TWO OLD NEMESES DETOUR HERTA'S DRIVE TO VICTORY.Byline: Bill Schlotter Daily News Staff Writer Bad tires and Alex Zanardi Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi, (born October 23, 1966 in Bologna, Italy), is an Italian racing driver. He won two CART championship titles in North America during the late 1990s. He also had a less successful career as a Formula One driver. . Those are the the gremlins that have occasionally tweaked See tweak. Bryan Herta's nose during his four-year CART racing career. And they got him again Sunday at the 1998 Toyota Grand Prix Grand Prix n. pl. Grand Prix Any of several competitive international road races for sports cars of specific engine size over an exacting, usually risky course. of Long Beach. Just two laps from his first CART victory - and with a throng of family and friends on hand to watch - Herta quite literally slipped from first place to third when his tires let him down and Zanardi passed him up. ``It's not a very good feeling when you've got a fast car behind you and you know your tires won't hold,'' said Herta, who led the first 20 laps of the race and took the lead again with seven laps to go. ``I held him off as long as I could. I can't even tell you how many times I almost put the car into a crash.'' It was a bittersweet bittersweet, name for two unrelated plants, belonging to different families, both fall-fruiting woody vines sometimes cultivated for their decorative scarlet berries. ending to a weekend in which Herta's Shell Ford Cosworth racer had dominated the field in practice and qualifying. His 50.945-second lap Friday put Herta on the pole to start Sunday's race. And in practice Sunday morning Sunday Morning may refer to:
Throughout the race, he consistently ran in the top four, slipping only as low as 10th after a pit stop. And so it was that on lap 99 of the 105-lap run, Herta again moved into first place when race leaders Dario Franchitti Dario Franchitti (b. 19 May, 1973 in Bathgate, West Lothian) is a Scottish racing driver of Italian descent. He is the 2007 IndyCar Series champion. He used to compete in the IndyCar Series, formerly drove in the CART series, and won the rain-shortened 2007 Indianapolis 500. , Greg Moore Greg Moore may refer to:
Herta had been hastily called in for a quick splash-and-dash gas-only pit stop on lap 94 when a crash brought the field under a yellow flag. Though he was beginning to have traction problems, he did not take on new tires - a decision that was to have dire consequences later. After getting back on track, Herta worked his way up to first as other race leaders made their way to the pits for fuel. But when Zanardi - with a fast car and new tires - came up to challenge soon after, Herta knew he was in trouble. ``His car was really fast,'' Herta said. ``And I knew with my tires gone, it was going to be a battle.'' Herta held his ground in lap 99 taking an inside line through the turns. He held again in 100, 101, 102 and 103. But on Turn 3 of lap 104, Zanardi got inside and beat him out of the turn. Franchitti, running third at the time, slipped by as well. ``I guess I could have let Zanardi go by earlier and kept battling Dario for second,'' Herta said. ``I think I could have held off Dario because we were in the same situation with our tires. But I didn't want to give up the win without a fight.'' Herta said he was unhappy about the loss, but pleased with the battle. ``I don't want to say I'm not disappointed about not winning,'' Herta said. ``But I feel pretty good that I was able to hold him off as long as I did.'' The third-place finish Noun 1. third-place finish - a finish in third place (as in a race) finish - designated event that concludes a contest (especially a race); "excitement grew as the finish neared"; "my horse was several lengths behind at the finish"; "the winner is the team with the was Herta's highest this season and moved him into seventh place in season points. Problems with tires and Zanardi are not new to Herta. Team Rahal, owned by CART icon Bobby Rahal Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953 in Medina, Ohio) is an American auto racing team owner and former driver, spending most of his driving career in the CART open-wheel series, winning three championships there. , switched from Goodyear rubber to Firestone this season after poor tires took Herta out of the lead twice in races last season. And Zanardi has become something of a Herta nemesis over the past two seasons. In 1996, Herta was on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of victory with one lap left at Laguna Seca when Zanardi went off the track to get around him in a turn and win. Then at last year's Vancouver, B.C., race, Herta was leading again when Zanardi - a lap behind at the time - ran him off the track. And when aggressive driving by Zanardi at last year's Laguna Seca race threatened again, Herta turned the tables, knocking Zanardi off the track. Zanardi's pass Sunday, however, was fair-and-square, Herta said. ``I didn't appreciate or respect at all what he did at Laguna Seca,'' Herta said. ``But this time, he just had a faster car on newer tires. ``The only thing I could really say was, `One of these times, Alex; one of these times.'' According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Rahal, that could be soon. ``I'm disappointed we didn't win,'' said Rahal, who finished 17th. ``But Bryan was right there at the end and had a chance and that's what you want every race. Bryan is a talented driver and he will be there at the end a lot of times in the future and he will win his share.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1--Color) About 15 laps from the finish, eventual winner Alex Zanardi, left, Bryan Herta Bryan Herta (b. May 23 1970, Warren, Michigan) is an American race car driver. He currently drives for Andretti Green Racing, which is co-owned by former CART and IRL driver Michael Andretti, in the ALMS, although his career has primarily been spent in open-wheel cars , right, and Dario Franchitti take Turn 7. Cristina Salvador/Long Beach Press-Telegram (2--Color) Herta, above left, celebrates his third-place finish while Zanardi revels in his victory. Susan Sterner/Associated Press |
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