2000 Michigan 500

The 2000 Michigan 500 was the eleventh round of the 2000 CART season. It happened at the Michigan International Speedway.

Qualifying

The Canadian driver Paul Tracy, from Team Green, set the pole. The American driver Michael Andretti, from Newman/Haas Racing, started alongside him at row 1

Race

At the end of lap 1, the leader was the Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya, from Chip Ganassi Racing. He was battling for the lead against Andretti from lap 2. The top 10 at lap 18 was: Montoya, Andretti, Kenny Bräck, Christian Fittipaldi, Helio Castroneves, Cristiano da Matta, Adrian Fernández, Gil de Ferran, Patrick Carpentier and Max Papis. At lap 25, Paul Tracy was struggling in the race, as he was in 14th. The 1st caution came out as Fernández spun in the pit exit. He damaged the front side of his car, but he remained in the race, despite of the damage. The top 6 was: Brack, Montoya, Fittipaldi, Castroneves, Papis and da Matta. The restart came out at lap 47. At lap 51, Fittipaldi overtook Bräck and took the lead. But Bräck retook the lead. After 70 laps, Andretti was leading. The Brazilian driver Tony Kanaan, from Mo Nunn was the first driver to retire in this race. Then, from lap 76 until lap 81, all the drivers did their 2nd pitstops. At lap 83, the 2nd caution came out due to debris on backstretch. The restart came out at lap 89. At lap 98, the 3rd caution happened, as Kenny Bräck was hit by Christian Fittipaldi. Bräck retired. After 99 laps this was the top 6: Castroneves, Montoya, Papis, Carpentier, da Matta and Tracy. Jimmy Vasser suffered mechanical problems. The American driver retired at lap 100. Before Vasser, the Brazilian driver Roberto Moreno, from Patrick Racing, also retired, due to gearbox problems. The restart came out at lap 107. At lap 109, this was the top 6: Tracy, Castroneves, Papis, Montoya, da Matta and Dario Franchitti. At lap 135, the British driver Mark Blundell, from PacWest, retired. Brazilian driver Gil de Ferran, from Penske Racing retired due a suspension failure. He suffered a minor fracture on his finger. Then, everyone did their pit stops until lap 144. At that lap, Cristiano da Matta, had a fuel problem in the pits. He retired. At lap 162, the Forsythe Racing Canadian driver Alex Tagliani suffered a bad crash at turn 4. He retired, but walked away. 4th caution. The restart came out at lap 171. After 178 laps, the top 5 was: Tracy, Montoya, Castroneves, Andretti and Carpentier. From lap 206 until 212, the drivers did their pitstops. Spaniard Oriol Servià had a drive through penalty at lap 212. At lap 222, the 5th caution came out, as Christian Fittipaldi had a wild spin on the backstretch. He retired, but complained about ankle pains. The restart came out at lap 230. Montoya and Andretti were battling for the win in an amazing side by side finish. Montoya won giving Toyota their second victory in ChampCar; he was followed by Andretti, Franchitti, Carpentier, Castroneves, Fernández, Tracy, Servià, Papis, Memo Gidley. Montoya also became the first driver since Rick Mears in 1991 to win the Indy 500 and Michigan 500 in the same year.

Championship Battle

Andretti was the new leader of the championship with 100 points. The previous leader, Roberto Moreno was in 2nd with 90 points.

References