04and yet they still do that.
00:46:06Now look at Johansson.
00:46:07He has a little look down the inside,
00:46:09realizes he can't get it made.
00:46:11Now they're coming on to this pit straight.
00:46:14This is where he made the attempt the last time.
00:46:16Johansson closes up at the back of Goodyear.
00:46:20You see the leader, Emerson Fittipaldi, just behind them.
00:46:23And Goodyear this time protects that line.
00:46:25He saw that stunt before
00:46:27and does not want Johansson down,
00:46:28taking the line away from him.
00:46:30He wasn't close enough to make the attempt,
00:46:32but the last time he tried to get it done,
00:46:34it was spectacular.
00:46:35But Scott Goodyear fought every inch of the way
00:46:38and managed to maintain that position.
00:46:40So Goodyear and Johansson in a great battle here.
00:46:43Two dynamic drivers of the IndyCars.
00:46:45Johansson now going to run down right behind Scott Goodyear
00:46:49as they turn into the East Loop again.
00:46:52And they should stay rather static
00:46:54running through this area of the course.
00:46:56His opportunity won't come for about three more corners.
00:46:59In front, with a full 12-second lead,
00:47:01is Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:47:03Goodyear and Stefan Johansson,
00:47:05they have continued to stay at one another.
00:47:08And now the leader of the race,
00:47:09Emerson Fittipaldi, followed by his teammate Paul Dracy,
00:47:12is right in the fight, too.
00:47:13Here comes Johansson.
00:47:15And it is a great fight.
00:47:16It's under braking.
00:47:17Normally he passes him, but look at this.
00:47:19It was made much easier for him
00:47:20because just in the braking area, he got by him.
00:47:23So Johansson gets around Goodyear.
00:47:25Let's go to Gary Gerald.
00:47:26Part of the problem, Paul, for Scott Goodyear,
00:47:28we understand the second set of tires
00:47:30not working as well as the first.
00:47:32It's affected the balance of the car.
00:47:34Derek Wofford tells us it's just a little bit loose.
00:47:36Consequently, he's having this heated struggle here
00:47:39to protect the position with Johansson.
00:47:41Let's go to Jan Bekus.
00:47:42Well, Gary, one of the drivers
00:47:43that has not been talking on the radio
00:47:45is Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:47:46They keep calling him.
00:47:47The Barbaro crew says,
00:47:48how's the car, how's the car?
00:47:50Just keeps saying very quickly,
00:47:51okay, okay, that's no news, it's good news.
00:47:54Now, speaking of that,
00:47:55we haven't mentioned at all fuel in this race.
00:47:57That's because it's another no news, it's good news.
00:47:59This is one racetrack where they can stand on it.
00:48:01We don't have to talk about fuel this time in the pits.
00:48:04Paul?
00:48:05Emerson Fittipaldi, car number five, leads the race.
00:48:07He calls this car, as he names them all,
00:48:10this is Lady Winner.
00:48:12Will that be true for him today?
00:48:13This is, by the way, the car, the chassis
00:48:16that Rick Mears crashed at the Indianapolis 500.
00:48:19So, they repaired it,
00:48:20and it looks like they may be making a winner out of it.
00:48:23Well, if they do make a winner,
00:48:24that'll be win number three here for Emerson,
00:48:26because he's already been successful twice
00:48:29in the past at Cleveland.
00:48:30Very popular, this racetrack is with him,
00:48:32and he definitely has control of the situation at the moment
00:48:35because, you mentioned earlier,
00:48:37the battle behind him held up Allenson Jr. for a long time.
00:48:41Allenson Jr. in second place is now 13 seconds behind.
00:48:45Another three seconds behind little Al is Michael Andretti,
00:48:49and then Bobby Rahal in fourth.
00:48:51Robbie Gorton still occupies that fifth place.
00:48:54But Fittipaldi now has the job very carefully,
00:48:57lap after lap, threading his way through traffic.
00:49:01Emerson Fittipaldi, John Andretti moves aside.
00:49:04John Andretti, one of the drivers,
00:49:05struggling to get the form that this team started off with.
00:49:08Mind you, how do you recreate winning situations
00:49:11like they did in Australia
00:49:12that made some management changes in this team,
00:49:15but John probably not having the type of success
00:49:18that he would like.
00:49:20Fittipaldi continues to navigate around this airport circuit,
00:49:24looking very, very strong.
00:49:26If he can only hold on, he has completed 49 laps
00:49:30of the 85-lap scheduled distance,
00:49:32210.3 miles.
00:49:34Again, the view down.
00:49:36Runway 24 right from the Goodyear Blimp Spirit overhead.
00:49:41Marvelous display of Fittipaldi's line on this course.
00:49:45And a bit of a disjointed season for Penske this year.
00:49:48I think Rick Muir's accident at Indy
00:49:50and then his problems with his wrist
00:49:52probably can upset most of the momentum
00:49:56that this team has.
00:49:58Emerson has had his fair share of mechanical problems,
00:50:00but remember, he was very strong at Toronto.
00:50:02Look what's happening here today.
00:50:03Perhaps Penske are going to finish off this season
00:50:06with a real flurry.
00:50:08We continue to watch race leader Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:50:11You know, they've announced
00:50:12that we are going to race in downtown New York
00:50:16at the tip of Manhattan Island.
00:50:18One of the guys working with that is Bud Stammer.
00:50:20And right now, he is with Gary Gerald.
00:50:23Indeed, Bud is the organizer, the promoter, you call it.
00:50:26The man is deeply involved in getting this race started.
00:50:29He's deeply involved in getting that street race
00:50:31to become a reality in New York.
00:50:32And Bud, the 93 schedule has yet to be announced.
00:50:35Will that date in 93 again be firm?
00:50:37There's been speculation it might not happen.
00:50:39Yes, we're on the schedule for July 11, 1993
00:50:42for the Marlboro Grand Prix of New York.
00:50:45And that will be on the current schedule when it's released.
00:50:48Now, there's been a lawsuit, we understand,
00:50:50filed by some environmentalist concerns
00:50:52against the city of New York.
00:50:53What kind of impact does that have on your event?
00:50:55Well, we've been advised by our friends
00:50:57at the corporate council in New York City
00:50:59that it really and truly is a lawsuit without much merit.
00:51:03It has to do with the way the city went about
00:51:06granting us the franchise to hold the race.
00:51:09We are told by New York City that it will be resolved
00:51:13in the city's favor in due course.
00:51:15We look forward to seeing you on the streets of Wall Street,
00:51:17the financial district, next summer.
00:51:19Thanks, Gary, very much.
00:51:20Paul?
00:51:21I'll tell you what, last time I was in New York,
00:51:23one of the cab drivers took me right down there and said,
00:51:25here's where the race course is going to be.
00:51:27He was really excited.
00:51:28Later today, here on ESPN, 5.30, of course,
00:51:31the Digital Classic, then SportsCenter,
00:51:34and then baseball tonight, the Mets versus the Cubs.
00:51:38And, of course, we'll wrap the weekend of sports up for you
00:51:41at 11 p.m. Eastern on SportsCenter.
00:51:44Out in front of the Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix
00:51:46is Emerson Fittipaldi,
00:51:48leading with 12.5 seconds over Al Unser Jr.
00:51:53On the course, Al Unser Jr. runs in second place,
00:51:55trying to run down Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:51:58As we look at the race summary at the conclusion of 50 laps,
00:52:01Emerson Fittipaldi and Michael Andretti,
00:52:03the only two that have led this race,
00:52:06and Fittipaldi has led most of it.
00:52:08Average speed, 132 miles an hour,
00:52:11so Fittipaldi is flying around this circuit,
00:52:15looking very, very strong.
00:52:16That caution came on the first lap.
00:52:18It was really a no-start.
00:52:20These are the cars out of the race.
00:52:22Pomroth, Cheever, Hiramashita, Jacques Villeneuve.
00:52:24No contact in any of these.
00:52:26Scott Brayton just fell out, as did Buddy Lazier.
00:52:30So Al Unser Jr., 12.5 seconds back.
00:52:33It's a position that he has maintained,
00:52:35has continued to chase Emerson Fittipaldi,
00:52:38but he can't seem to get him caught.
00:52:41Look at Stefan Johansson as he comes alongside John Andretti.
00:52:44A battle for ninth place, and he takes the position.
00:52:47Johansson still moving forward.
00:52:49Very much on the charge, and particularly good under braking.
00:52:52That car, Amag's car, now run by Tony Bettenhausen.
00:52:56Tony did drive it at the Michigan 500
00:52:58because Johansson was not comfortable running on super speedways,
00:53:02but now he's back on his favorite type of racetrack, road racing circuits.
00:53:06Remember, he's European from Sweden,
00:53:08and his background is totally road racing.
00:53:10I have to tell you something about Tony Bettenhausen.
00:53:13You know, we've been talking that he is becoming more and more an owner,
00:53:16as we watch Al Unser Jr.
00:53:18Don't worry about it too much.
00:53:19There's still a lot of driver in him.
00:53:21I saw him in the paddock yesterday with one of those super water guns,
00:53:25literally running full sprint, chasing other drivers down so he could squirt them.
00:53:29There's still a lot of race driver in Tony Bettenhausen.
00:53:32Lap 56 just turned by the leader, Emerson Fittipaldi,
00:53:36and we are now back in an open window for potential pit stops.
00:53:40Already the Penske organization laying out and waiting for the arrival of this man,
00:53:45car number five, the leader of the race, Emerson Fittipaldi.
00:53:48Rest of the field working their way about.
00:53:51Al Unser Jr. is 13 seconds back.
00:53:54Probably plenty of opportunity to take the lead of the race
00:53:58on the slowdown rollout that Fittipaldi will take when he comes into the stop.
00:54:02But here is where the pit crew makes a world of difference,
00:54:05and in first and second place, we're going to see two of the best.
00:54:08Emerson Fittipaldi is rolling down toward one of those great crews.
00:54:13That's the Penske organization, and Gary Gerald's right there.
00:54:16We watch with the crew, Paul.
00:54:18Now the nose of the car in sight, perfectly on the marks
00:54:21by the former Formula 1 world champion, the former IndyCar champion,
00:54:25looking for his second win of the year.
00:54:27He's had a flawless day thus far.
00:54:29The crack Penske team getting ready to come back over the wall
00:54:32as they complete the fueling now.
00:54:34We've got him at 15 seconds as he leaves, 15.8 on the stop.
00:54:38Let's go to Jan Bekus.
00:54:40Fittipaldi Jr., our second-place runner, Allentor Jr., has been in.
00:54:43He's now underway.
00:54:45Spins those tires, warms them up, and he goes by Ross Bentley.
00:54:48He's underway, no changes whatsoever, Paul.
00:54:50Super little stop, 13.8 seconds.
00:54:53But as both first and second place Fittipaldi and Allentor Jr. stop,
00:54:58Michael Landredi and Bobby Rahal stayed out
00:55:01and flashed past, picking up first and second place.
00:55:04So now those two are poised for a battle of the pits as well.
00:55:08And these outlaps when the cars are full of fuel and on cold tires,
00:55:12you can make up a lot of ground
00:55:14if you're brave enough to push the car to the limit.
00:55:17Allentor Jr. has been about 12 or 13 seconds
00:55:20behind Rahal in racing conditions.
00:55:23But he knows he has to make it off his pit stops
00:55:26if he's not fast enough on the race track on cold tires.
00:55:29Maybe he can make up a couple of valuable seconds.
00:55:32But look at this, the new race leader, Michael Landredi,
00:55:35leading Bobby Rahal by 5.8 seconds, stays out.
00:55:40But Bobby Rahal comes in, Jan Michals.
00:55:42Bobby Rahal brings it to a stop right on the marks,
00:55:44getting a drink of water, very, very humid and hot out here.
00:55:47This is your only chance as a driver.
00:55:49Also look at his hand, he reaches up, he is going to be resetting the fuel.
00:55:53That's one of the things you have to do at the pit stop.
00:55:55The reason they're waiting right now, Paul, is for that last drop of fuel.
00:55:58He's underway in 14 seconds as Scott Pruitt rolls out for his stop.
00:56:02And of course what Jan is talking about, resetting the fuel,
00:56:05as we watch Michael Landredi, he's the leader of the race.
00:56:08You have to push a button to reset the fuel gauges so they can count backwards.
00:56:11You have to re-zero those gauges.
00:56:13Exactly, one of the many computer-controlled areas on these race cars.
00:56:17And we're back inside with Michael Landredi,
00:56:20bouncing his way around the double right-hander at the bottom of the race track.
00:56:24But surely Michael must be about to come into the pit too.
00:56:26Nope, not this lap.
00:56:28So Michael Landredi still leads, still stays out, looking very strong now.
00:56:33There's Robbie Gordon.
00:56:35Boy, you talk about somebody looking strong,
00:56:37runs in fifth place, has had a marvelously smooth, consistent race today.
00:56:41And what a steep learning curve Robbie Gordon absolutely must be going through.
00:56:45Remember, he has almost zero single-seater experience to speak of
00:56:50before Michael Kvanefuss arranged for him to get into this car here with the Ford engine.
00:56:55Robbie Gordon doing a very good job on a steep learning curve.
00:56:58Very nice young man, runs in fifth place right now in one of Chip Ganassi's cars.
00:57:03For the moment, it's Michael Landredi that is leading the run here by 13.5 seconds,
00:57:08but he's due to stop.
00:57:12Just any time now, heads down the pit road.
00:57:15Boy, look at the speed he carries on into the pits.
00:57:18Cousin John just in front of him, now Michael to the Newman-Haas pits,
00:57:22and here's Gary Gerald.
00:57:24We talked about a wing change. I believe they've decided not to.
00:57:27As he comes in and hits that target, Michael had the lead,
00:57:30but of course he stretched it a lap or two further than most of the other teams.
00:57:34Now he flings the water bottle away.
00:57:36More activity on pit road.
00:57:38His final stop, three-time winner this year,
00:57:41trying to challenge Rahoff. He's away in 14.8 seconds.
00:57:45Emerson Pitopaldi flashes past while he was in the pits to take up the lead,
00:57:49but it's going to be a battle for second place
00:57:51as Allenser Jr. is heading for the first turn,
00:57:54as here comes Michael Al,
00:57:56and Allenser Jr. is just ahead of him on the race course.
00:57:59So now it will be a battle for second place
00:58:01with Allenser Jr., Michael Landredi chasing,
00:58:04and Emerson Pitopaldi back in front.
00:58:06And Al Jr. has warm tires. He's already done two or three laps,
00:58:09so the advantage sits with him.
00:58:11However, Michael will try everything he can to get hands on
00:58:15because he's closer now than he was before they made those pit stops.
00:58:19Two time laps now to go to the finish of the run here.
00:58:22For all practical purposes, all fuel should be on board,
00:58:25and it is now a sprint to the end of this race,
00:58:28with Michael Landredi doing his best to score yet another victory this season
00:58:32and pick up some very much needed points.
00:58:35What about that other point contender, Bobby Rahoff?
00:58:38He currently runs in fourth place.
00:58:40If he stays there, he ends this race with 140 points.
00:58:44That's still a lead,
00:58:46but still Michael Landredi and Allenser Jr. are in this fight,
00:58:50and they're continuing to battle very hard for those much needed points.
00:58:54Traffic situation here. Scott Prude is bound to see these leading cars behind him.
00:58:59Remember, Scott Prude can't give up too much.
00:59:02He's in a battle himself, currently running in eighth place,
00:59:05but Michael needs to get, if he can,
00:59:09get Allenser Jr. to get held up by traffic.
00:59:13And there you see Michael Landredi.
00:59:17And here is Bobby Rahoff. He's fourth place.
00:59:21Trying to chase down Michael.
00:59:23He's about 12 seconds behind Michael Landredi right now.
00:59:27There have been seven lead changes today,
00:59:30the most since this race in 1983, when there were a record 11 lead changes.
00:59:36In a slightly uncomfortable situation, I mean uncomfortable physically,
00:59:40as he blew an engine of the Michigan 500,
00:59:42and the boiling water went down into the seat of his race car.
00:59:45He sat in it. You can imagine what happened then.
00:59:48For the bones, and he's been standing up ever since.
00:59:52Bobby Rahoff, by the way, believe it or not, running in fourth place,
00:59:56runs in the worst position he's ever occupied for a finish here.
01:00:00He has never finished lower than third in the last five races here at Cleveland.
01:00:07So, Bobby Rahoff, here's the way the points leaders are.
01:00:10You're looking at Rahoff in fourth place,
01:00:12and you can see that some of the key players are,
01:00:15look at this battle go, look at this battle,
01:00:17as Michael comes down inside of Allenser Jr. and takes the spot.
01:00:22Now talk about seizing the opportunity.
01:00:25Al Jr. leaves the door open, and Michael chomps down the inside.
01:00:29Al Jr. will be absolutely livid with himself.
01:00:32Can he allow that to happen?
01:00:34As they were involved with some slower traffic as they did that,
01:00:37Al got bottled up a little bit.
01:00:39Now he's coming right back at Michael Andretti.
01:00:43Gerard Pruitt was the other car in there.
01:00:45He'd been part of that battle all along.
01:00:47Despite the fact that Scott runs in eighth place,
01:00:49the years suggest that Scott's trying to protect his own position from competition.
01:00:53Exactly. Michael slides down the inside.
01:00:55I think Al Jr. may have got caught just a little bit again,
01:00:57but we heard Rick Allis say earlier on that Al Jr. had the fastest car at the start of the race.
01:01:03Remember, there's new tires on this car.
01:01:05Sometimes that can alter what's happening.
01:01:07This is what happened here. Now look at this.
01:01:09Michael, well, on fair play.
01:01:11I mean, he just slides down the inside in a blinding move and actually gets the job done.
01:01:16Gerard Pruitt wasn't a backer at all.
01:01:17No, he wasn't.
01:01:18He was just a great spectator for that one.
01:01:20Exactly. Now, I just mentioned, sometimes when you change tires,
01:01:24subtle changes, subtle differences can have big effects on the handling of the car.
01:01:29Al Jr., what we can see now, particularly on full tank,
01:01:32is not as comfortable as he was earlier in the race.
01:01:36Emerson Fittipaldi, well out in front of this run.
01:01:40And Mario Andretti runs in sixth place.
01:01:43His 370th IndyCar start, putting him into the lead for all-time starts ahead of A.J. Boyd.
01:01:50I wonder how long E.J.'s going to put up with that, though.
01:01:53Well, I don't know, but I wonder how long Mario's going to put up with driving.
01:01:56I saw a great quote earlier.
01:01:58He said the only thing he'll do is go fishing, except he doesn't know how to fish.
01:02:02So Mario Andretti continues to circle this course in sixth place.
01:02:06Emerson Fittipaldi is the leader.
01:02:10I'm Paul Page with Derek Daly as we continue our coverage of the IndyCars.
01:02:15On ESPN, we'll take you right now through the end of the season and determine the champion.
01:02:20Here is the battle between Stefan Johansson and John Andretti.
01:02:23Got them both in a little bit of trouble.
01:02:25And Stefan, look what happened here.
01:02:27Gets too much wheel spin, and he's actually trying to block John Andretti while he did that.
01:02:33And John Andretti, in fact, we believe, got a black flag.
01:02:36That's a stop-and-go black flag.
01:02:38They wanted to check that car, make sure there wasn't any damage.
01:02:41Look at the nose for a second.
01:02:42No, it's nice and clean.
01:02:44But they did get away with it.
01:02:45Just to continue, Jan Beek has a story on the negative dihedral wing.
01:02:50You can see on John Andretti's car, it's actually a flat, straight wing.
01:02:53The negative dihedral wing is also available from the Lola factory.
01:02:57It cost $20,000.
01:02:59Some of the Chevrolet runners did buy it, but didn't find it very good.
01:03:03So they now sit back in the transporter.
01:03:05No use.
01:03:06However, they are good on the Ford engine cars.
01:03:09On that black flag, let's go down and get an update from Jan Beek.
01:03:12Well, Paul, when you're talking first about the dihedral wing,
01:03:15then about John Andretti when he came in,
01:03:17first of all, when you're talking about those wings sitting in the transporters,
01:03:20it's made in England.
01:03:21They have a law there that says it's called the Trade Description Act,
01:03:24and that is that if something doesn't perform the way they say,
01:03:27you can return it for your money back.
01:03:29That isn't the case, I guess, in racing.
01:03:30John Andretti, however, only has half of his wing,
01:03:32just like Derek Day was talking about.
01:03:34Made that quick stop, they had to pull the top of the wing off.
01:03:37Paul?
01:03:38So John Andretti, a bit of a problem,
01:03:41though I wonder how much it will actually affect the car's performance.
01:03:44Well, it will definitely make the car push,
01:03:46which is an understeer situation.
01:03:48As you look closely, you can see tire marks,
01:03:50which comes from Stephan Johansson's left rear tire.
01:03:53You can just see it there, black tire marks that broke that front wing.
01:03:57However, luckily, John Andretti did not have to change that wing,
01:04:01because that would be a major time loss for him.
01:04:03Emerson Fittipaldi, leading for the first time since his opening race,
01:04:08which he won in Surfers Paradise in Australia.
01:04:10He is now 15.5 seconds ahead of second place Michael Andretti,
01:04:15who is another five seconds ahead of Al Unter, Jr.
01:04:18Fourth is Bobby Rahal.
01:04:20Robbie Gordon, with a great run, is fifth.
01:04:22Mario Andretti is sixth.
01:04:23Raul Boisel up in seventh.
01:04:25Scott Pruitt now up to eighth.
01:04:27Ninth is Stephan Johansson.
01:04:28Then this man, John Andretti.
01:04:30Scott Goodyear runs in 11th.
01:04:32Eddie Cheever is 12th.
01:04:33Ted Krapp is 13th.
01:04:35In 14th place, Jimmy Vassar.
01:04:37Brian Till is 15th.
01:04:38Christian Danner, 16th.
01:04:40Eric Batchelor is 17th.
01:04:42And Paul Tracey is running in 18th position,
01:04:45or all the cars that are currently running on this circuit.
01:04:48And a good Andretti fight here.
01:04:50John Andretti, remember, he only qualified 14th.
01:04:53Very disappointing for him.
01:04:54Now Mario is behind him.
01:04:56John goes way wide to the left-hand side, which is a normal racing line.
01:05:00And look how Mario easily gets down the inside
01:05:03as we pick up Scott Pruitt, having another good run in the true sports car,
01:05:08having had difficulties earlier in the week testing.
01:05:10Eighth place, Pruitt.
01:05:11Here comes Bobby Rahal.
01:05:13Here comes Scott Pruitt.
01:05:15Then Krapp is, as he's now, locked in a battle with Christian Danner.
01:05:20Christian Danner, very successful last weekend,
01:05:23won the 24-hour race at Spa in Belgium.
01:05:26And three weeks ago, he won the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.
01:05:30He's a factory BMW driver for saloon cars in Germany.
01:05:34Gets on very well, but really wants to make a career out of IndyCar racing.
01:05:38And, of course, running for Euro Motorsports,
01:05:40his car backed by Fendi, AGIP, and Hawaiian Trucking.
01:05:44Giving the car a good ride as he continues his battle with Ted Krappes.
01:05:48Christian Danner looking strong
01:05:50and should have an opportunity in the very near future
01:05:53to move up in the IndyCar.
01:05:55Good performance here today on the airport circuit
01:05:58at the Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland,
01:06:00which, by the way, probably not more than a half an hour after this race is over.
01:06:04I mean, as soon as the checkered flag goes out,
01:06:07they go out and they pull some barriers out of the way,
01:06:09and they open this back up for regular general aviation traffic.
01:06:13I think something else worth mentioning with Christian Danner,
01:06:16remember, he's running one of the Cosworth engines,
01:06:19which we now know is not as powerful as the race,
01:06:21or the engine run by people like Alonso Jr. here.
01:06:25Here is the Valvoline race summary at the conclusion of 70 laps.
01:06:28This is an 85-lap race.
01:06:30Emerson Fittipaldi still a strong dominant lead here
01:06:34and the average speed at 133.2 miles an hour.
01:06:42Cars out of the race after 70 laps.
01:06:45We look down through the order.
01:06:47Emerson Fittipaldi is looking so very strong out here today.
01:06:51No changes, no cars out since the last time we checked.
01:06:54Everybody running fair and very smooth.
01:06:56This is third place.
01:06:59Looking ahead, trying to find second place car of Michael Andretti.
01:07:05But Fittipaldi looking so strong here today.
01:07:07One car got very slow going into the first turn,
01:07:10but was able to get it back under control and get going.
01:07:12In fact, that was Robbie Gordon, got himself in trouble down there.
01:07:15Had many spins during practice here,
01:07:17but his logic is if you don't spin every now and then,
01:07:20you're not trying hard enough.
01:07:22But he got himself in trouble,
01:07:23but he still managed to hang on to that fifth place.
01:07:26But Mario Andretti is the one that's chasing him.
01:07:29So we get a good view of Scott Goodyear,
01:07:31the winner of the Michigan 500.
01:07:34At the front of the field, it is still Emerson Fittipaldi,
01:07:38but now Michael Andretti is closing in.
01:07:42He's setting a touring pace at 133 plus miles an hour.
01:07:46That'll be a strong record over Michael Andretti's 117.
01:07:50Michael Andretti runs in second place.
01:07:52Michael Andretti currently holds the race record set last year.
01:07:55Allenser Jr. is third.
01:07:57In fourth place, it is Bobby Rahal, the current points leader.
01:08:00And Robbie Gordon continues to give the Chip Ganassi car a great run.
01:08:05Emerson is off the road.
01:08:06There's that Paul Tracy.
01:08:08Paul Tracy.
01:08:09Paul Tracy pulls her off.
01:08:10Actually doesn't pull her off.
01:08:11The road pulls him off.
01:08:13Runs off in the east loop there where it's so very easy to drop a wheel off the course.
01:08:17But now he is back under power.
01:08:19Not really a situation that mattered.
01:08:21He was the last car running on the course in the order
01:08:24running in 18th place.
01:08:25Right.
01:08:26You mentioned earlier getting valuable experience in this race on a road course.
01:08:30But I see something.
01:08:31Looks like something leaking out of that left side pod.
01:08:35Maybe it's dirt.
01:08:36Here's Robbie Gordon inside Boesel.
01:08:38The race is going on everywhere here.
01:08:40Gordon and Boesel actually in a battle for sixth place.
01:08:44And now Cheever is team leader.
01:08:45Here comes Eddie.
01:08:46Eddie Cheever, teammate to Robbie Gordon.
01:08:48As he comes flying up through.
01:08:50Not a battle for position itself,
01:08:52but a great fight on this race course.
01:08:54Cheever has had a terrible weekend.
01:08:56He hit the wall on Friday.
01:08:59Lost valuable time.
01:09:00Could not get the car.
01:09:01Oh, look at Boesel trying to slide down the inside.
01:09:04But Cheever could not get the car sorted as he liked it.
01:09:07And started way, way down the grid in 17th place.
01:09:10But Boesel finally finds a way past Robbie Gordon.
01:09:13There's been great racing here throughout the weekend
01:09:16with nine laps to go in the Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix for the IndyCars.
01:09:21Yesterday, for example, a group of celebrities have gotten together
01:09:24and they're putting together a racing series
01:09:26to benefit things like children's hospitals in each individual race area.
01:09:31Perry King, Ricky Schroeder, Kent McCourt, guys like that all involved in racing.
01:09:36And yesterday's winner of the first of that series was Perry King.
01:09:40Gave the car a good run.
01:09:41If he didn't want to act, he could be a race driver.
01:09:43A lot of competition in that race, too, wasn't it, Paul?
01:09:46A lot of big names.
01:09:47A little too much competition back and forth in fifth place.
01:09:50Yes, Jack Arood got ahead of me, I couldn't believe it.
01:09:53But you did finish. You were consistent, but you won't get higher.
01:09:57Emerson, I was trying to get the Rick Mears right, but not even Rick will permit that.
01:10:01Exactly.
01:10:02There's the man who has it for the rest of the year
01:10:04as Al Unser Jr. overhauls Paul Tracy.
01:10:06Again, Paul now just has to get that car to the finish of the race.
01:10:09As we go to the closing laps, setting the order with Fittipaldi 14 seconds
01:10:14ahead of Michael Andretti.
01:10:16And Al Unser Jr. sitting in third place behind Andretti
01:10:19and fighting that car in every corner.
01:10:21And he is fighting that car.
01:10:23That was a great in-car camera picture of Al Jr. grappling with that car
01:10:27as it went into a very vicious sudden oversteer.
01:10:30That car is not handling as well as it was earlier in the race,
01:10:34and it's hampering Al Unser Jr.
01:10:36Right behind is Robbie Thornton.
01:10:38Just behind him is Bobby Rahal
01:10:41trying to catch up to little Al for position.
01:10:43Let's stay with this as Rahal tries to the inside,
01:10:47gets around Gordon, and is now ready to set up Al Unser Jr.
01:10:51For an update though on Robbie Gordon, let's go to Gary Gerald.
01:10:54Well, the rookie in only his fifth IndyCar race
01:10:56trying to get a top-ten finish, had been top five,
01:10:59has got some late-race brake problems.
01:11:01That has contributed to his frustration
01:11:03as he tried to protect and, I guess, lost that position to Raul Boisel.
01:11:07Gordon's still making a great showing, I'd say,
01:11:09thus far this day at Cleveland, Paul.
01:11:11No doubt that he's having a wonderful day
01:11:13and really impressing all of his supporters
01:11:16as well as his many fans here.
01:11:17A very likable young man.
01:11:19Spends a lot of time with the fans.
01:11:21Nice smile, always down by the fence, signing autographs,
01:11:24as most of the IndyCar drivers will do for you on any given day
01:11:27and certainly have here in Cleveland on this magnificent weekend.
01:11:31They were all part of a parade earlier.
01:11:32Really a nice weekend in Cleveland.
01:11:34Now here is the battle.
01:11:36It is a battle for third place,
01:11:37as Bobby Rahal, needing any points that he can get,
01:11:40is trying to get around Al Unser Jr.
01:11:43Doesn't truly need them,
01:11:44but they could make a difference at the end of the season.
01:11:47He will still lead this race with the points he needs.
01:11:50Those points get ever so important as we go to the closing races.
01:11:54Exactly, and Rahal has a habit of getting stronger as the season goes on
01:11:58and oftentimes getting stronger as the race goes on.
01:12:01He is in a better handling car than Al Jr. at the moment,
01:12:05so Al Jr. has a real fight in his hands now
01:12:08to maintain that hard spot for third place in the currency hold.
01:12:12Bobby Rahal sitting up just behind Al Unser Jr.
01:12:16Al Unser Jr., remember, is doing a tremendous job
01:12:19keeping this car operating well, a development car for him.
01:12:23John Andretti is a factor just ahead
01:12:25as this gives Rahal a chance to close in.
01:12:27And little Al is looking for an opportunity to dart around John Andretti
01:12:31because he's slightly slower than the battle for third place
01:12:34that is working around this track.
01:12:36Now here comes Al Unser Jr. darting inside,
01:12:39but Rahal darts as well.
01:12:40They both get around John Andretti.
01:12:42And you see what John Andretti did there.
01:12:44He knew exactly what was happening,
01:12:45but Rahal went off the road.
01:12:47Rahal loses it there, gets off the track.
01:12:50The battle for the moment has ended.
01:12:52He is back on fairly quickly,
01:12:54but that gives Al Unser Jr. a solid hold on third place for the moment.
01:12:58And a rare mistake by Bobby Rahal.
01:13:00He clearly saw John Andretti put his hand out of the cockpit,
01:13:03said to Al Jr., go down the inside.
01:13:06He made it, but Rahal didn't quite have enough room,
01:13:09run off the road, and now he has to claw his way back to Al Jr.
01:13:13I don't know whether there's enough time.
01:13:15Emerson Fittipaldi still well out in front.
01:13:17The battle for third is broken off.
01:13:19Michael Andretti is second.
01:13:23Continuing to celebrate with Mario Andretti,
01:13:25his 51st and most recent IndyCar triumph came on this very course in 1988
01:13:30as he held off then Bobby Rahal and Danny Sullivan
01:13:33in a thrilling three-car finish.
01:13:36Mario Andretti here runs in fifth place.
01:13:39As we're in the closing laps now,
01:13:41with just over three laps to go,
01:13:43Al Unser Jr. is doing his best to close down on Michael Andretti.
01:13:48You can get a glimpse from time to time,
01:13:50just ahead, Michael Andretti in an ongoing battle for second place.
01:13:54And this is a great fight.
01:13:56Al Jr., when the car seems to get lighter,
01:13:59when some of the fuel burns away,
01:14:01Al Jr. gets a little bit faster, or else Michael gets a little bit worse.
01:14:05But now look at this here.
01:14:06That's Eddie Cheever ahead of Michael.
01:14:08That's not a fight for position,
01:14:10but Cheever is in a fight in his own personal race.
01:14:13But look at Al Jr., closer to Michael now than he's been for many laps.
01:14:18Michael Andretti takes the advantage of sliding between Cheever and Scott Goodyear,
01:14:22trying to put any distance that he can at all between himself and a quick-driving Al Unser Jr.
01:14:28We look back from Scott Goodyear's car through the suspension.
01:14:31Michael Andretti still trying to hold off Al Unser Jr. in the fight for second place.
01:14:36Vittipaldi, 17 seconds out in front.
01:14:39Next time by, we see just two laps to go to the finish of this 210-mile run here in Cleveland.
01:14:46That's Michael. He's still behind Scott Goodyear.
01:14:49Very difficult to get by here.
01:14:51He has a little look down the inside, realizes he can't make it.
01:14:54Goodyear still holds him off.
01:14:55I'm sure Goodyear will move over and let him get on with his own race.
01:14:59But Al Jr. is going to be difficult now to close down on Michael.
01:15:03Emerson Vittipaldi just flashed over the start-finish line with just two laps to go.
01:15:08He'll see the white flag next time by.
01:15:10The battle continues for second place.
01:15:12Michael Andretti occupies it at the moment.
01:15:14Look at Al Unser Jr., car number three.
01:15:16Scott Goodyear moves way over to get out of the way.
01:15:19Al Unser Jr. takes the fastest line into the corner, trying to build up momentum if he can.
01:15:24And will try to move to the inside of Scott Goodyear, but Goodyear is very quick as well.
01:15:28He is quick, but Al Jr., if he has any chance to catch Michael, has to get by Goodyear very, very quickly.
01:15:34Let's go to the pits and Gary Gerald.
01:15:36Paul Tracy out of the car.
01:15:38How frustrating that opening moment when things got hung up and he sat for four laps.
01:15:42Well, I just, you know, I got the car set up for the start,
01:15:45and then I went to shift to third gear on the start there,
01:15:48and it got hung up, and then I had to come in and get it fixed.
01:15:50But, you know, all in all, the Marlboro car ran great.
01:15:52I think we had a race-winning car.
01:15:54And, you know, it's disappointing to go out right before the race started.
01:15:58I think we ran a good race during it, though.
01:16:00Thank you, Paul.
01:16:01One Penske driver out, another one looking for a checkered flag, Paul Page.
01:16:05Well, Emerson Fittipaldi just saw the white flag, indicating one more lap to go.
01:16:09The battle continues for second place.
01:16:12Still trying to handle up Scott Goodyear as Fittipaldi is on his last lap.
01:16:16So is this battle for second place now?
01:16:18There's Fittipaldi over on the lake shore straight.
01:16:21He is unchallenged with a full 16-second lead over the second-place battle.
01:16:25But look at this.
01:16:26Now, Allenger Jr. is around Scott Goodyear and in direct competition with Michael Andretti.
01:16:31Michael Andretti's superior acceleration here on the backside,
01:16:34but Allenger Jr. has been able to catch up on the back half of the race course.
01:16:39Michael Andretti in second now, makes that turn in through the first set of chicanes here.
01:16:43Now a short straightaway. A left-hander lies just ahead for Michael.
01:16:47Allenger Jr. trying to close, but is not in contest at this moment.
01:16:50Now they sweep through the east loop.
01:16:53Three right-hand turns in a row.
01:16:56Again, Allenger Jr. is not a factor at this point.
01:16:58Here comes Fittipaldi, heading for the final two turns.
01:17:01He's through that final corner.
01:17:03And Emerson Fittipaldi looks at the checkered flag,
01:17:06picks up the win, his second of this season.
01:17:09Emerson Fittipaldi is the winner of the race here at Cleveland,
01:17:12the Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix.
01:17:14And we look now for Michael Andretti as he comes off the final corner.
01:17:18And Allenger Jr. slows down, and Michael Andretti takes second.
01:17:22Allenger Jr. comes home in third place.
01:17:25In fourth place, it is Bobby Rahal,
01:17:27followed by Mario Andretti, his 370th career start,
01:17:32finishing in fifth place.
01:17:34He is still very racy indeed.
01:17:36But the winner today, Emerson Fittipaldi,
01:17:39a spectacular run, a dominant force here.
01:17:42And we didn't see it all, but a last desperate effort by Allenger Jr.
01:17:46to try and get second place for Michael
01:17:48meant he ran right off the road at the end of the straight,
01:17:51leading onto the pits, through the grass,
01:17:53got it back in control, and didn't quite get the position.
01:17:56Congratulations going around the Penske pit.
01:17:59Rick Reinemann, the crew chief, very happy with that win.
01:18:02In a moment, we'll come back and we'll talk with the winner
01:18:06of the Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix, Emerson Fittipaldi.