Tracy wins as points race tightens

Sunday, Sept. 26, 1999 | 3:59 a.m.

It was sweet vindication for Tracy, who last year in the inaugural Houston race nearly crashed Team Kool Green teammate Dario Franchitti and did put himself in the wall as the two battled for the lead.

After being handed the trophy - a gold-covered cowboy boot - for winning Sunday's 100-lap race, Tracy said, "I'd hate to say any place owes me one, but I'd have to say I stuck that boot right there in my rear last year."

This time, Tracy controlled most of the race, leading all but three laps on the tight 1.527-mile, 10-turn temporary street circuit after taking over the top spot for the first time on lap 13.

He was never really challenged, beating Franchitti's nearly identical Reynard-Honda to the finish line by 13.733 seconds - nearly a quarter of a lap. It was the third time this season the teammates have finished 1-2 on a temporary street circuit, but the first time Tracy has been the one in front.

The 30-year-old Canadian has two wins this season - having won on the one-mile oval in Milwaukee in June - and 15 in his CART career.

The first two laps were run under a yellow flag because the leaders were not lined up properly, but Montoya, who started from the pole with a 29-point lead over Franchitti, easily led after the green flag finally waved for the start of lap three.

The 23-year-old Colombian, who has won seven of 18 races this season while failing to finish just four times, appeared to be in cruise control as he tried to extend his points lead to 44, which would have clinched the series title.

He built a lead of 2.229 seconds over Tracy by the end of lap 12 on the circuit winding around the downtown George R. Brown Convention Center.

But, as Montoya neared the flagstand on the next lap, Helio Castro-Neves, who had been running 19th in the 26-car field, slid into one of concrete barriers lining the course in the last turn, a 90-degree left-hander.

Despite waving yellow flags, Montoya's Honda-powered Reynard sailed around that corner. His right front ran over the left rear of Castro-Neves' car, breaking the wheel and ending Montoya's race in frustration.

"It was just a miscommunication," Montoya said. "Nobody told me. I saw the yellow, but I thought somebody had just gone off or something. It was a full-course caution, but they told me to stay out and I turned the corner and he was right there in the middle of the track."

That caution was a two-fold break for Franchitti, who started fourth but had slipped back into the pack because of a deflating right rear tire.

The full-course yellow allowed the Scotsman to pit for fresh tires. He fell all the way to 19th, but moved steadily forward after the green flag came out on lap 19.

Taking advantage of the fuel fill-up during that early stop, Franchitti was actually able to lead laps 49 through 51, passing Tracy as the latter warmed up his new tries following his only pit stop of the race on lap 48.

Franchitti pitted again on lap 51, giving the lead back to Tracy for good. But the Scotsman was able to work his way back to second, taking the runner-up spot on lap 83 in a daring pass of Christian Fittipaldi that was nearly disastrous.

As he dived past Fittipaldi's Swift-Ford, Franchitti banged into the other car, tearing off a winglet from the left rear of his car. Team engineers said that cost Franchitti valuable downforce on the rear of the car, but he was able to soldier on to the finish, cutting Montoya's lead to 13 points with two races remaining.

Team owner Barry Green said he considered having Tracy give up the top spot to Franchitti, but chose to let him stay out front.

"He deserved the win," Green said.

Michael Andretti, who took over third place when Newman-Haas teammate Fittipaldi had to pit for fuel on lap 98, finished there, followed by Max Papis, Bryan Herta, Mauricio Gugelmin, Fittipaldi and Richie Hearn, the only drivers on the lead lap.