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Changing gears

New teammate, new championship threats in '99

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Posted: Monday April 26, 1999 08:03 PM

Three down, 17 to go. For me, the first three races of the 1999 FedEx Championship Series weren't exactly something to write home about, so I'm writing to all of you instead.

The biggest surprise of the year is probably my rookie teammate Juan Montoya's win at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. The kid is good. He dominated the second half of that race. I know he hates to be compared to Zanardi, but if he keeps driving like that, the comparisons are inevitable.

It's exciting to have a rookie on the team again. He's pumped some excitement into Target/Chip Ganassi Racing with his enthusiasm and driving ability. I look forward to watching him learn and improve throughout the year, but as you saw last Sunday in Long Beach, there's not a lot of room for improvement.

As for myself, I'm confident I can win this year, too. A fourth, 12th and 10th-place finish isn't exactly how I hoped to begin the year, but the season's young. Some car problems and bad luck on the track have slowed me down a bit. This year's Target Honda-Reynard is as strong as ever and I'm looking forward to visiting the podium soon.

Good teammate: Jimmy Vasser has been impressed with rookie Juan Montoya. Robert Laberge/Allsport

As for the rest of the field, no big surprises so far. I knew Greg (Moore), Michael (Andretti), Dario (Franchitti) and Adrian (Fernandez) would be right up there in the points race, but there are some young guys in the field who are just as capable of winning races. It would be a bad year to be a betting man, because the PPG Cup is truly up for grabs this season.

With the first short oval of the season up next (Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix in Nazareth, Pa.), anything could happen. I'm the defending race winner at Nazareth, so although it's nice to have tradition on your side, tradition doesn't win races.

Enjoy the race, and feel free to cheer for the No. 12 car.

Jimmy Vasser drives the No. 12 Honda-Reynard for Target-Chip Ganassi Racing. His column appears regularly on CNNSI.com.

 

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