CHAMPCAR/CART: Mid Ohio Fact Sheet and Schedule

WHAT: Miller Lite 200

WHERE: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio

WHEN: Friday-Sunday, Aug. 7-9

SUPPORT EVENTS: KOOL/Toyota Atlantic Championship, Barber Dodge Pro Series, Formula Ford 2000

SCHEDULE:(All times EDT)

FRIDAY, AUGUST 7 Atlantic practice, 8:45-9:15 a.m. CART Practice, 10:30 a.m.-noon Atlantic practice, 1:45-2:15 p.m. CART qualifying, 2:30-3:45 p.m.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 8 CART practice, 9-10:15 a.m. Atlantic qualifying, 11:15-11:45 a.m. CART qualifying, 12:45-2 p.m. Atlantic qualifying, 3-3:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9 Atlantic warm-up, 9-9:15 a.m. CART warm-up, 10-10:30 a.m. Atlantic race, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Grid CART cars, 1:15 p.m. Miller Lite 200, 2 p.m.

BROADCAST: TV - (ABC, tape delay, 4 p.m. ET and in 195 countries worldwide). RADIO - CART Radio Network (WYXZ, 98.7 FM)

PRE-RACE PROGRAMMING:: Miller Lite 200 pole qualifying, 6 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN2; CART 2Day, 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday, ESPN2

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Alex Zanardi

DEFENDING POLESITTER: Bryan Herta

TRACK LAYOUT: 2.258-mile permanent road course

RACE LENGTH: 83 laps, 187.414 miles

TRACK RECORDS: Qualifying (one lap/2.25 miles) - 1997, Bryan Herta, 122.649 mph (1 minute, 6.277 seconds). Race - No race record at this distance

RACE ROUND: 13 of 19 in the FedEx Championship Series.

PPG CUP POINT LEADERS: 1. Alex Zanardi, 190 points; 2. Jimmy Vasser, 122; 3. Greg Moore, 118; 4. Michael Andretti, 92; 5. Adrian Fernandez, 90

WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR

Alex Zanardi (Target Reynard Honda) became the fourth consecutive driver to win back-to-back FedEx Championship Series events at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course when he drove to victory in the 1997 Miller 200. Zanardi followed Michael Andretti (1990, '91), Emerson Fittipaldi (1992, '93) and Al Unser Jr. (1994, '95) as consecutive winners at Mid-Ohio while also posting his second consecutive victory in the series, following a triumph at Michigan Speedway a week earlier. He led the final 54 laps of the 83-lap event en route to a 4.871-second victory over Greg Moore (Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes). Bobby Rahal (Miller Lite Reynard Ford) was third, his best result at Mid-Ohio since finishing third in 1991. Zanardi's victory extended his PPG Cup points lead to 148-121 over second-place Paul Tracy (Marlboro Penske Mercedes). Gil de Ferran (Valvoline/Cummins Special Reynard Honda) was third with 116 points.

Vital Race Statistics

Time of Race: 1 hour, 41 minutes, 16.682 seconds

Average Speed: 110.456 mph

Margin of Victory: 4.871 seconds

Caution Flags: 2 for 7 laps

Lap Leaders: Alex Zanardi, 56 laps; Bryan Herta, 18; Mauricio Gugelmin 9

Miller Lite 200 Race History

(16 Events)

       Year    Race Winner          Pole Winner
       1980    Johnny Rutherford    Al Unser Sr.
       1983    Teo Fabi             Bobby Rahal
       1984    Mario Andretti       Mario Andretti
       1985    Bobby Rahal          Bobby Rahal
       1986    Bobby Rahal          Mario Andretti
       1987    Roberto Guerrero     Roberto Guerrero
       1988    Emerson Fittipaldi   Danny Sullivan
       1989    Teo Fabi             Teo Fabi
       1990    Michael Andretti     Michael Andretti
       1991    Michael Andretti     Michael Andretti
       1992    Emerson Fittipaldi   Michael Andretti
       1993    Emerson Fittipaldi   Nigel Mansell
       1994    Al Unser Jr.         Al Unser Jr.
       1995    Al Unser Jr.         Jacques Villeneuve
       1996    Alex Zanardi         Alex Zanardi
       1997    Alex Zanardi         Bryan Herta

TOTAL VICTORIES

Emerson Fittipaldi    3
Bobby Rahal           3
Teo Fabi              2
Michael Andretti      2
Al Unser Jr.          2
Alex Zanardi          2
Johnny Rutherford     1
Mario Andretti        1
Roberto Guerrero      1

TOTAL POLE POSITIONS

Michael Andretti     3
Bobby Rahal          2
Mario Andretti       2
Al Unser Sr.         1
Roberto Guerrero     1
Danny Sullivan       1
Teo Fabi             1
Nigel Mansell        1
Al Unser Jr.         1
Jacques Villeneuve   1
Alex Zanardi         1
Bryan Herta          1

Source: CART Online