Montoya earns seventh pole of season

Mike Harris

Sunday, Sept. 26, 1999 | 8:28 a.m.

HOUSTON - There's nothing conservative about Juan Montoya.

The 23-year-old CART rookie drove his car right to the edge Saturday, winning the pole for the Texaco Grand Prix of Houston.

"I was close to the wall a couple of times, but I wasn't thinking about being conservative," said Montoya, who added a point to his series lead over Dario Franchitti and now leads by 29 going into Sunday's 100-lap race.

Montoya outdueled Bryan Herta - a winner two weeks ago at Monterey, Calif. - and Team Kool Green teammates Paul Tracy and Franchitti on Saturday to earn his seventh pole of the season. That matched the CART rookie record set in 1993 by Nigel Mansell, who came to the American open-wheel series after winning the Formula One championship.

The Colombian youngster, driving a Honda-powered Reynard for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, started the day on the provisional pole after leading Friday's opening session with a lap of 91.797 mph.

The slower cars from Friday's qualifying took to the 1.527-mile, 10-turn temporary street course in downtown Houston first. Adrian Fernandez, recovering well from a broken wrist, moved to the top of the speed chart with a lap of 91.943.

But the faster drivers followed for their 30-minute session and Fernandez quickly slipped back into the pack, winding up 10th.

Herta took the lead with 13 minutes left with a lap of 92.317, but Montoya then jumped on top at 92.995 two minutes later.

As all of the top drivers continued to improve on the track, Montoya's speed appeared in jeopardy. So he went out and topped himself, turning the fast lap of 93.651 with two minutes remaining.

"I put on my second set of tires and I gave it a big go, and that was it," Montoya said.

With two races remaining after the Houston GP, Montoya, who also has won seven races this season, could clinch the series title and the $1 million that goes with it if he is leading by at least 44 points after Sunday's race.

"Not good," Franchitti said. "On my best lap I got blocked (by Montoya) when my tires were at their best. After that, I was pushing the car hard. I don't think we had the car today."

He will start in the second row, alongside Tracy, whose mathematical chance at the championship disappeared with the point Montoya got for his pole. But that doesn't mean Tracy will defer to his teammate.

"I'm doing as much as I can to help Dario," Tracy said. "He's getting the benefit of the work that I do and my set-ups. I'll do everything I can, but, ultimately, he's got to beat that little guy (Montoya). ... My goal is to do as well as I can. If I can't win a championship, I still have a shot at second. I have to keep pushing."

The top six drivers surpassed the previous track record of 92.377, set last year at the inaugural Houston race by Greg Moore. Moore wound up 13th in the 26-car field for Sunday's race.

With such a solid points lead and a maximum 21 points available Sunday - 20 for winning the race and one for leading the most laps - Montoya was asked if he might become more conservative.

He grinned and replied: "The reason you become a race driver is to win. I don't see any reason to change that now."