rpm.espn.com: Drivers to Watch

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Wednesday, August 8
Drivers to Watch
ESPN.com news services

Check out a short list of drivers to keep an eye on this weekend at Lexington.

Michael Andretti
Mechanical failures kept him from finishing races at Michigan and Chicago, but he maintained fourth place (73 points) in the points chase; won in Toronto on July 15 for his 41st career victory, the most among active drivers; has had a sterak of success at Mid-Ohio, where he started from the pole from 1990-92, winning the first two; finished in the top-10 in nine of 16 starts at Mid-Ohio, leading a total of 188 laps; last podium at this venue was in 1996, when he finished third.

Kenny Brack
Looks to benefit from a little home-track advantage at the picturesque Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Sunday's Miller Lite 200; headquarters of his Team Rahal is based 60 miles from Mid-Ohio; coming off an impressive victory on the oval at Chicago, his third of the season, but now switches gears for one of the toughest races of the year where the physical demands on a driver is tremendous; points leader with 104, seeks his first victory on a road course; has 22-point advantage over Helio Castroneves; finished fifth as a rookie last year; former IRL champion and winner of the 1999 Indy 500.

Helio Castroneves
Has two series victories to this point, both on road-course configurations -- Long Beach and Grand Prix of Detroit; also won the IRL-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 this season; two of his three pole positions have come on road courses this season; won at Mid-Ohio last year as he steered clear of misfortunes by other drivers; dominated 55 laps and finished more than four seconds ahead of Penske teammate Gil de Ferran; second in the standings, nine points behind Kenny Brack.

Gil de Ferran
Led the first 28 laps from the pole in this race last year, then conceded the position to Penske teammate Helio Castroneves for the first 1-2 Penske finish since 1994; after not finishing races in Toronto and Michigan, he bounced back with a solid third place in Chicago for his seventh points-paying result of the year; stands fifth with 72 points in the series championship; also had second-place finish at the IRL race Indianapolis 500.

Dario Franchitti
Fell 23 points behind Kenny Brack after not picking up any points in Chicago (15th place); his 81 points is one fewer than second place Helio Castroneves; ended a two-year winless streak by taking checkered flag at road course-type track in Cleveland last month; also had finishes of second at the Grand Prix of Detroit and in the Harrah's 500 in the last race at Michigan Speedway.

Cristiano da Matta
Brazilian led the points standings after the season's first three races but has fell steadily to seventh; has 67 points, five behind countryman Gil de Ferran for fifth place; an improved driver over the past two seasons as he won the year-opener in Mexico; the 1998 Indy Lights champion finished runner-up at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Roberto Moreno
Brazilian veteran finished in the points in five of the last six races; best finish was second in the Portland 200 after taking third a race earlier in Detroit; total points of 44 puts him 13th in the standings; makes his sixth start at Mid-Ohio, where fifth was his best starting position in 1985 and 10th his top effort in 1986; was 11th last year.

Max Papis
Popular Italian driver showed his vast road-racing experience in CART's last natural-terrain road race in Portland, where he won from the pole for a maximum of 22 points; it was the highlight of an otherwise mediocre season; collected points in seven races, but three were just the minimum possible; 12th in the standings with 44 points.

Paul Tracy
Earned points in three straight races after not scoring any in five previous events; has ammassed a total of 53 points, good for eighth place in the CART standings; best effort of the season were third-place podium finishes in Mexico and Nazarath, Pennsylvania; was runner-up in this race to Juan Montoya in 1999, when the Colombian passed on lap 56; did not finish last year after contact on lap 69.

Jimmy Vasser
Lost pace with the contenders after a strong start; earned points in the season's first four races, but failed to pick any up in six of the last seven races, four of which he did not complete; most recent points finish was fifth at the Grand Prix of Cleveland; 50 points places him 10th.

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