Herta Not to Be Denied at Laguna Seca

By SHAV GLICK

Sept. 13, 1999 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

MONTEREY —

Out in front, driving every lap like it was a qualifying lap, Bryan Herta won the Shell 300 Sunday at Laguna Seca Raceway in a wire-to-wire performance as dominating as any victory in this year’s CART champ car series.

It was Herta’s second consecutive victory from the pole on the picturesque Monterey Peninsula hillside road course, but this time he led every lap, even while making two pit stops. Last year, while in the pits, he gave up the lead for two laps.

“It’s sweeter this year, definitely,” Herta said. “I didn’t get to enjoy the last lap last year because [Alex] Zanardi was so close behind me. This year there was a little more distance.”

It was a great day for car owner Bobby Rahal, who himself won four races in a row at Laguna Seca before retiring. Not only did Herta win in one of his Ford-powered Reynards, Max Papis finished third in the other one. And on Saturday, Rahal introduced his new book, “Bobby Rahal: The Graceful Champion.”

Roberto Moreno, racing’s supersub, finished second as a replacement for the injured Christian Fittipaldi in a Newman-Haas Swift. It was the highest CART finish for the veteran Brazilian, who has driven 13 CART races as a sub for Mark Blundell and Fittipaldi, and two other Indy Racing League races.

Fittipaldi is expected back for the next race, in Houston in two weeks, so Moreno will be waiting for someone to call.

The victory was particularly gratifying for Herta, who grew up and lives in Valencia. Rahal has indicated that he will not renew Herta’s contract next year, but after the way Herta drove Sunday, there will probably be a line of owners looking to sign him up.

“Like I said after qualifying Friday, I don’t know what there is about this place, but I love it,” said Herta, who has won two in a row and has started from the pole three consecutive times. “If there is a reason [for his success] I don’t know what it is, and frankly, I really don’t care. I just hope it keeps up.”

The day started with a moment of silence for Gonzalo Rodriguez, the rookie driver from Uruguay who was killed while practicing Saturday for today’s race.

“I think we did the best thing we could do to honor Gonzalo, and that was to go out and do the kind of racing that he loved,” Herta said.

For the first 45 laps of the 83-lap (185.7 miles) race, Herta and his white No. 8 Shell Ford were in control. At one point, he had a seven-second margin on Papis in second place. Only after caution flags, when the pack bunched behind him, was any car close to Herta. He averaged 101.924 mph.

The only serious trouble for the winner occurred during a restart on lap 60, after the last of four caution periods during the one-hour, 49-minute race.

Herta, attempting to get the jump on pursuers Michael Andretti, Papis, Moreno and Jimmy Vasser, drove too deep into turn 11, a sharp right-hand turn before the finish line, and almost lost control when he had to hit the brakes.

“The tires were cold, but I knew Michael would make a move on me on the first lap, so I thought I’d put some distance between us, and I went too far,” Herta said. “I hit the brakes and thought I’d lost it, but I managed to gather it up.”

When Herta slammed the brakes, it created havoc behind him. Andretti braked to avoid Herta and was passed by Papis and Vasser, but as they charged through turn 2 almost side by side, Andretti got underneath Vasser and the cars made contact. Andretti spun into the infield, Vasser took over third and in the confusion, Moreno slipped into second, dropping Papis to fourth.

As Vasser raced up the hill in pursuit of the leaders, he spun into a gravel pit, damaged his suspension and dropped out.

“It all started in turn two,” said a disappointed Vasser. “I was alongside Papis and Michael got into my radiator. I thought I’d gotten clean but then I spun in my own water in turn five.”

Andretti’s view: “Bryan just didn’t stand on it at the start. I got in too tight and had to back off. I got inside Vasser and the car pushed right into him. It was looking good for a second place finish. The points would have helped us gain on Dario [Franchitti] and Juan [Montoya].”

Andretti fell back to finish 10th and lost third place in points to Paul Tracy, who was fourth. Adrian Fernandez, returning to the races after breaking his wrist a month ago in Detroit, finished fifth.

Montoya, after seven wins in 14 starts, was never a contender and finished eighth. Franchitti, his closest challenger, was running eighth when he collided with Greg Moore on lap 31, knocking both out of the race.

Didier Andre of France won the PPG-Dayton Indy Lights race, leading all but one of the 34 laps. He passed pole-sitter Guy Smith on the second lap.

CART STANDINGS

1. Juan Montoya: 199

2. Dario Franchitti: 171

3. Paul Tracy: 134

4. Michael Andretti: 127

5. Adrian Fernandez: 105

6. Max Papis: 105

7. Gil de Ferran: 104

8. Christian Fittipaldi: 101

9. Greg Moore: 97

10. Jimmy Vasser: 94